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..”
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.
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.
Posted on Friday, September 26th, 2008 by Peter Sciretta
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.
Posted on Friday, September 19th, 2008 by Peter Sciretta
UGO has two new posters for Frank Miller’s The Spirit. It’s amazing how well the marketing department at Lionsgate has been able to promote this movie. You would have no indication from any of the production photos, posters or trailers, that the film is nearly as horrible as the clips presented at Comic Con.
Posted on Wednesday, September 17th, 2008 by Peter Sciretta
/Film reader Christopher M sent over these new photos from Frank Miller’s The Spirit, which hits theaters on December 25th 2008. I’ll admit, some of these photos look really bad ass, but I’m still not convinced due to the horrible showing Lionsgate had at Comic Con. More after the jump.
Minutes after the panel for Frank Miller’s green screen opus,The Spirit, was over at Comic Con, the Internet exploded like a million snarky bottle rockets, sending up enlightened texts like, “The Spirit, LOL, looks like Sin Shitty,” and the trusty “EPIC FAIL!” Yes, on that marvelous day, the vista view enjoyed from the confines of Twitter was like sipping a Corona inside the Green Zone. Well, the Con footage has now popped (pooped?) up on YouTube. I might as well let the Slashfilmbot take over from here. Samuel L. Jackson caps off this clip by declaring, “C’mon! Toilets are always funny.” Polite fanboy laughter only adds to the cringe factor, like a really bad SNL skit.
Death Race and Crank star Jason Statham wants to be in a big screen reboot of the popular Marvel character Daredevil. But Statham doesn’t want to play the baddie Bullseye, he wants to take over as the blind man behind the red mask - Daredevil, who was played by Ben Affleck in Mark Steven Johnson’s 2003 film. Frank Miller, who is credited for adding new depths to the comic book series in the 1970’s, has also given his approval: “I think he should be Daredevil too,” Miller told the LATimes.
So now that Marvel has their own production company, how about the Daredevil movie that should have happened? Hire Statham and a good director who will take the material seriously. But honestly, I’d much rather see the comic book series as primetime television series (possibly on HBO/showtime). I think Matt Murdock’s court cases would work great as a small screen aside to the red devil’s fight with the mob.
At the Watchmen panel, Zack Snyder expressed his love for Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns, in response to a question about the more mature direction of comic book adaptations.
“There are a lot of other graphic novels out there, but I would love to see Frank Miller’s Dark Knight made into a movie, but that’s just me.”
Later at the Entertainment Weekly Visionaries panel, Frank 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. Now I know this is very speculative, but even Batman producer Michael Uslan has already expressed interest in a possible adaptation.
Miller’s four-issue comic book miniseries, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, was first published in 1986. It has since become one of the most popular graphic novel/trade paperbacks of all time. It reintroduced Batman to the general public as the psychologically dark character of his original 1930s conception, and helped to usher in an era of “grim and gritty” superheroes from the mid-1980s to mid-1990s.
Set 20 years in the future, criminals run amok and a gang called the Mutants terrorize Gotham City as superheros are a thing of the past. Bruce Wayne has been retired from crime fighting for ten years following the death of Jason Todd, the second Robin. Despite Wayne’s funding the rehabilitation of Harvey Dent (Two-Face), Dent returns to crime. Wayne dons the Batman costume again and apprehends Dent, but the populace debates whether Batman is a savior.
But with Nolan expected to return for a third chapter in the series, might/could Warner Bros also launch a secondary Batman film? This practice is common in the comic book industry, where top franchise characters usually have a few titles running simultaneously, in addition to the occasional one-shot mini-series/graphic novel… Also, is Zack Snyder the guy to bring The Dark Knight Returns to the big screen?
At the Watchmen panel, Zack Snyder expressed his love for Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns, in response to a question about the more mature direction of comic book adaptations.
