We have confirmation about the casting of Downey Jr. from the robed man himself. We get the following Hefner news from our friends at comingsoon:
“I guess the next big thing we’re looking forward to is the movie and we’re hoping that Robert Downey Jr. will be portraying me,” Hef revealed. “Brian Grazer is producing. Brett Ratner is directing. We’re finishing up the screenplay and hope to have to be in production by the end of the year.”
Hef thinks Downey – who’s expressed serious interest in the project – would be perfect to play him “because he’s a very good actor. It has nothing to do with ‘Iron Man.’ Our conversations with Robert were in the months immediately before ‘Iron Man.’ He called immediately after ‘Iron Man’ and asked ‘When we were going to do the movie?””
The film is expected to cover the prime years in which Hefner built his Bunny-based empire. “Originally, in the first draft it was covering everything, which proved impossible,” Hefner explained. “It would make a good mini-series. It’s going to cover the launch of the magazine which is about 1952-1953 to the middle of the 1970s.”
This is a project that I’m very excited about. I am a fan of Hefner’ s philosophy and way of life. He is a man that lives in peace, and does what he wants, without causing harm to others. So they, in turn, may do the same.
This pajama wearing smut peddler has become a fixture of our world, and it’s for this very reason that his story needs to be told anew. He built Playboy on his kitchen table, with his own money and grew the business into an international empire. Hugh Hefner did to porno, what Elvis did to Rock and Roll. We must never take Hef for granted.
After seeing Downey Jr in Chaplin I’m more than excited to see how he will mimic Hefner. When awesome subject matter is given to an actor of supreme talent, fertile ground is laid for magic to happen! We will be sure to keep you up to speed on this project and pass along any updates that whisper forth!
