Some journos went down to the set of THE SPIRIT, which is being shot right now by Frank Miller down in Albuquerque, At Newsarama, Tom McLean steals a few words with Miller :
“That was The Spirit hunting down The Octopus and going through some of his snappers on the way,” Miller said after approving the shot.
This is Miller’s first time directing a film solo, after co-helming the adaptation of his own comic book, Sin City, with Robert Rodriguez. Miller says he’s having a ball bringing The Spirit to life. “I knew from working with Robert Rodriguez that virtually anything was possible, and certainly with (senior visual effects supervisor) Stu Maschwitz, I’ve learned some brand new things.”
Superhero Hype has a long report with much detail:
To some, Gabriel Macht might not seem like the best visual match for Denny Colt, being that he’s known for his blonde hair, but it’s been dyed jet black, and unlike Eisner’s comics where the Spirit’s coat is seemingly colored blue, Macht wears a solid black coat, pants and hat with a white shirt and a bright red tie, which really stands out against the black outfit. Later, we’d get to meet with him for a few minutes and up close, you can see that the costume is ripped in places, at least at the end of the movie after fighting with The Octopus, giving it even more of the look of Eisner’s raggedy take on the character, who rarely looked as pristine as Macht. We could also see that his mask seemed to be painted on his face, although it was just wafer thin and attached to his face with spirit gum. Macht really looked great and any diehard Spirit fan should be happy with this unconventional choice. Macht considers the role one of the greatest opportunities as an actor and he felt that it was his “absurdity” that came across in his first meeting with Miller that got him the part since it lent itself to the character’s sense of humor.
Although the movie is being shot in green screen, Miller says it won’t look like SIN CITY or 300, which sounds feasible. The green screen process is a very economical way to make movies that have a distinctive look — get humans to do the subtle stuff, and go to town in the backgrounds.
The film opens in January 2009.
Is that Frank Miller or the Shadow?
ha ha, Sean, I was just thinking the same thing! Mike Kaluta going to do a cameo also?
Man…me too! Lamont Cranston reincarnated!
Here’s hoping Miller directs a winner. If anyone can successfully reproduce the atmospheric nuances of Eisner’s [i]Spirit[/i] strip, it’s probably Miller.
I have little faith in Miller as a director. Duidn’t he direct some robocop clunker?
Miller wrote Robocop 2, but I don’t think he directed it. That said. I think Sin City may have convinced him that he has skills he doesn’t posses. Sin City was all Robert Rodriguez and giving Miller a co-directers credit was just RR being nice.
Robocop 2 was apparently half of Miller’s original script, with the other half’s remaing story and concepts farmed out to the bonkers Robocop 3. That’s all I know. I know little more about Robocop lore.
Miller has never rested on his laurels as a creator. He continues to experiment and develop new skill sets — growing and evolving. I find such a quality in any creator admirable — because even when such risk-takers stumble, there’s always a chance that the next time around they just might hit a home run.
Face it, Miller, like any number of 1980s or 1990s once-hot artists, could have hunkered down in a comfortable niche and milked it until he became trivia question. Instead, he keeps pushing the envelope and reinventing himself.
Frank-ly (pun intended), I hope he knocks it out of the park with the Spirit movie.
MEN, in Miller’s The Spirit!!!! Absurd! I consider this project, unrealistic. More Babes please!!! *end sarcasm*
Will this one have Jessica Alba pole-dancing too?