"The Spirit" Teaser Gives Just A Taste Of The Goods (io9.com)

Even the few moments of footage managed to captivate the entire audience, from the ringing phone and the cat-strewn floor to the rooftop acrobatics and the typically Miller-esque monologue.

Miller said, 'I tried to translate [Eisner's] vision into a modern film. Look for his touch, you'll see it. For purists it will be a bit of a shock, but I have to say it's a hell of a ride." Actress Eva Mendes was also along for the screening and took a bit of offense when MTV host Kurt Loder accused her of being one of Eisnner's many 'hot babes' to which Mendes replied, "Hell no, I play a jewel thief who has been married 15 times and has killed all of them. Does that sound like a hot chick?" Well, yeah actually.

Click here to keep reading io9's excellent coverage; don't miss the great comments from readers at the end of the post!

Sunken Spirit (Living Between Wednesdays)

Add blogger Rachelle Goguen to the growing list of Will Eisner fans who have "concerns" about the direction of the "Spirit" movie. Of course, every comics-to-film translation I can remember has gone through this, but it makes for interesting conversation and debate:

So I, like many comic fans, have some...concerns...about the upcoming film based on The Spirit, being made by Frank Miller. Basically: I think it is going to suck. Every time I see or hear anything about it, I get cranky. But this quote, from a Newsarama article, is the most bothersome thing I've read yet: Miller later directs a scene from near the film’s finale in which the Spirit delivers a powerful right cross to the chin of The Octopus, played by Samuel L. Jackson. “From the start, I wanted Sam Jackson to play The Octopus because I’ve always wanted to work with Sam Jackson,” Miller says. “It seems to me he’s always had a part like this inside waiting to get out.” The villain, who famously never showed his face in Eisner’s comics, will be slightly less mysterious in the film. “I knew I couldn’t get away with two hours of a guy whose face you never see,” Miller said. WHAT?! The Octopus has existed as a character for almost seven decades. In all that time his face has never been revealed. Now Frank Miller gets to decide what he looks like? And it's Samuel L Jackson?!

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On Set With Frank Miller and "Will Eisner's The Spirit" (Comic Book Resources)

by Andy Khouri, Staff Writer
Posted: November 15, 2007

"This is the single greatest opportunity I've ever had as an actor, I can't even describe how fortunate I feel to be here, it's mind-bloggling" said Gabriel Macht, the performer who'll bring to life on screen one of the comics page's most venerable masked, crimefighting heroes in "Will Eisner's The Spirit." CBR News was privileged to speak with the actor earlier this week on the 27th day of shooting on the film's set in Albuquerque, NM, where Macht had just finished shooting a scene in which he as Denny Colt -- aka The Spirit -- utterly clobbers his archenemy The Octopus (in the form of Samuel L. Jackson).

Seeing the action with one's own eyes, it is impossible to tell where or when in the film the scene takes place. The soundstage at Albuquerque Studios is occupied by little more than a handful of production staff; a camera; two actors; one or two reporters, obviously; and a startlingly enormous amount of green screens surrounding the gymnasium-sized space in all directions. Fortunately, there are a number of storyboards pinned up around set that give guests a clearer picture of what's going on in the scene. Even more fortunately, they're all drawn by Frank Miller.

Set for a January 2009 release by Lionsgate Entertainment, "The Spirit" is written and directed by Frank Miller, himself one of modern comics' most revered icons and a devoted fan, protege and dear friend of Will Eisner. "It's a real privilege [to be directing 'The Spirit']," Miller told CBR News. "I'm in love with the material and doing my best to be fair to it." "This is the single greatest opportunity I've ever had as an actor, I can't even describe how fortunate I feel to be here, it's mind-bloggling" said Gabriel Macht, the performer who'll bring to life on screen one of the comics page's most venerable masked, crimefighting heroes in "Will Eisner's The Spirit." CBR News was privileged to speak with the actor earlier this week on the 27th day of shooting on the film's set in Albuquerque, NM, where Macht had just finished shooting a scene in which he as Denny Colt -- aka The Spirit -- utterly clobbers his archenemy The Octopus (in the form of Samuel L. Jackson).




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Samuel L. Jackson on The Spirit Movie: AintItCoolNews.com

There is always great stuff to be found on the AintItCoolNews.com site and here's a great example: Quint's interview with Samuel L. Jackson, who will play "The Octopus" in Frank Miller's film version of "Will Eisner's The Spirit."

You can read the interview in its entirety here.

Quint: Another comic book that you’re being mentioned with is THE SPIRIT, that Frank Miller is doing.

Samuel L. Jackson: Hmm… Yeah…

Quint: Yeah?

[Samuel L. Jackson chuckles]

Samuel L. Jackson: Yeah, which will probably be fun actually... They’re still in the process of trying to cast a bunch of people for the film. I don’t know if I’m the only person that is doing it or not. I think I heard the other day that they had somebody to play SPIRIT.

Quint: Yeah, Gabriel Macht.

Samuel L. Jackson: Oh, OK. So it looks like it’s coming together and I’m looking forward to doing that.

Quint: Have you met with Frank yet?

Samuel L. Jackson: Frank? Yeah, I’ve talked to Frank a few times.

Quint: He’s a real cool guy. I’ve had the chance to talk to him a couple of times.

Samuel L. Jackson: Yeah, he’s amazingly cool.

Quint: He’s pretty much everything you would expect upon meeting him and he’s just so smart and knows what he is doing. I’m really looking forward to what he does with the movie, especially since he was mentored by Will Eisner.

Samuel L. Jackson: We’re hoping to just have a really great time shooting this film. I’m just looking forward to see who else he can get in it and there should be a lot of people attracted to it, because of the nature of the project and the nature of the people that are doing it, so hopefully that will happen.