CrimsonAvenger (Level 27)

For those of you unaware, Perry Mason is one of the most famous fictional lawyers of all time and was created by Erle Stanley Gardner in the 1930's. Gardner wrote a grand total of 82 novels (All of which I own) featuring the famed lawyer.Gardner happened to also serve as a mentor to several great writers such as Raymond Chandler (The Big Sleep) and Dashiell Hammett (The Thin Man) and despite their success, he outsold the both of them combined.The novels were adapted into a widely successful radio series in 1937 with 3,257 episodes of the series produced. Now that just proves that people loved Perry Mason. O The books had also been adapted into six films and 34 telepics in the 1930's.Of course the most famous incarnation of the character was the one played on the long running show of the same name featuring the great Raymond Benson as the titular lawyer.

The film is going to be a period piece which is quite interesting because Perry Mason isn't exactly going to be a huge money maker and period pieces are expensive. For once this sounds like it isn't going to be butchered because it's an actor who came up with the project instead of the studio choosing to do it.

Director/ Perry Mason

Robert Downey Jr.

Robert Downey Jr. has a vision for the project and I don't see it working unless he is also the director. He's not a Director but that isn't necesarrily a problem because first time directors can be just fine like Joseph Kosinski. TRON: Legacy turned out to be quite a good movie which is good considering the film was Kosinski's first.

George Clooney is an actor and also happens to be quite a decent director so I don't see why RDJ couldn't be a very good director. He seems to be a big fan and certainly has a vision of what he wants it to be like. Whether or not he would actually direct it remains to be seen.

Perry Mason previously on the show and in all the TV movies didn't have much too him and I'd like Downey Jr. bring some character to him. I haven't read the books so I can't say what the character in those. I really hope though that the character wouldn't turn out like Tony Stark or Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes because I really want to RDJ in a much more dramatic role. Though He can be quite serious as Tony Stark at times and does very well when portraying the multiple sides to the character.

I also am looking at Jude Law for the role as well. See below for details.

Hamilton Burger

Hamilton Burger is the District Attorney and Perry Mason's rival in the courtroom. He is a fully competent lawyer but is always proven wrong by Perry Mason. He is a self absorbed kind of lawyer and doesn't really care about whether or not the person he put on trial is really guilty. All he wants is another win. One actor that came to mind for me is Daniel Day-Lewis. The guy is a bit of and odd-ball but I would still love to see him square off in court against Robert Downey Jr. in a courtroom.

The man is a seriously talented actor and I think the role requires someone with his talents. The role needs sort of a tougher guy like Lewis and that's why I really think he is good for the role. Now if he didn't accept the role, my next choice is Philip Seymour Hoffman. Hoffman is one of the best actors in Hollywood right now and I would absolutely love to see him play the role just as much as I want to see Daniel Day-Lewis play it.

The role requires somebody who can really put up some sort of an argument against Perry Mason. On the show, Burger was shown to be a good lawyer up until the end when you'd see his case completely fall apart. Of course a modern audience wouldn't accept that so the role definitely needs someone who can make the case actually look better than it actually is.

Paul Drake

Paul Drake is Perry Mason's Private Investigator. The one actor that came to my mind when thinking of this role was Jude Law. Jude Law is an actor who I feel has a lot of potential and while I would have put him as Perry Mason, I really felt that playing Paul Drake would be better for him. I have always felt that he should have been Sherlock Holmes and Robert Downey Jr should have been Dr. Watson. Though that didn't happen for some reason and that is why I will not see Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes films. Jude Law is an actor who can do real well in lead roles and in supporting roles. I personally would like to see him as both and really hope that he would actually star in the film.

Della Street

I'm not sure I would even include this role in the film since there aren't really too many actresses that could play it. Though the one actress I can think of that is smart and beautiful and could pull off the role of Perry's secretary/love interest is Screened's favorite actress-Emma Stone. Emma Stone is absolutely fantastic in every movie and that is why I and many others love her. This role isn't completely necessary but the character has been around for so long and the movie needs a woman in it so that's why I'd put her in it. All I hope is that she is well written and that her looks aren't the main focus.

Della didn't have a huge role in the show as well, she's Perry's secretary but when the TV movies came around Della started to become a more important character. I hope that she is included in the film and well written because that is the most important thing..