Frank Miller on Transferring 'The Spirit' to the Big Screen

Sin City and 300 creator Frank Miller returns to theaters this December, behind the camera for the adaptation of Will Eisner's The Spirit. Miller knew his fellow comic book writer very well and, of course, he knows The Spirit well, too. The influential comic was first released in 1940, and when the time came for Miller to direct his first solo project, he chose to show that influence by bringing The Spirit up to date.He tells the Los Angeles Times, "I adored Will Eisner and took a real 'Don't tread on me' approach when I came to this movie. At the same time I was willing to tread all over it." That sounds like double speak, but Miller says Eisner would approve of using the green screen approach he employed and the structural changes to the story he made along the way. "I knew Will always wanted to do something fresh and new, not some stodgy old thing that aspires to be revered," he says. "I don't want anybody to bow to this movie. I want a ripping good yarn. It is not an antique."The film stars Gabriel Macht as Denny Colt aka The Spirit, a crime fighter who has returned from the great beyond to take down the criminal mastermind known asThe Octopus (Samuel L. Jackson). As the Times points out, one of the many alterations Miller has made is giving The Octopus a face; in the comic, he only ever appeared as a pair of gloves. And there's the unlimited appeal The Spirit has to women. He's practically irresistible. Miller claims that's all just part of taking a fresh look at a classic."People have been loving the way comic books have been reaching the screen, but I don't like when everybody drinks the Kool-Aid. I like to shake things up and tell the story the best way possible. And I can tell you firsthand, that's what Will Eisner liked too."The trailers we've seen in support of the film aren't terribly consistent and are clearly reminiscent of Sin City, which could be a really good thing or a really bad thing. We'll know for sure on Christmas, when The Spirit is finally released in theaters.

Comments

[Will]

To me, more than anything, this film is Frank Miller's shot at directorial legitimacy. It's less an attempt to be original, or even short-term successful, but rather a declaration of "Hey, there's a reason why Robert Rodriguez insisted on giving me co-directorial credits on Sin City. Don't believe me? I'll re-make it, all by myself, and call it Spirit this time around."

I'm interested to see how the experiment goes this year, letting these creative writer types (Charlie Kaufman removed from Spike Jonze and Michael Gondry being the other) try their hands behind the lenses while at the same time attempting to coax brilliant performances out of their stars. We all know that Scar-Jo can be equal parts oscar-winner and a block of wood depending on who who director is.

My feeling is that we will have some visually stunning works without much heart.

Still, I can't wait for Synecdoche New York and the Spirit will be fun to chomp on until Watchmen arrives next year...