Will Eisner’s The Spirit

[MacGuffin]

Frank Miller to write, direct 'Spirit'
Eisner comic comes to bigscreen
Source: Variety

Lionsgate has acquired domestic and U.K. distribution rights to "The Spirit," a live adaptation of the classic Will Eisner comicbook series. Frank Miller wrote the script and will direct.

Deal marks the start of a multipicture pact under which Lionsgate and Odd Lot Entertainment will co-finance and co-produce together. Odd Lot partners Gigi Pritzker and Deborah Del Prete are showing a finished script by Miller and will broker overseas territories during Cannes.

The Spirit is a man who fakes his own death so he can fight crime from the shadows of Central City. His nemesis is the Octopus, who kills those unlucky enough to see his face and is looking to wipe out the entire city. Miller, who first got behind the camera to co-direct "Sin City" with Robert Rodriguez, will make "The Spirit" his first solo helming effort. Miller created the graphic novels that were adapted into the films "Sin City" and "300," and the production start of "The Spirit" will be influenced by the start date of the "Sin City" sequel that Miller will make with Rodriguez.

"Will was a dear friend, a mentor, and translating his vision to the screen will be a labor of love," Miller said."The Spirit" will be produced by Pritzker and Del Prete, along with Lionsgate's Mike Paseornek and Batfilm's Michael Uslan. Benjamin Melniker will exec produce with Steve Maier, and Linda McDonough and F.J. DeSanto are co-producers.

Frank Miller's "vision is perfectly matched to that of Eisner," said Lionsgate Theatrical Films prexy Tom Ortenberg.

Odd Lot is also mobilizing a remake of "The Lavender Hill Mob" with director Dean Parisot, and "Sense and Sensibilidad," a Latino version of the Jane Austen classic to be directed by "Woman on Top" helmer Fina Torres.

[polkablues]

I'm not quite "Tintin"-excited about this one, but I'm excited nonetheless.  Will Eisner was a cool dude, and The Spirit was a cool comic, and Frank Miller is utterly the wrong person to adapt it, but whatever.  The casting will ultimately decide whether this movie works or not.

[modage]

yeah its surprising to me that Frank Millers first solo directorial effort will be adapting a comic that isnt his.  perplexing.

[MacGuffin]

Miller sees Jackson as evil 'Spirt'
Source: Hollywood Reporter

Samuel L. Jackson is in negotiations to star as a mysterious supervillain in the Frank Miller-helmed comic book adaptation "The Spirit" for Lionsgate and Odd Lot Entertainment.

The story centers on Denny Colt, an ambitious young cop murdered in the line of duty who under mysterious circumstances is reborn as the masked mystery man known as the Spirit.

Jackson would play the Spirit's nemesis, the Octopus, a meek lab assistant who reinvents himself as a psychotic nightmare that kills anyone unfortunate enough to see his face. The Octopus' tentacles reach into every aspect of crime in fictitious Central City, a city he plans to wipe out.

Miller said during an introduction of the project at the Festival de Cannes that Jackson is his first choice to play the evil genius who knows the secrets behind the Spirit. He added that he is beginning to mull different actors to play the comic book hero.

Miller, one of the world's most renowned graphic artists, penned the screenplay, which is based on the comic book series created by the late Will Eisner. The film will mark the first solo directing project for Miller, who co-helmed 2005's "Sin City" with Robert Rodriguez. 

Batfilm's Michael Uslan is producing alongside Odd Lot's Deborah Del Prete and Gigi Pritzker.

Lionsgate will distribute the film in the U.S. and the U.K. Odd Lot International is selling foreign territories at Cannes.

[MacGuffin]

'300' Scribe Frank Miller And Samuel L. Jackson Together? Smells Like Team 'Spirit'
Comics demigod says he wants actor to play villian in flick based on newspaper strip.

UNIVERSAL CITY, California — He reinvented Daredevil, breathed new life into the Dark Knight, took audiences down the mean streets of Sin City and, with "300," even managed to make historical fiction seem badass. But the biggest reinvention of Frank Miller's career may wind up being his own, when the comics demigod transforms himself into a big-budget director with "The Spirit," an adaptation of Will Eisner's eponymous newspaper strip.

"I'm flying solo," he said at Sunday's MTV Movie Awards.

It is and it isn't. The Spirit, a.k.a. Denny Colt, is a masked vigilante who, like Batman, fights crime with the blessing of the city's police. Unlike, say, "Sin City," however, "The Spirit" is known not just for its take on crime drama and film noir, but for genre-twisting forays into mystery, horror and romance.

While the end result may look unfamiliar, the process will be the same, Miller revealed, telling MTV News that he plans to shoot with the same green-screen technology he learned from Robert Rodriguez on "Sin City" (for which he was credited as a co-director) and from Zack Snyder on "300."

"It will be similar [to 'Sin City' and '300'] in terms of using the expanding technology that was used in those movies [to visualize the comic world]," Miller said. "But I hope to take things a step further, of course."

He won't have to wait long. Miller will begin lensing the flick sometime later this year.

"It's coming together really well — the script's all written, and we're going to get working on storyboarding and all the preproduction," he said, indicating that many of the shots in the movie will be taken directly from Eisner's comic panels. "I'm going to be doing a lot of [supplemental] drawing in the next few months."

After which comes casting, which Miller was hoping to get a head start on thanks to his presence at the Movie Awards.

"I would love for [Samuel L.] Jackson to be the Octopus in the movie, the chief villain," he said, looking around for the "Pulp Fiction" star. "He's in talks [and] I sure hope to [see him here tonight]."

[polkablues]

"The Spirit," an adaptation of Will Eisner's eponymous newspaper strip.

Do they not know what "eponymous" means?

[MacGuffin]

'Spirit' moves Frank Miller
Graphic novelist preps first solo directing outing
Source: Variety

Frank Miller had long since sworn off Hollywood when Robert Rodriguez finagled him into co-directing "Sin City," an adaptation of the film noir-inspired storyteller's own graphic novel series.

Miller had been burned before. In the late '80s, fans of his visionary work on the "Daredevil" and "Batman" comics invited him to pen a "RoboCop" sequel. "What I learned there is that your screenplay is a fire hydrant with an awful lot of dogs lined up behind it," he told Esquire earlier this year. Disgusted with what became of his work on the second and third "RoboCop" movies, Miller retreated back to graphic novels, telling stories in which he could maintain creative control.

But "Sin City" rekindled his interest in filmmaking and appealed to Miller's visually expressive style. He even granted Zack Snyder permission to adapt his Spartan battle epic "300," the runaway success of which sent Miller's stock skyrocketing with studios. "It took a lot for me to be convinced that ("300") wouldn't have a happy ending slapped on it," Miller tells Variety.

After his experience with Rodriguez, Miller figured he might give filmmaking another try.

"The fear is fading," he says, remembering his co-director's advice on "Sin City." "Rodriguez said: 'Don't be nervous. All the stuff you've done throughout your career has been the same thing you're doing now -- you're just using different tools.'"

But rather than translate another of his own projects, Miller latched on to the idea of adapting a friend's comicbook hero instead. He chose Will Eisner's "The Spirit," assured that he intimately understood the direction of the late author's creative compass (Eisner died in 2005).

"I want to do him proud," Miller says. "It's true to the Will Eisner that I know, and I've been telling everybody working on this movie that the final film should feel like it was fun to draw."

When tasked with selecting the right hook from 12 years of "The Spirit" comics, Miller embraced an old favorite. "It's the story of Sand Saref," he says, referring to a plot that first ran in newspapers on Jan. 8, 1950, full of danger-laced romance, espionage and early germ-warfare elements. "It's about the first love of Spirit's life, who has turned to a life of crime, and he has to bring her to justice."

The choice holds special significance for Miller, who has cited Saref as an inspiration for the popular Elektra character he created for the "Daredevil" comic.

But movies have also distanced Miller from his graphic-novel roots. While his film career blossoms, a number of comicbook projects have slipped through the cracks, namely "Holy Terror, Batman" which pits the Caped Crusader against Al Qaeda.

"This movie career just sort of plopped into the middle of it," he says. "One hundred twenty pages are inked, and after 'The Spirit,' I'm going to come in and finish it before any more directing."

But that hasn't stopped rumors of other Miller film projects from catching fire.

Variety reported Miller's involvement with the Raymond Chandler adaptation "Trouble Is My Business," and Warner is prepping Miller's "Ronin" for "Stomp the Yard's" Sylvain White to direct. As for a possible "Sin City" sequel, Miller says he and Rodriguez are merely waiting for the right time.

"We have a script and an ideal cast in mind," Miller says. "It's based on the graphic novel 'A Dame to Kill For.' "

For the moment, Miller remains focused on "The Spirit." "I've been writing every word of it myself and storyboarding every frame," he says. "This is a real work of love, and it's become my life completely."

[Pubrick]

For the moment, Miller remains focused on "The Spirit." "I've been writing every word of it myself and storyboarding every frame," he says. "This is a real work of love, and it's become my life completely."

that's pretty cool. in a miyazaki way. cept dude's not that old.

[MacGuffin]

Gabriel Macht to star in 'Spirit'
Sony picks up rights to comicbook adaptation
Source: Variety

Writer-director Frank Miller has tapped Gabriel Macht to star in "Will Eisner's The Spirit," the Miller-scripted adaptation of the classic Eisner comicbook series.

Shooting on the pic co-financed by Lionsgate and Odd Lot Entertainment begins in October for release in 2009. Odd Lot partners Gigi Pritzker and Deborah Del Prete produce.

The Bronx-born Macht was most recently seen in "The Good Shepherd" and just wrapped the Dominic Sena-directed "Whiteout," in which he stars opposite Kate Beckinsale.

Separately, Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions Group has picked up several overseas territories for "Will Eisner's The Spirit" from Odd Lot Intl.

Sony will distribute the comicbook adaptation, Miller's first solo directing effort, in France, Germany, Italy, Scandinavia and wide swaths of Latin America. Lionsgate is distributing the pic Stateside and in the U.K. (Daily Variety, May 16).

Macht will play the title character, a man who has faked his own death so he can battle crime from the shadows of Central City. He runs up against the Octopus, a villain who's bent on wiping out the entire city and kills anyone unlucky enough to see his face.

Miller also wrote the graphic novel that was turned into "300" and is working with "Sin City" co-director Robert Rodriguez on a sequel to that film before he turns his hand to Eisner's tale.

For "The Spirit," he insisted that actors who wanted the starring role audition, and Macht won the job in the room.

"We think Gabriel has a devilishly charming quality, and the dry wit that embodies the Spirit, and we wanted to do this with someone who can embody this character for the next few years, because we anticipate we'll be making more than one Spirit movie," said Lionsgate prexy of film production Mike Paseornek.

[modage]

son of Stephen Macht, aka the dad from Monster Squad.

[MacGuffin]

It's a triple feature for Johansson
Source: Hollywood Reporter

Scarlett Johansson has lined up a series of roles that will see her moving quickly from modern relationships to comic strip noir to costume drama.

Johansson has joined the all-star cast of New Line Cinema's ensemble comedy "He's Just Not That Into You," which she will shoot first before then materializing as a femme fatale in "Will Eisner's The Spirit," being directed by Frank Miller for Odd Lot Entertainment and Lionsgate.

In the winter, she will don a crown for "Mary Queen of Scots," to which she's has been attached to some time. Johansson becomes the latest actor to book back-to-back-to-back roles in anticipation of a possible strike.

In "Into You," Johansson will play a pilates instructor/aspiring singer who has an affair with a married man and hopes that he will leave his wife for her.

She joins the already cast Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Connelly, Bradley Cooper, Kevin Connolly, Justin Long, Ginnifer Goodwin and Drew Barrymore in the movie of interconnecting story arcs dealing with the challenges of reading or misreading human behavior.

Ken Kwapis is directing the movie, which Barrymore and Nancy Juvonen are producing via their Flower Films banner. Production executives Michele Weiss and Michael Disco are overseeing for New Line.

For "Spirit," Miller's adaptation of the classic Eisner film noir comic strip series, Johansson is in final negotiations to play a dangerous beauty named Silk N. Floss. Eisner's strip was known for its women with dangerous curves, and Miller is intent on keeping that tradition. Floss is a sexy and intelligent secretary with a vindictive instinct that makes her the perfect accomplice to the Octopus (Samuel L. Jackson), an evil mastermind.

Gabriel Macht is playing the title character, a detective who fakes his own death in order to fight crime in Central City as the masked man known as the Spirit. Production is scheduled to start in October, with the film scheduled to be released in 2009.

Odd Lot Entertainment and Lionsgate are production partners on "Spirit," with Lionsgate holding domestic and U.K. rights. Deborah Del Prete and Gigi Pritzker will produce along with Michael Uslan of Batfilm Productions Inc. Batfilm co-founder Benjamin Melniker and Steve Maier are executive producers. Odd Lot's Linda McDonough and Batfilm's F.J. DeSanto serve as co-producers.

[MacGuffin]

Mendes gets in Frank Miller's 'Spirit'
Actress joins Johansson, Jackson in cast
Source: Variety

Eva Mendes will round out the cast for Frank Miller's "The Spirit," joining Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson and Gabriel Macht.

Pic, produced by Lionsgate and Odd Lot, will begin lensing in October at New Mexico's Albuquerque Studios.

Miller wrote the script and will direct the movie, which marks the start of a multipic pact under which Lionsgate and Odd Lot Entertainment will co-finance and co-produce together. Story centers on a rookie cop who fakes his own death so he can fight crime from the shadows.

Lionsgate has domestic and U.K. rights and is scheduled to release the film in 2009.

Odd Lot's Deborah Del Prete and Gigi Pritzker will produce along with Michael Uslan of Batfilm Prods; Batfilm co-founder Benjamin Melniker and Steve Maier are exec producers. Odd Lot's Linda McDonough and Batfilm's F.J. DeSanto co-produce.

Mendes was most recently in Columbia's "Ghost Rider" and will be seen next in Columbia's "We Own the Night." She's currently filming Picturehouse's "The Women."

[MacGuffin]

Miller's 'Spirit' finds love with Paulson
Source: Hollywood Reporter

Sarah Paulson has joined the cast of "Will Eisner's The Spirit," comic auteur Frank Miller's directorial effort featuring the classic comic strip character. Also joining the cast are Dan Lauria, Stana Katic, Johnny Simmons and Louis Lombardi.

Paulson joins leading ladies Eva Mendes and Scarlett Johansson in the film noir about a rookie cop who returns from the dead to fight crime as the Spirit from the shadows of Central City. However, while Mendes and Johansson are playing femme fatales, Paulson is playing the hero's true love, Dr. Ellen Dolan, the police commissioner's daughter.

Gabriel Macht is on board as Denny Colt/the Spirit, and Samuel L. Jackson will play the villainous Octopus.

Lauria (ABC's mini "The Path to 9/11") is playing the police commissioner, while Katic ("Feast of Love") is a rookie cop. Simmons ("Evan Almighty") plays a young Denny Colt, while Lombardi (Fox's "24") will play Phobos, a henchman for the Octopus.

Production will begin in October in New Mexico and will be shot entirely at Albuquerque Studios.

Odd Lot Entertainment's Deborah Del Prete and Gigi Pritzker will produce along with Michael Uslan of Batfilm Prods. Batfilm co-founder Benjamin Melniker and Steve Maier are executive producers. Odd Lot's Linda McDonough and Batfilm's F.J. DeSanto serve as co-producers.

Odd Lot and Lionsgate are production partners on "Spirit," with Lionsgate holding domestic and U.K. rights. It is scheduled to release the film in 2009.

Paulson was nominated for a Golden Globe earlier this year for her work on NBC's "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip."

[MacGuffin]

Pair joining 'Spirit' squad
Vega, King added to cast of comic adaptation
Source: Variety

Paz Vega and Jamie King have joined the cast of "Will Eisner's The Spirit," co-produced by Lionsgate and Odd Lot Entertainment.

"The Spirit" is directed by Frank Miller (writer/co-director of "Sin City" and author of the graphic novel "300") based on his own adaptation. The action-adventure centers on a rookie cop who returns from the dead to fight crime from the shadows.

Vega will play the knife-wielding Plaster of Paris, and King will portray Lorelei, a phantom siren.

The duo joins Scarlett Johansson, Eva Mendes, Samuel L. Jackson, Gabriel Macht, Sarah Paulson, Dan Lauria, Stana Katic, Johnny Simmons and Louis Lombardi. Principal photography begins today in New Mexico.

Lionsgate has U.S. and U.K. rights and plans to release the film on Jan. 16, 2009. Odd Lot principals Deborah Del Prete and Gigi Pritzker are producing along with Michael Uslan of Batfilm Prods.; Batfilm co-founder Benjamin Melniker and Steven Maier are exec producers, with Odd Lot's Linda McDonough and Batfilm/Comic Book Movies' F.J. DeSanto as co-producers.

Vega's in pre-production on "The Six Wives of Henry Lefay."

[MacGuffin]

Lionsgate Loves Frank Miller's Spirit
Source: Superhero Hype!

Superhero Hype! has learned that Lionsgate is really digging what writer/director Frank Miller is doing with Will Eisner's The Spirit. They've already signed him for two sequels to the graphic novel adaptation and from what the studio has seen, are expecting it to be a blockbuster when the action-adventure opens on January 16, 2009.

"The Spirit" tells the visceral, action-packed story of a man (Gabriel Macht) who fakes his own death and fights crime from the shadows of Central City. The Octopus (Samuel L. Jackson) -- who kills anyone unfortunate enough to see his face -- has a different mission: he's going to wipe out the entire city. 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.

Scarlett Johansson, Eva Mendes, Sarah Paulson, Paz Vega, Jamie King, Dan Lauria, Stana Katic, Johnny Simmons and Louis Lombardi co-star.