Thandie on Rocknrolla from MTV.com

With his first feature, Guy Ritchie made one heck of a name for himself amongst moviegoers itching for crime, action, and lots of testosterone. In the late ’90s, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels was the quintessential guy movie — every man I knew raved about it with the passion usually saved for religious zealots. Many of those same moviegoers followed along with Snatch, but then slammed into the cinematic wall with his Swept Away. One might think this had something to do with Ritchie’s attempt to have a female lead, and that he wouldn’t dare enter those waters again. Nevertheless, he has with RocknRolla, which found its deal in May, and was cast in June. If co-star Thandie Newton is to be believed, we shouldn’t worry about her presence in the crime feature. She recently talked to MTV and said: “I was the only girl for miles around. I thought I’d have to struggle to be a woman in that scenario. [But] Guy was so open to me having ideas.” Perhaps because of his inexperience writing ones that live up to the male characters he creates? Her character, Stella, is an “accountant who becomes more and more cooked as the story goes on. I think [Guy] was surprised at how dirty I played this character. I just kept pushing it and he loved it. He loves surprises.” Maybe this will be the big breakthough for Ritchie — female characters that don’t have sap that dies on the big screen, but rather, sass that rivals his memorable male characters. What do you think? Will RocknRolla re-inspire the admiration of his old fanbase with a lead like Newton and much less romance?