Will Eisner: Portrait of a Sequential Artist on DVD (Scoop)

The acclaimed documentary Will Eisner: Portrait of a Sequential Artist is finally coming to DVD. Written by Comic Book Artist editor Jon B. Cooke, directed by Andrew Cooke, and released by Montilla Pictures, the film explores the life and art of “the godfather of the American comic book.”  

The documentary premiered at the prestigious Tribeca Film Festival and went on to win numerous awards. 

It includes includes interviews with Kurt Vonnegut, Michael Chabon, Jules Feiffer, Art Spiegelman, Frank Miller, Stan Lee, Gil Kane as well as the never-before-heard “Shop Talk” audio tapes featuring Jack Kirby, Harvey Kurtzman, Milton Caniff, Neal Adams, Joe Kubert and others.



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Permanent Damage by Steven Grant (Comic Book Resources)

" Frank Miller's style, in his early DAREDEVIL work, could easily be dismissed as an amalgam of thefts from Will Eisner, Steve Ditko and Gil Kane..."

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The Spirit (Movie Review; The National, Abu Dhabi)

Rating:

By Fatima Mulla

The National
August 24. 2009 6:17PM UAE / August 24. 2009

“Pardon me, but is there a point to all this?” the protagonist laments in one scene and the viewer can’t help but agree. How could 90 minutes be spent watching such a pointless movie? Here’s an explanation of how ludicrous the movie is: The Spirit (Gabriel Macht), a cop brought back from the dead, has an eerie obsession with protecting his city. With his idiosyncratic red tie, black mask and hat, The Spirit is well known around the city – especially among the women. He is also the obsession of his arch enemy, The Octopus (Samuel L Jackson). The hero and villain always put on a “dog-and-pony show” (as the police commissioner likes to put it) both suffering injuries yet always surviving in the end. During the end of a routine brawl, The Octopus appears to know the reason behind this immortality. The Spirit, curious to find out what he really is, searches the hideout of The Octopus to find some answers and end him once and for all. Meanwhile, The Octopus and his accomplice, Silken Floss (Scarlett Johansson), try retrieving an immortal-aiding substance from Sand Saref (Eva Mendes) who just happens to be The Spirit’s old flame. Based on the comic-book series by Will Eisner and produced by the creator of Sin City and 300, this movie, however, is an absolute waste of time with a ridiculous script filled with punning lines that lack humour. The real joke, surely, is the impressive cast. One can’t help but wonder how these actors ever considered taking part in such an ill-conceived story.

Nope, 'The Spirit' movie doesn't work in Zaire, either (Post Online)

All-star cast cannot save story
2009/09/04

BASED on the graphic novel by Will Eisner, this film is a prime example of the film makers spending too much on the visual effects and the cast’s salaries, and not paying enough attention to telling a decent story.

Given that it is directed by Frank Miller, the man behind Sin City and 300, you will know what to expect visually – although real actors are used, it has the feel of reading a graphic novel, complete with all the comic book violence.

Told in film noir style, it focuses on the rivalry between The Spirit (Gabriel Macht) and The Octopus (Samuel L Jackson), two immortals with super powers who regularly beat each other senseless, even if they are unable to kill each other. There’s also a sub-plot involving The Spirit’s childhood sweetheart Sand Seref (Eva Mendes) who has now turned evil and is seeking to get her hands on the Golden Fleece from ancient mythology.

At the same time The Octopus is trying to get the blood of Hercules. Don’t ask why, it doesn’t make much sense.

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Live Blog -THE SPIRIT (Movie)

By Jay Stringer

August 22, 2009

You know the drill. I’m watching a film, and commenting on it as i go.

My spelling will get bad. My grammar will be non existent. But who needs those things, anyway?

I like to do introductions before a live blog. A little context to my history with the character or property. But to be truthful, in this instance its more the creator that i’ve had a long term connection to. Sure, if you’re into noir, hardboiled fiction and comics, you have to love Will Eisner. The man was a visionary, a genius, and a pioneer of the medium. His work with THE SPIRIT still stands as some of the best work done in the funny books, racist wharts and all. BUT for any person of my generation, the name FRANK MILLER carried weight long before WILL EISNER.

I’ve written before of my fragile six year old mind being warped by mr Miller. I’ve never been a fan of THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS, but his BATMAN: YEAR ONE and DAREDEVIL :BORN AGAIN are as good as it gets. I spent a long time arguing that hollywood needed a dose of Miller. Then it got one and……ahem. I know the exact moment i started to lose faith in him. Is was with oe single comic book, BATMAN VS SPAWN. It was bad. And i don’t just mean bad, i mean this thing was almost enough to drive me away from comics. Anywhoo….on with the show.

ROLL CREDITS!!!!

-Hey, it’s a left over Danny Elfman score. Or if it isn’t, it should be.

-Oh no. Scrap that. It was a false alarm. Straight into a flatline on the screen with some creepy music.

-Hey, word to the wise? Anyone who introduces themselves with the words “i am death”, is probably not Death. Especially if she’s in her underwear.

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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."

Lessons from bad movies - "The Spirit" (The Bitter Script Reader)

This weekend I Netflixed a film I knew better than to spend $12 on when it was in wide release - Frank Miller's The Spirit. I'd seen the presentation for this film at last year's Comic Con, where one previewed scene played so horribly to the audience that the producer was practically apologizing for it after running the clip. I knew I shouldn't spend theatre prices on this turkey, but it immediately earned a place in my Netflix queue.

Most of the major critics took their shots at this one back when it first came out, so I'm not going to waste time with a broad review. Also, I've never really followed the Will Eisner comic upon which this is based, so I can't speak too deeply to the film's fidelity to the source material. Still even with the limited exposure I've had to the comics, I can tell that visually, the film looks nothing like Eisner's vision. It looks more like... well... Sin City, which Miller co-directed with Robert Rodriguez.

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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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“You belong to the city, you belong to the night…” (Random Access)

Random Access: Tonight was Date Night. As it was a cold evening, we wound up staying in and watching CSI: and a Redbox movie.

For our movie, we opted for The Spirit. Despite many a bad review, I still wanted to see it and SaraRules, God bless ‘er, was kind enough to indulge me.

Wow.

It was… something. I believe that loonybin88 would refer to it as “a flaming pile of poo.”

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‘The Spirit’ Rocks as Cutting-Edge Retro Ride (DVD Planet)

From DVDPlanet: "I seem to recall critics generally panning “The Spirit” and audiences avoiding it. I just don’t know why. I want a sequel."

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Sucking "The Spirit" Out of Will Eisner's Vision (The Stute)

Image by Steve Rhodes via Flickr

My city screams...for better plot development

Matt Neuteboom

3/20/09

Did you manage to catch a viewing of "Watchmen" while on Spring Break? If you're a Stevens student, that should be an automatic "yes." While I would love to sit down and dissect the ups and downs of that brilliant movie, this week it is my unfortunate privilege to review a different comic book movie: "The Spirit."

I wish "The Spirit" was half as awesome as Watchmen, but the two simply cannot be compared. "The Spirit" is Frank Miller's creative reinterpretation of Will Eisner's post-WWII comic about an ex-detective named Danny Colt who returns from the dead as the superhero The Spirit (Gabriel Macht). The Spirit seems to be some sort of weird Batman spin-off, except for the fact that he walks around in broad daylight and his closest friend is a cat.

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‘The Spirit’ Producers Explore The Origins Of Will Eisner’s Femme Fatales, And We Get The Scoop! (Splash Page MTV)

By Rick Marshall
February 10, 2009
Splash Page MTV

This week, the producers of Frank Miller’s big-screen adaptation of “The Spirit” return to Will Eisner’s classic hero with a three-part story that kicks off in issue #26 of DC’s ongoing “The Spirit” comic book series — but this time, their focus will be on the hero’s notorious femme fatales. MTV News sat down for a chat with film and comics veteran Michael Uslan and his longtime creative partner F.J. DeSanto to discuss their upcoming run on “The Spirit” and why an examination of the series’ leading ladies is way past due.

“This is the most daunting, challenging, terrifying thing I have ever done in my career,” said Uslan of taking the reins on DC’s “The Spirit” series — no throwaway remark, given Uslan’s role as producer of all the various Batman movies (as well as many other comics-inspired films of the last few decades) and his long list of comics writing credits.

“To me, The Spirit is the greatest creative work ever to come out of the comic book industry,” Uslan told MTV News. (Read on for more from Uslan and DeSanto on their three-part story arc in “The Spirit.”)

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TV Stars * TV Producers * Movie Stars * Movie Directors, Producers, documentary Filmmakers and Screenwriters * Politicians and Political Writers * Stand-Up Comedians * Health Experts * Magazine Editors * Radio Stars * Bloggers, Podcasters and Web Producers * Novelists * Musicians and Music Journalists * Sexuality Experts * Culture and Society Experts * Food Experts * Biographers, Historians and A.J. Jacobs * Athletes and Sports Experts * Photographers * Journalists * Crime Experts * CEOs and Business Experts * Comic Book Creators * Cartoonists * Will Eisner Co-Workers, Friends and Experts

‘The Spirit’ DVD And Blu-Ray Specs Released, Including Alternate Ending & BD Live Features (Splash Page MTV)

By Rick Marshall
February 2, 2009
Splash Page MTV

It feels like just yesterday we were telling you about this upcoming film based on Will Eisner’s “The Spirit” comics, but time flies when you’re covering the goings-on in the comics and movie scenes.

The last we heard from “The Spirit” crew, they were discussing the sequel potential for Frank Miller’s interpretation of Eisner’s classic character and his universe. Now, we have all the specs for the film’s April 14 release on DVD and Blu-Ray posted after the jump — including an alternate ending for the film and the debut of “Lionsgate Live” online elements. What a world, eh?

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TV Stars * TV Producers * Movie Stars * Movie Directors, Producers, documentary Filmmakers and Screenwriters * Politicians and Political Writers * Stand-Up Comedians * Health Experts * Magazine Editors * Radio Stars * Bloggers, Podcasters and Web Producers * Novelists * Musicians and Music Journalists * Sexuality Experts * Culture and Society Experts * Food Experts * Biographers, Historians and A.J. Jacobs * Athletes and Sports Experts * Photographers * Journalists * Crime Experts * CEOs and Business Experts * Comic Book Creators * Cartoonists * Will Eisner Co-Workers, Friends and Experts

Creatively Speaking: Will Eisner’s Spirit Speaks! (Mental Floss)

Will Eisner image via Wikipedia

by David K. Israel

Mental Floss

January 7, 2009

Will Eisner, the creator of The Spirit comic series, is in the house today. Well, not exactly. As you might know, Will died some years ago. But we were fortunate enough to get an interview with the man who runs Will Eisner Studios, the curator of his estate, Will’s nephew Carl Gropper. Frank Miller (Sin City, 300) has a new film out based on the Eisner character, so we thought it would be a good time to learn a little more about the man some credit with creating the first graphic novel, the man who the comic industry awards are named after (The Eisner). Check out the interview with Gropper below.

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TV Stars * TV Producers * Movie Stars * Movie Directors, Producers, documentary Filmmakers and Screenwriters * Politicians and Political Writers * Stand-Up Comedians * Health Experts * Magazine Editors * Radio Stars * Bloggers, Podcasters and Web Producers * Novelists * Musicians and Music Journalists * Sexuality Experts * Culture and Society Experts * Food Experts * Biographers, Historians and A.J. Jacobs * Athletes and Sports Experts * Photographers * Journalists * Crime Experts * CEOs and Business Experts * Comic Book Creators * Cartoonists * Will Eisner Co-Workers, Friends and Experts

"The Spirit" movie coverage in The New Yorker

Image via Wikipedia

By Tad Friend

The New Yorker

“The Spirit,” based on an obscure Will Eisner comic strip from the nineteen-forties, was Lionsgate’s attempt to build a tent-pole franchise. Frank Miller, the celebrated comic-book author, had written and directed a moody, snowy, sumptuous film about a masked charmer with a self-healing body who lives to protect his city. Palen produced a crescendo of three trailers, and everything from “Spirit” trading cards to snow globes to iPhone applications.

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TV Stars * TV Producers * Movie Stars * Movie Directors, Producers, documentary Filmmakers and Screenwriters * Politicians and Political Writers * Stand-Up Comedians * Health Experts * Magazine Editors * Radio Stars * Bloggers, Podcasters and Web Producers * Novelists * Musicians and Music Journalists * Sexuality Experts * Culture and Society Experts * Food Experts * Biographers, Historians and A.J. Jacobs * Athletes and Sports Experts * Photographers * Journalists * Crime Experts * CEOs and Business Experts * Comic Book Creators * Cartoonists * Will Eisner Co-Workers, Friends and Experts

Write Now: RIP February 2009 (Magazine Death Pool)

I'm sorry that this magazine died, but this post announcing its demise on Magazine Death Pool made me laugh:

Write Now!: RIP February 2009

After a mere 20 issues over six years, Write Now! magazine, geared for "writers of comics, animation and sci-fi" closed down.

If I put the lame film version of The Spirit on my cover, I'd worry about carrying on too.

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Movie Review: THE SPIRIT (KyleBaker.com)

Image by Strandell via Flickr

By Kyle Baker

KyleBaker.com

I am appalled and outraged by director Frank Miller’s lack of respect for not one but two cartooning Legends; Will Eisner, and Eisner's beloved creation The Spirit.

To treat such icons with irreverence is beyond reprehensible. To tarnish a character beloved by millions, both young and old is… hubris is not a strong enough word. Evil. That’s it. Miller is evil.

There is a reason the Spirit has long been one of the most popular cartoon characters in the world. A reason children repeat his well-known catch phrase. A reason Eisner’s stories have so often been adapted into movies, television, and toys since the character’s debut. But Miller has no respect for Eisner’s winning formula, Miller refuses to stick with what works.

Miller seems to think that merely because his own stark visual technique was embraced by millions of fans in hugely successful films and books, we will want to see him do what he is famous for yet again. Miller’s use of heavy black shadows is completely inappropriate for The Spirit’s world, and betrays a complete disdain for the source material, which should be rendered in a more chiaroscuro style, as this illustration shows:

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TV Stars * TV Producers * Movie Stars * Movie Directors, Producers, documentary Filmmakers and Screenwriters * Politicians and Political Writers * Stand-Up Comedians * Health Experts * Magazine Editors * Radio Stars * Bloggers, Podcasters and Web Producers * Novelists * Musicians and Music Journalists * Sexuality Experts * Culture and Society Experts * Food Experts * Biographers, Historians and A.J. Jacobs * Athletes and Sports Experts * Photographers * Journalists * Crime Experts * CEOs and Business Experts * Comic Book Creators * Cartoonists * Will Eisner Co-Workers, Friends and Experts

On Christmas Day, Vermonter's 'Spirit' comes to life (TimesArgus.com)

The Spirit image by TCM Hitchhiker via Flickr

By Daniel Barlow

Vermont Press Bureau

December 24, 2008

MONTPELIER – During a recent interview to promote his film adaptation of Will Eisner's "The Spirit" comic strip, Frank Miller remembered first discovering reprints of the cartoonist's work in a small drugstore in Barre.

"I was 14 years old, driving my bicycle in Vermont, and I would go to two drug stores to buy all my comic books," Miller told the Film Journal International earlier this month. "And at the second drug store in Barre, Vt., I came across this oversized magazine that was in black-and-white and I was entranced."

That comic was a 1970s reprint of Eisner's work decades earlier on "The Spirit," which ran for 12 years as a supplement to newspapers' Sunday comics section. Miller quickly devoured Eisner's work – forever influencing his own artistic direction.

More than 30 years later, Miller, who grew up in the Barre area and attended high school in Montpelier, brings his own version of "The Spirit" to the big screen on Christmas Day. The film stars Gabriel Macht as Denny Colt, a police officer who fights crime as the masked, noirish Spirit.

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TV Stars * TV Producers * Movie Stars * Movie Directors, Producers, documentary Filmmakers and Screenwriters * Politicians and Political Writers * Stand-Up Comedians * Health Experts * Magazine Editors * Radio Stars * Bloggers, Podcasters and Web Producers * Novelists * Musicians and Music Journalists * Sexuality Experts * Culture and Society Experts * Food Experts * Biographers, Historians and A.J. Jacobs * Athletes and Sports Experts * Photographers * Journalists * Crime Experts * CEOs and Business Experts * Comic Book Creators * Cartoonists * Will Eisner Co-Workers, Friends and Experts

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