The Spirit (film)
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The Spirit | |
---|---|
Directed by | Frank Miller |
Produced by | Michael Uslan |
Written by | Frank Miller (screenplay) Will Eisner (comic) |
Starring | TBA |
Release date(s) | TBA |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
IMDb profile |
The Spirit is a live-action film adaptation in pre-production based on the 1940s newspaper strip The Spirit, created by Will Eisner. Frank Miller is attached to write and direct the film adaptation. Filming is slated to begin in late spring 2007. A release date has yet to be announced.
Contents |
[edit] Premise
Writer-director Frank Miller described the main character:
“ | The character has a terrifying side to him. This is a man who’s died and come back to life. So it twists into fantasy. And of course there are tons of women in it. There have to be — it’s The Spirit. They’re all in love with him, and he’s in love with all of them. You might say he’s a bit of a slut.[1] | ” |
The film will not be an origin story, but will immediately start following the adventures of The Spirit.[2] The film will also be more contemporary than the '40s and '50s era of the strip and also aim for a "timeless feel". The protagonist will be involved in a love triangle with San Serif and Ellen Dolan, the daughter of Central City's Commissioner Dolan. The controversial character Ebony White will not make an appearance in the film.[3]
[edit] Production
In the early 1990s, producer Michael Uslan obtained the rights to Will Eisner's 1940s newspaper strip The Spirit for a live-action film adaptation. The producer promised Eisner that he would not permit anyone who "didn't get it" to work on the project. Two ideas pitched to Uslan were to put The Spirit in a costume and to have The Spirit really be a resurrected dead man that possessed superpowers.[4] In July 2004, financier Odd Lot Entertainment acquired the rights to the film. Odd Lot's producers Gigi Pritzker and Deborah Del Pete began a collaboration with Uslan, working at Batfilm Productions, to adapt the story. Eisner, who was protective of the rights to his creations, said that he believed in the producers to faithfully adapt The Spirit.[5] In April 2005, comic book writer Jeph Loeb was hired to adapt The Spirit for the big screen,[6] but the writer eventually left the project. Later in April, Uslan approached Frank Miller at Will Eisner's memorial service in New York several weeks after Miller's Sin City was released in theaters, interested in initiating the adaptation technique with Miller's film for The Spirit.[3] Miller had initially hesitated, doubting his skill in adapting The Spirit, but ultimately embraced his first solo project as writer-director.[4] In July 2006, Miller was officially confirmed to write and direct the film adaptation for The Spirit. Miller announced that he was putting together a film treatment that included large parts of The Spirit strip panels. Miller described the project, "I intend to be extremely faithful to the heart and soul of the material, but it won't be nostalgic. It will be much scarier than people expect."[7] Miller plans to film The Spirit using the same digital background technology that was used for Sin City and 300.[8] The film would also copy specific shots from the comic, similar to Sin City.[2] The director also stated that he had an actor in mind for the lead role, but did not name him in fear of destroying the prospect.[8]
In February 2007, Miller completed the first draft of the screenplay, and began work on a second draft.[1] Principal photography is slated to begin in late spring 2007.[7] Miller also plans to begin filming Sin City 2 in late spring,[9] but Uslan indicated that filming for The Spirit will begin before Miller starts Sin City 2.[3]
[edit] Promotion
At the New York Comic-Con on February 24, 2007, director/writer Frank Miller and producer Michael Uslan was scheduled to present a panel for The Spirit,[10] though Miller was unable to attend due to recuperation from hip and leg injuries.[1] Instead, Uslan, fellow producer F.J. DeSanto, and former The Spirit publisher Denis Kitchen presented a panel at which they described the history of the film and the film's progress.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Nisha Gopalan. "With NY Comic Con kicking off, it's (Frank) Miller time", Entertainment Weekly, 2007-02-23. Retrieved on 2007-02-24.
- ^ a b Chris Carle. "NYCC 07: The Spirit", IGN, 2007-02-24. Retrieved on 2007-02-25.
- ^ a b c d Edward Douglas. "The Spirit Panel at NY Comic-Con '07", SuperHeroHype.com, 2007-02-25. Retrieved on 2007-02-26.
- ^ a b Justin Jordan. "NYCC, XTRA: "WILL EISNER’S THE SPIRIT" PANEL", Comic Book Resources, 2007-02-25. Retrieved on 2007-02-26.
- ^ Michael Fleming. "Odd Lot, Batfilm join forces for 'Spirit'", Variety, 2004-07-22. Retrieved on 2007-02-13.
- ^ Ian Mohr. "Loeb will get into 'The Spirit'", Variety, 2005-04-05. Retrieved on 2007-02-13.
- ^ a b Pamela McClintock, Ben Fritz. "Odd job for Miller", Variety, 2006-07-18. Retrieved on 2007-02-13.
- ^ a b Eric Moro. "Exclusive: Frank Miller Talks The Spirit", IGN, 2006-11-09. Retrieved on 2007-02-13.
- ^ Ian Spelling. "Miller: Sin 2 Is Ready To Go", Sci Fi Wire, 2007-02-23. Retrieved on 2007-02-26.
- ^ "NYCC ANNOUNCES MORE SPECIAL GUESTS; IMPORTANT DEADLINES", Comic Book Resources, 2007-01-29. Retrieved on 2007-02-13.