Frank Miller has written a big screen adaptation of Will Eisner's classic comic series
The Spirit which centers on Denny Colt who fakes his own death to fight crime in the gritty urban setting of Central City. The script has been acquired by Lionsgate for American distribution and Miller is set to direct. Odd Lot International(UK) is selling overseas distribution rights in Cannes.
After co-directing with Robert Rodriguez on
Sin City, Miller has stated in regard to the adaptation of his graphic novel 300, "This, I hope, will be the last property of mine that isn't directed by me". Samuel L. Jackson is in discussion to star as the villain, the Octopus.
The Spirit will be Miller's debut as a solo director after his co-direction of
Sin City.
It will be interesting to see how Miller approaches Eisner's original material and how well he can come to terms with directing solo. Whatever one feels about Frank Miller's work or personal beliefs, he's undeniably single-minded in his vision and being no stranger to controversy has been a catalyst of discussion across several forums.
The downside is that as Miller asks people to question things, some of his fanbase can't seem to extend this to Miller himself. Still, that's common across all "fans" who can't seem to help sporting rosy tinted glasses in regard to their idols. Anyone who believes that any person is incapable of doing any wrong, is a fool. Likewise, the same is true of those who feel anyone in the world is incapable of any good.
Thus far on SiouxWIRE, I've stressed the importance of having a broad range of artistic influences across mediums and class, but there's also something to be said of
not surrounding yourself with people who think along the same lines as you do either politically, spiritually, or morally. It's impossible to have perspective when your lens is perpetually pointing in one direction.
Returning to
The Spirit, I have been reading Frank Miller's work for just over two decades and having seen several screen adaptations, I think this extremely gifted visual/narrative artist is well overdue for his time in the director's chair and I'm looking forward to seeing the results.
Links:
The Spirit (official page)Daily Telegraph Interview(Miller)LA Times interview(Miller)willeisner.comThe Guardian ObituaryNew York Times ObituaryWill Eisner WikiFrank Miller WikiHollywood Reporter - Jackson casting
Detail from Neujahr (2005)
This is an interesting little morphing animation of female portraits over 500 years of western art. The effect is quite disturbing.
Maya Deren was in the vanguard of experimental film from her debut in 1943, Meshes of the Afternoon to her death in 1961. She continues to be an influence to contemporary experimental filmmakers including David Lynch. Setting herself in opposition to Hollywood, she often criticised studio practices feeling it was an obstacle to the development of cinematic art.
In 1953, Stanley Kubrick took $3900 of his savings to finance his first film, "The Day of the Fight". It's a short documentary about middleweight boxer Walter Cartier for whom Kubrick had already documented for Look in a photo assignment titled "Prizefighter Walter Cartier". He later sold the film to RKO pictures for a profit of $100.
Gra Cra is a Japanese illustrator with an interesting portfolio of imagery chock full of ideas. See Gra Cra's website HERE.
How important was Ringo as a foundation for the work you did in The Tale of How? What did you learn while working on it? And is Ringo set in The Household?
Jerome Olivier's "Missing Pages" first appeared in 2005 though not in its intended form. After having taken a break from production, he was horrified to find the decision had been made to release the existing "preview" version. In time, with the support of a friend, he returned to the project completing the material to his own specifications for presentation on the festival circuit and compilation DVDs.
Since graduating from the Animation MA course at the Royal College of Art in 1990, Run Wrake has created an impressive collection of short films, commercials, titles, and music videos as well as regularly contributing illustrations to NME magazine.
Following on from my previous post, this is Part 2 of Lasse Gjertsen's video for Giovanni Sollima's performance of Sogno ad Occhi Aperti. It's set in the most surreal and beautiful manicured forest outside Milan. It also continues the trend of smoking musicians. Enjoy.
Chris Burden is a performance artist best known for his works where he challenged the dividing line between audience and art often putting himself in danger to do so. For his most well known performance, Shoot, an assistant from 15 feet shot him in the arm. In another, Trans-fixed, he was nailed onto a Volkswagon beetle. In Through the Night Softly, he slithered shirtless across broken glass which was strangely broadcast on television as advertising(see the clip below).
I'm afraid this is more advertising, but there is something incredibly captivating about these surreal and sometimes sinister commercials. From Japan, these spots advertise Tarako's noodles and cod roe(eggs) and have become something of a national obsession. It isn't entirely new though it does have incredible staying power.
Bridget Riley, Blaze 3(1963)
