Frank Miller's BUCK ROGERS Kaput? (Mania.com)

By Rob M. Worley
May 13, 2009
Mania.com
Source: Various

In what appears to be, in part, fallout from the underperformance of Frank Miller's 'The Spirit', Variety reports that Odd Lot Entertainment chief Deborah Del Prete is paring ways with the company after 23 years.

According to Variety's sources, the spectacular crash-and-burn of the comic-based movie is a contributing factor, although Odd Lot CEO Gigi Pritzker denies that it is the sole reason behind the departure. Indeed, Odd Lot has embarked on a multiyear first-look deal with Del Prete's new shingle Coronet Films.

Also contained in the article is mention that Del Prete and Pritzker have "moved off" of plans to have Frank Miller direct the revamp of 'Buck Rogers'. However, that shouldn't be taken as a sign that they're swearing off the comic-creator-turned-filmmaker.

"Frank was a fantastic partner, and while everybody was disappointed the film didn't perform better, it wasn't the end of the world," Pritzker said. "You always try to mitigate risk, but this is a very mercurial business and you take a swing and sometimes you don't hit it. At the end of the day, we'll be OK. Certainly, when things don't go as planned, it presents an opportunity for people to step back and think about where you are going. Deborah and I have been together for 23 years, and we've been fortunate enough to enjoy many triumphs, but we had the desire to go in different directions. We are friends as well as partners and we will continue to do projects together."

The Spirit Movie (The Onion, A.V. Club)

by Tasha Robinson April 28, 2009

Crimes:

• Turning Will Eisner’s iconic series about a heroic Boy Scout type into an overwrought, sexed-up noir version of Frank Miller’s Dark Knight books

• Echoing the all-green-screen, high-contrast, slo-mo-then-sped-up look of 300 and Sky Captain And The World Of Tomorrow, for an aesthetic that looks cheap and shallow

• Having no sense of pacing or momentum

• Giving the actors terrible, cheesy lines, then letting them get away with horrifically flat or cartoonishly emphatic line-readings

Defenders: Writer-director Frank Miller, producer Deborah Del Prete

Tone of commentary: Playful, teasing, collegial, and weirdly at odds with the film’s overwrought, fakey grittiness. Both participants sound like they’re constantly on the verge of laughter, with Del Prete frequently giggling. Their verbal volleying is cheesy, but they’re far more lighthearted and fun to spend time with than the movie is: When Miller turns up in a bit role, Del Prete says “Oh, look at that actor! We had to go very far and wide to find the actor to play this role.” Miller responds “Isn’t that Anthony Hopkins?” Del Prete cracks up. Later, when his character is decapitated, she brings his role up again. Miller says gravely, “Deborah is not a nice woman.” She cackles again and ripostes “I’m lovely.”

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Deborah Del Prete on Superheroes (Conde Naste Portfolio)

"Our society is in a dark place, but these are heroes that save us. You may call Batman, Iron Man and the Spirit antiheroes, but at the end of the day they're protecting us at a time when there's a lot of fear. There's terrorism, there's a war on, and when these comic book heroes began, and when The Spirit was written, there was a war on."

— Deborah Del Prete, executive producer of Frank Miller's Will Eisner's The Spirit movie, due out December 25, 2008. She is quoted in a Conde Nast Portfolio magazine story, "Superheroes Save Hollywood! (Barely.)," by Fred Schruers.

Frank Miller, Don't Read This, Part 7

"To call The Spirit panel the biggest disaster of 2008’s convention is something of an understatement. This thing went off like a stale pop rock. Miller was cranky and unlikable. The producer they wedged between him and Sam Jackson was controlling, overbearing, and utterly annoying. Jackson was given nothing to talk about except the size of his guns, as if we’re all so stupid that the simple fact of him holding a firearm is enough to make anything he’s in automatically good.

"The panel droned on and on and on, while Miller and the annoying producer next to him talked about what a cinematic genius he is, even though he’s only ever directed half a movie. A little humility might have been in order. Instead, we were treated to pre-emptive proclamation’s of Miller’s brilliance, and those who weren’t half-asleep within the first five minutes were eventually treated to never before see clips from the film… which were disastrous."
-- Josh Tyler, writing "Comic Con: The Spirit Panel Bombs" at CinemaBlend.com

Do you have a spirited question for Frank Miller? Or Samuel L. Jackson? (Los Angeles Times)

By Geoff Boucher

11:05 AM PT, Jul 20 2008

I'm going to moderate the panel on "The Spirit" film down at the International Comic-Con Friday (July 25), and I'd like to open up the Hero Complex comments board to any fans who want to post some suggested questions.

There's a lot of excitement about the panel and I know firsthand that there are some surprises planned by Frank Miller, who makes his solo directorial debut with the film, and his close partner in the project, producer Deborah Del Prete.

The hour-long panel begins at 2:45 p.m. at Hall H. In addition to Miller and Del Prete, attendees at this point include cast members Samuel L. Jackson (who portrays the Octopus), Gabriel Macht (Denny Colt/the Spirit) and Jaime King (Lorelei Rox).

(No, Scarlett Johansson and Eva Mendes are NOT part of the panel, due to scheduling issues. It's just as well, really, I would have a hard time putting coherent sentences together if those two and King were all sitting next to me.)

I was in San Francisco a few weeks ago, and visited with Miller and Del Prete and sat in while they worked on the visual effects post-production process, and the movie, much like urban fever-dream of "Sin City," has a striking, hyper-reality to it. That's going to make a lot of fans of "Sin City" (which Miller co-directed, of course, adapting his own comics work) happy, but he already knows that fans who adored the late Will Eisner and his grand, often sentimental work on "The Spirit" are already sharpening their knives. "I'm prepared," Miller told me, "and I'm making the right movie, I know that."