Guy Ritchie Biography
Summary
"Guy Stuart Ritchie" (born 10 September 1968 in Hatfield, Hertfordshire) is an English writer-director of Scottish descent.
Early life
Ritchie was expelled from Stanbridge Earls School at the age of 15 . He is dyslexic, and the school is one of the most prominent institutions specialising in dyslexia in the UK. Ritchie then attended Sibford School, a small, independent boarding school in Oxfordshire, with his sister but was expelled once again. He has since become a music video and film director. He adopted a cockney accent despite being the stepson of baronet Sir Michael Leighton of Loton Park and a descendant of Edward I .
Directing career
Ritchie directed a 20-minute short film in 1995 entitled "The Hard Case". His first full-length feature was the successful "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" in 1998. Recalling Quentin Tarantino, "The Sting" and "The Italian Job," the film was widely praised for its wit. It also introduced actor Jason Statham ("The Transporter") to worldwide audiences, and introduced former football player Vinnie Jones to a new career as a film actor. In 2000 Ritchie won an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best Motion Picture Screenplay.
His second feature film was "Snatch", released in the year 2000. Originally known as "Diamonds", it was another caper comedy, this time backed by a major studio following the previous success of "Lock, Stock". The cast featured such Hollywood big names as Brad Pitt, Benicio del Toro and Dennis Farina, along with the returning Vinnie Jones and Statham. Similar to 'Lock, Stock' in featuring a complex and inventive storyline in which the characters weave in and out of each others' lives, the film also plays with time, depicting events from various perspectives and recalling such classic crime films as Stanley Kubrick's "The Killing". Reviews were also strong for "Snatch".
Following his marriage to Madonna, Ritchie began focusing his filmmaking on his famous wife, directing her in both a music video (for the song 'What It Feels Like for a Girl,' a controversial video that showed Madonna engaging in running people down with a car) and a short film, 'Star', for the BMW films series. Ritchie's next feature, also a vehicle for Madonna, was a remake of the 1960s Lina Wertmüller hit "Swept Away" (also entitled "Swept Away"). Ritchie cast Madonna as a rich, rude, socialite who, after a shipwreck, is trapped on a deserted island with a slovenly Communist sailor who humiliates her. Ritchie renamed the woman Amber Leighton after his mother. This film was both a critical and commercial disappointment.
Ritchie's next announced project was originally a Vegas-themed heist film entitled "Revolver", which was critically panned.
Another project Guy Ritchie was involved with was a hidden camera show called "Swag", for channel Five in the UK, which turned the table on criminals and opportunists by using stunts to trap them in the act.
He is currently directing another crime movie, "Static". David R. Hawkins notes on his website that Ritchie is in development to film a documentary about Hawkins. Ritchie has also started shooting RocknRolla starring Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges, Gerard Butler, Thandie Newton, & Tom Wilkinson.
Personal life
On December 22, 2000, he married the American pop singer and actress Madonna at Skibo Castle in Scotland. They have a son, Rocco, born August 11 2000 in Los Angeles, California, and have recently adopted a Malawian baby boy, David, currently staying at their home in central London. Ritchie is also step-father to Madonna's daughter, Lourdes, born in 1996.
Ritchie and Madonna have homes in Los Angeles, New York, in addition to their country retreat, Ashcombe House in Wiltshire. They are both devotees of the quasi-mystical Kabbalah Centre and donate money and time to practising and spreading its teachings.
On 18 May 2000 Ritchie was arrested by the police after he assaulted a 20-year-old man outside the Kensington home he shared with the singer, causing actual bodily harm. (... more) After admitting the assault Ritchie was given a Formal Police Caution for ABH.
Credit
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article about Guy Ritchie.
