Downey Jr defies 'Gravity'; eyes 'Girls' (HV, /F)

By Nancy Tartaglione

Robert Downey Jr has officially left the Alfonso Cuaron 3D sci-fi thriller "Gravity," for which Sandra Bullock is still in talks. The Heat Vision blog reports that the actor has now turned his sights on Fox's "How to Talk to Girls."

HV sources say the actor is circling the adaptation of a book by a nine-year old boy which offers advice on how to deal with the opposite sex. Downey and his wife and producing partner, Susan Downey, would produce with Shawn Levy and his 21 Laps banner.

Per HV, "Girls" was written by Alec Greven, then 9 years old, as a school project. It landed the boy a publishing deal and put him on talk shows across the country.

Susan Downey will spearhead development -- a script draft already exists, but it is said it'll now be fashioned as a Downey vehicle.

No deals have been made with the Downey camp and insiders cautioned HV that Downey is only eyeing "Girls." He's still attached to "Oz: The Great and Powerful" at Disney.

Meanwhile, HV says Warners will likely recast the character Downey would have played in "Gravity" -- who only appears in the first act.

SlashFilm surmises that scheduling became a factor in Downey's decision to leave "Gravity." Per /F, the idea had been for the actor to shoot some of "Sherlock Holmes 2," then break to shoot his brief bits of "Gravity," then go back to "Sherlock." Further, the shoot for "The Avengers" is on the horizon for early next year.