Guy Stuart Ritchie is an English screenwriter, film director and producer, best known for
directing Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, Swept Away, Revolver, RocknRolla,
Sherlock Holmes and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.
Early life Ritchie was born in Hatfield, Hertfordshire,
the second of two children born to Amber and Captain John Vivian Ritchie, former Seaforth
Highlanders serviceman and advertising executive. John's father was Major Stewart Ritchie, who
died in France, in 1940, during World War Two. John's mother was Doris Margaretta McLaughlin,
daughter of Vivian Guy McLaughlin and Edith Martineau. The McLaughlins have a pedigree
going back to King Edward I of England. Ritchie's mother, Amber, later married a baronet. His
father's second marriage was to Shireen Ritchie, Baroness Ritchie of Brompton, a former model
and later Conservative politician and life peer.
Ritchie, who is dyslexic, was expelled from Stanbridge Earls School at the age of 15.
He has stated that drug use was the reason for the expulsion; his father has said that
it was because his son was caught "cutting class and entertaining a girl in his room."
He also attended Sibford School. In addition to his elder sister, Tabitha,
a dance instructor, Ritchie has a half-brother, Kevin Bayton, who was born to Amber Parkinson
when she was a teenager and given up for adoption. From 1973 until 1980, when they divorced,
Ritchie's mother was married to Sir Michael Leighton, 11th baronet. As a divorcée, she
is correctly styled as Amber, Lady Leighton. Directing career
Ritchie directed a 20-minute short film in 1995 entitled The Hard Case. In 1998, Ritchie
and his dad contacted their friend Peter Morton, of the Hard Rock Cafe chain, wondering if
he had any potential investors for a debut film, Morton knew his nephew Matthew Vaughn
had been studying film production in Los Angeles. Peter informed Vaughn of Ritchie's new film
idea, and Vaughn knew he could help out with his own found production ideas he had gained
from his travels to America. Matthew, John, Guy and Peter all contacted their mutual acquaintance,
Trudie Styler, who they knew had enough acting money to invest in the production of Ritchie's
second film. Styler informed them that she had previously seen The Hard Case, and decided
that co-funding the project would be a worthwhile opportunity. After about eight months, the
production of the film, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels was completed, and it was
released in 1998 to a national audience, then later went global after its positive reviews.
Richie was introduced to Madonna when the soundtrack for the film was issued on her
Maverick Records label. The film, whose main actor was Jason Flemyng, also introduced actors
Jason Statham, Nick Moran and Dexter Fletcher to worldwide audiences, as well as introducing
former footballer Vinnie Jones to a new career as a film star. In 2000 Ritchie won an Edgar
Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best Motion Picture Screenplay. Ritchie
created and produced a spin-off television series called Lock, Stock....
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. 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 and Two Smoking Barrels in
featuring a complex and inventive storyline in which the characters weave in and out of
each other's lives, the film also plays with time, depicting events from various perspectives.
It currently has a rating of 73% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Following his marriage to Madonna, Ritchie began focusing his filmmaking on his wife,
directing her in both a music video and a short film, Star, for the BMW films series.
Ritchie's next film, also featuring Madonna, was a remake of the 1974 Lina Wertmüller
hit 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 project was a Vegas-themed
heist film entitled Revolver, which was critically panned in the US and UK. Ritchie was involved
with 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. Ritchie has also
written and directed RocknRolla starring Gerard Butler. It scores 60% on Rotten Tomatoes and
was generally received well. Ritchie intends to develop the film into a trilogy, with the
next entry being "The Real RocknRolla," as is stated at the end of "RocknRolla." Ritchie
will also direct a film based on a comic book series he created with Virgin Comics entitled
Guy Ritchie's Gamekeeper. The film rights were acquired by Warner Brothers in July 2007.
The film's being produced by Silver Pictures. In 2008, Ritchie directed a commercial for
Nike called "Take It To The Next Level", about a young Dutch footballer who signs for Arsenal,
showing the progression of his career from his viewpoint, until he makes his debut for
the Netherlands. The commercial features cameo appearances from some football players with
music by Eagles of Death Metal. Ritchie's movie Sherlock Holmes, starring Robert Downey,
Jr. and Jude Law, received its theatrical release on 25 December 2009. The film was
given generally positive reviews and grossed more than $520 million worldwide, becoming
Ritchie's most successful film financially. The sequel, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows,
was released on 16 December 2011. In June 2012 it was announced that Ritchie would direct
an adaptation of Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. On 29 October 2012, Ritchie
produced a game trailer for Call of Duty: Black Ops II.
On 18 March 2013, Deadline.com reported that The Man From U.N.C.L.E. was in production
with Ritchie directing. On 31 July 2013, it was announced that Ritchie's adaptation would
start filming in September 2013 in London and Italy. Warner Bros. set the film for a
16 January 2015 release. In January 2014, Warner Bros set Ritchie to
direct a new multi-film version of the King Arthur legend, which is scheduled for an July
22, 2016 release with Lionel Wigram as producer and Joby Harold as screenwriter. Idris Elba
is in talks to play a Merlin-esque figure who trains and mentors Arthur.
Personal life
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 Madonna, causing actual bodily harm.
Ritchie was the inspiration for, and is the subject of, singer Robbie Williams' single
"She's Madonna" from his 2006 album, Rudebox. Ritchie started training in Shotokan karate
at the age of seven at the Budokwai in London, where he later achieved a black belt in judo.
He also has a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. In February 2011 a £6m house he owns in London's
Fitzrovia was occupied briefly by members of The Really Free School, a squatter organization.
Relationships On 22 December 2000, Guy married the American
pop singer Madonna at Skibo Castle in Scotland. They have a son, Rocco John Ritchie and adopted
a Malawian baby boy in 2006, David. On 15 October 2008, British media reported that
a split was "imminent" between Ritchie and Madonna. The split was confirmed by their
spokesperson and Ritchie and Madonna went public with the split because they "can’t
bear to live with the pretense any longer". On 15 December 2008, it was announced by Madonna's
spokeswoman that the singer had agreed to a divorce settlement with Ritchie, the terms
of which grant him between £50 million and £60 million, a figure that includes the value
of the couple's London pub and residence and Wiltshire estate in England. Madonna and Guy
Ritchie's marriage was dissolved by District Judge Reid by decree nisi at the clinical
Principal Registry of the Family Division in High Holborn, London. Madonna and Ritchie
entered into a compromise agreement for Rocco and David, then aged eight and three respectively,
and divided the children's time between Ritchie's London home and Madonna's in New York, where
the two will be joined by her daughter, Lourdes, from a previous relationship.
Richie is engaged to model Jacqui Ainsley with whom he has three children: son Rafael,
daughter Rivka and a third child born in 2014. Filmography
References
External links Guy Ritchie at the Internet Movie Database