From Iron To Silk?

Brett Ratner tells EW.com that he's met with and wants Robert Downey Jr. to portray Playboy founder Hugh Hefner for Ratner's pipelined biopic, tentatively titled Playboy.

"Robert Downey Jr. agreed to do it based on the script," the director says. "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." Ratner adds, "We wanted him before Iron Man so we were ahead of the curve."

Downey's people declined to comment on the story.

Meanwhile, The Chicago Sun Times reported that Hefner has signed off on the potential Downey Jr. casting. He took a liking to the actor after seeing "Iron Man" and admires his humor and vulnerability.

The film will center on the early years of the magazine.

Production on the project is expected to happen next summer, depends upon Downey's "Iron Man 2 " commitments for 2010 and the final of Playboy script...

If they can dot the I's and cross the T's on this...Downey's would be a great Hef!!.