Public Enemies - What Did You Think?
I’ve been very busy this week, but now I’m back and hitting the /Film trail in a big way. Just to clear my plate enough to get some more on there, however, I’m going to bring you my very own Page 2.
At the head of the post you can see a new still from The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus. As well as Heath Ledger you can see Lily Cole and the really very amazing Andrew Garfield. There’s a new fan blog that seems to be posting every scrap they can, including scans from a French Magazine that let slip of some more images.
Countless more fragments of new news after the break. Come join me.
Robert Rodriguez Says Sin City 2 Could Shoot As Early As Next Year
Posted on Thursday, May 7th, 2009 by Peter Sciretta
I think most everyone has given up the idea of a Sin City sequel, especially after Frank Miller’s The Spirit tainted the memory of the original Robert Rodriguez co-directed comic book adaptation. Everyone involved with the original 2005 film has been talking up a sequel for the last four years. Rodrgieuz admitted in March that he’s gotten so use to telling people that “right around the corner, because that’s what everybody wants to hear” but that “It might be a long corner.”
To promote the Blu-ray release, Rodriguez has been doing press, and now claims that he is beginning talks with his creative team and could begin filming as early as next year. The filmmaker tells IGN that “next week we’re going to talk about it some more and get a timing on when we’d be doing it. But there’s a lot of people who are interested in it. … We are definitely going to do that one.”
But this isn’t the first time Rodriguez has put a date on record. Last year Rodriguez said that production could begin by April 2009.
What would it look like if Frank Miller directed a big screen adaptation of he Highlights magazine “classic” Goofus and Gallant? This new Funny or Die short is directed by Jake Szymanski and stars Josh Simpson. Watch the video after the jump.
Zack Snyder Talks About Adapting The Dark Knight Returns
Posted on Wednesday, February 25th, 2009 by Peter Sciretta
At San Diego Comic-Con last year, Zack Snyder said that he “would love to see Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns made into a movie.” Later at the Entertainment Weekly Visionaries panel, Miller told Snyder “You can do it anytime you want to Zack”. To which Snyder said he was making a note of Miller’s response.
Earlier this week in our video blog discussion about the future of Batman movies, I suggested that after doing a third Batman film Warner Bros not proceed with another sequel. It is expected that Batman 3 might be the last Batman movie for series helmer Christopher Nolan, and I would love them to instead jump into the future and do an adaptation of The Dark Knight returns or jump into the even further future and do a Batman Beyond movie. That way they could potentially return to the Batman series if Nolan wanted to return after a few years of rest.
Lets be realistic, a Zack Snyder adaptation of Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns will probably never happen, but it’s fun to imagine what could be. FirstShowing got the chance to ask Snyder what he would do with the material if he ever got the chance to bring it to the big screen.
/Filmcast Ep. 31 - Frost/Nixon (GUESTS: Erik Davis and William Goss from Cinematical)
Posted on Wednesday, December 24th, 2008 by David Chen
In this episode of the /Filmcast, Dave, Devindra, and Adam lament the removal of Stephen Chow from The Green Hornet, discuss whether or not a Schwarzenneger cameo would be a good idea for Terminator Salvation, and evaluate the early movie careers of Seth Gordon and Frank Miller. Special guests Erik Davis and William Goss join us from Cinematical.
Join us next Monday night at 9 PM EST / 6 PM PST as your favorite film podcast runs down their top films of 2008 and reviews The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
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LOL: One Critic Calls The Spirit One of The Best Movies of The Year
Posted on Sunday, December 21st, 2008 by Peter Sciretta
/Film reader Koorck sends over the below new television advertisement for Frank Miller’s The Spirit, which includes a quote calling it “one of the best films of the year!” But wait? The early reviews pegged Frank Miller’s comic book movie adaptation as somewhere between the worst movie of all time, or one of the worst films of the year. Even the slightly positive reviews say things like ” entertaining, if forgettable” and “the film has no story to speak of and the tone is all over the place”.
What respectable film critic would make the claim that the movie is one of 2008’s best? Earl Dittman? Nope… Our over enthusiastic friend over at FirstShowing.net — Alex Billington? Nope, we have confirmed that he hasn’t even been shown the film yet. The small type at the bottom of the screen reads: Scott Hoffman MoviePictureFilm.com. Really interested to find out why Hoffman believes the film is so incredible, I’ve tried searching the MoviePictureFilm website for his review, but came up empty handed. I did however find his review from last year calling Southland Tales “one of the best movies of 2007″.
Remember last May when a rumor began to circulate that Frank Miller would direct Buck Rogers, only to be denied days later? Well turns out it was true after all. Odd Lot Entertainment, the production company behind The Spirit, wants to reteam with Frank Miller to helm the sci-fi adventure flick. Odd Lot is in talks with Nu Image/Millennium for the rights to the property. THR reports that Miller’s take is expected to be “darker” and will likely include “Miller’s signature visual elements and themes, such as corruption and redemption.” No, duh.
I’m surprised that any production company is willing to put their trust in Miller at this point. The early buzz has only begun to leak and the consensus is that Miller’s directorial debut The Spirit is beyond disastrous. Early tracking numbers for the film are spread all over the map. It seems like it would be smarter to do this deal after The Spirit’s Box Office debut.
Nu Image/Millennium Films originally planned to develop a $40 million film with genre veteran Flint Dille, who penned a Buck Rogers graphic novel in the 1990s, attached to write and produce. The plan was to turn “the cheapness of the low-budget effects will be a running joke in the movie, which will retain the campiness of the 1980s TV series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century starring Gil Gerard.” My hope is that Miller’s approach doesn’t result in a slapstick tone, which judging by The Spirit, I have reason to worry.
For those of you who were born post-Back to the Future (I find a lot of generational entertainment is lost in people born of the internet generation), Buck Rogers was created in 1928 by Philip Nowlan. The basic premise is as follows: Rogers, a pilot/astronaut who falls into a coma, only to awaken in the twenty-fifth century. Best known from the long-running syndicated newspaper comic strip, Rogers also appeared in a 12-part 1939 movie serial, a 1979 television series, and in many other incarnations. The development of space technology in the twentieth century launched Buck Rogers into American pop culture.
Discuss: Do you want to see Frank Miller remake Buck Rogers?
Early Buzz: Frank Miller’s The Spirit is Worse Than Expected
Posted on Thursday, December 18th, 2008 by Peter Sciretta
The first movie reviews of Frank Miller’s adaptation of Will Eisner’s The Spirit have begun to hit the interwebs, and it doesn’t look good.
Variety: “Frank Miller’s solo writing-directing debut plunges into a watery grave early on and spends roughly the next 100 minutes gasping for air. Pushing well past the point of self-parody” … “There’s a lot going on here, but none of it sticks — not the shopworn plotting nor the arch, stilted dialogue. The actors often seem to be delivering their lines in ironic quote marks, suggesting a straight-faced sendup of noir and comicbook conventions that, whatever the intended effect, falls mostly flat.”
AICN: “I’ve seen something that has taken the top prize from “Battlefield Earth.” … “Okay, Mr. Miller. Let’s get it on.” … “Seriously, it’s not. You clearly don’t have any idea what you’re doing. Someone, ANYONE, over at Lionsgate should have known this. Fuck, it’s their JOB to know this. But they didn’t.” … “Folks, this movie is that bad. I heartily recommend it if you have a strong stomach and an even stronger sense of Bad-Movie-Love. Otherwise, steer clear.”
Unique Geek: “The Spirit starts off crazy when we expect serious, then tries to pull it back in, then goes for weird juvenile sight gags then tries to be tough, and we’re disoriented. Theres also a pathlogical fascination with a prop photocopy of Mendes’ rump. If you took a shot every time the camera cuts to it, you would be wasted by the third act, and maybe “wasted” is the right word to end with here. There’s a lot of work and opportunity that went by the wayside here, a lot of talented people and some great source material that never quite gels. The parts that look good, look good, but maybe next time, they’ll hire a fox to put it all together.”
Newsarama: “The Spirit does a precarious balancing act juxtaposing great moments and terrible ones, leaving audiences likely be split over which makes the greater impression.” … “The mosh of comedic banter and noir-ish drama worked well for the most part, but ultimately, those aforementioned moments of potential that flash and peek out now and again are too far and few between to save The Spirit from being a disappointment..”
Frank Miller and Rosario Dawson Confirm Sin City 2 Is Written, Will Shoot in April 2009
Posted on Sunday, December 7th, 2008 by David Chen
I have fond memories of Sin City. A wildly stylish, over-the-top thrill ride, Sin City prooved that some graphic novels are so tailored to fit the big screen that they can make for great film adaptations, losing almost nothing in the process. Talks of a sequel started up soon after the $40-million-budgeted film made almost double that amount domestically, but with Miller occupied with The Spirit and Rodriguez off on his own adventures, the possibility seemed to fade out of sight. Until now.
IGN recently confirmed with Frank Miller that plans for the film are fully underway. “Sin City 2 is written…It’s mainly a matter of working out the details of the production. I’m hoping to do it with Robert Rodriguez again in the same circumstances that we did the first one, and we could be shooting as soon as April.” Those who followed the first film’s production will know that Miller was heavily involved in the direction of the film (Rodriguez chose to resign from the Director’s Guild, so that Miller could officially be credited as such. Miller was also a producer for the film). On Friday, IESB reported that Rosario Dawson corroborated Miller’s story, and that Dawson would be reprising her role as Gail.
Although the story hasn’t officially reported, Miller has said that the new film will be based on A Dame To Kill For (a prequel to The Hard Goodbye), and will feature stories surrounding Blue Eyes and the Old Town Girls. There will also be and an original story featuring Nancy Callahan (Jessica Alba, in the first film). While I am increasingly apprehensive of Miller’s directorial debut in The Spirit, I still think that Miller and Rodriguez could probably make a great team, and I remain excited for a Sin City sequel. How about you guys?
Update: According to Superherohype, Mickey Rourke, who played Marv in the first film, is currently not interested in starring in the sequel:
No, I’m not interested in that right now. That’s not a reality right now. It’s pissing in the wind. There’s different factions going different directions there. I don’t know. That’s three hours of make up and I’m claustrophobic, so I’m going to have to work something out.
Which “Old Sci-Fi Hero” Should Frank Miller Revitalize?
Posted on Monday, October 20th, 2008 by Peter Sciretta
Frank Miller has been talking with Deborah Del Prete, his Spirit producer, about some possible follow-up movie projects, one of which might be a remake of an old sci-fi property.
“We’re thinking about revitalizing an old sci-fi hero,” Del Prete told Collider.
Unfortunately not much more was revealed. Last May it was rumored before it was quickly debunked that Miller would be doing a Buck Rogers reboot.I know its not a lot of information to go off of, but I’m curious - what movie do you think it could be? And what “Old Sci-Fi Hero” would you like to see Frank Miller revitalize?
Lionsgate has released a new featurette for Frank Miller’s big screen adaptation of Will Eisner’s The Spirit. In “The Origin of The Spirit”, Frank Miller explains where the character came from, the historical significance of Will Eisner and how he became involved with the film adaptation.
You can watch the clip in higher resolution on Yahoo Movies.
Lionsgate has released a new trailer for Frank Miller’s The Spirit. I’m really not sure what to make of this movie. Some of the shots and sequences look incredibly cool, while others look like a bunch of actors dressed up on some green screen soundstage. You have the promise of sexy women, but a PG-13 rating, with a strong bit zany Looney Toons extract. Watch the trailer below, and tell me what you think in the comments!
Official Plot Synopsis: Adapted from the legendary comic strip, THE SPIRIT is a classic action-adventure-romance told by genre-twister FRANK MILLER (creator of 300 and SIN CITY). It is the story of a former rookie cop who returns mysteriously from the dead as the Spirit (Gabriel Macht) to fight crime from the shadows of Central City. His arch-enemy, the OCTOPUS (Samuel L. Jackson) has a different mission: he’s going to wipe out Spirit’s beloved city as he pursues his own version of immortality. The Spirit tracks this cold-hearted killer from Central City’s rundown warehouses, to the damp catacombs, to the windswept waterfront … all the while facing a bevy of beautiful women who either want to seduce, love or kill our masked crusader. Surrounding him at every turn are ELLEN DOLAN (Sarah Paulson), the whip-smart girl-next-door; SILKEN FLOSS (Scarlett Johansson), a punk secretary and frigid vixen; PLASTER OF PARIS (Paz Vega), a murderous French nightclub dancer; LORELEI (Jaime King), a phantom siren; and MORGENSTERN (Stana Katic), a sexy young cop.
Then of course, there’s SAND SAREF (Eva Mendes), the jewel thief with dangerous curves. She’s the love of his life turned bad. Will he save her or will she kill him?
In the vein of BATMAN BEGINS and SIN CITY, THE SPIRIT takes us on a sinister, gut-wrenching ride with a hero who is born, murdered and born again.
The Spirit hits theaters on Christmas Day, 2008.
