THE SPIRIT (FILM)

'''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 October 2007. ''The Spirit'' is slated to be released on January 16 2009.^[1]

Contents

Premise

Cast

Production

Marketing

Release

References

External links

Premise

Writer-director Frank Miller described the main character:
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 Sand Saref 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]

Cast

★ 'Gabriel Macht' as 'The Spirit', a man who fakes his own death so he can fight crime in Central City from the shadows. Miller had required actors who wanted the starring role to audition, and Macht was able to attain the role in August 2007.¹³

★ 'Samuel L. Jackson' as 'The Octopus', a villain who plans to wipe out all of Central City and will kill anyone unlucky enough to see his face.¹³ Jackson was Miller's first choice for the role and was cast in May 2007.^[4]

★ 'Scarlett Johansson' as 'Silken Floss', a femme fatale secretary and accomplice to the Octopus.^[5]

★ 'Eva Mendes' as 'Sand Saref'.^[6]

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.^[7] 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''.^[8] In April 2005, comic book writer Jeph Loeb was hired to adapt ''The Spirit'' for the big screen,^[9] 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.⁷ 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."^[10] Miller plans to film ''The Spirit'' using the same digital background technology that was used for ''Sin City'' and ''300''.^[11] The film would also copy specific shots from the comic, similar to ''Sin City''.²
In February 2007, Miller completed the first draft of the screenplay, and began work on a second draft. Principal photography was initially slated to begin in late spring 2007.¹⁰ Miller also plans to begin filming ''Sin City 2'' in late spring,^[12] but Uslan indicated that filming for ''The Spirit'' will begin before Miller starts ''Sin City 2''.³ Following the casting of Gabriel Macht as The Spirit in August 2007, filming was re-slated for the following October.^[13] It will take place in Albuquerque Studios in New Mexico.^[14]

Marketing

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'',^[15] though Miller was unable to attend due to recuperation from hip and leg injuries. 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

Release

Lionsgate will distribute ''The Spirit'' in the United States and the United Kingdom. Sony Pictures will distribute the film in France, Germany, Italy, Scandinavia, and parts of Latin America. The film is slated to be released in 2009.¹³

References

1. New Dates for Hitman and The Spirit
2. NYCC 07: The Spirit
3. ''The Spirit'' Panel at NY Comic-Con '07
4. Miller sees Jackson as evil 'Spirit'
5. It's a triple feature for Johansson
6. Mendes moved to join 'Spirit'
7. NYCC, XTRA: "WILL EISNER’S THE SPIRIT" PANEL
8. Odd Lot, Batfilm join forces for 'Spirit'
9. Loeb will get into 'The Spirit'
10. Odd job for Miller
11. Exclusive: Frank Miller Talks ''The Spirit''
12. Miller: ''Sin 2'' Is Ready To Go
13. Gabriel Macht to star in ‘Spirit’: Sony picks up rights to comicbook adaptation
14. Mendes gets in Frank Miller's 'Spirit'
15. NYCC ANNOUNCES MORE SPECIAL GUESTS; IMPORTANT DEADLINES

External links

★ Video interview with ''The Spirit '' producers at IGN

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