Robert Downey Jr. to Play Hugh Hefner

Film director Brett Ratner revealed who he wanted to star as Hugh Hefner in the upcoming film about the Playboy creator, reported E! Online:"Robert Downey, Jr.!" he said at yesterday's MTV Movie Awards. "That's who I really want!"

But nothing will be finalized until "a script comes in," says Ratner.

According to EW.com, Ratner stated, "Robert Downey, Jr. agreed to do it based on the script. . . . We're gonna hand him the script very shortly. He loves the character and the role and we've been meeting with him on it. So, if he wants to do it, we're excited to have him."



The director deflected rumors of Lindsay Lohan possibly playing a Playboy bunny. "I'm just focusing on the star of the movie," he says.

The film will only span 20 years, from 1955 to 1975. "It's about Hugh Hefner, but it's really the creation of the magazine," reveals Ratner. "Seventy-five really was the peak of the magazine."

An excited Ratner promises to show sides of Hefner viewers have never seen before: "People know he's done Playboy and he has three girlfriends, but they don't really know what he's done for our culture and society. I think he's a genius."