In an interview with Variety, Frank Miller announced the forthcoming movie adaptation of Will Eisner’s The Spirit will focus on the Sand Saref storyline, which made its debut in newspapers in 1950.

The story focuses on early germ-warfare, the Spirit’s first love who turned to a life of crime, espionage, and romance. The Spirit adventures had already been running in papers for 10 years before this storyline appeared.

“I’ve been writing every word of it myself and storyboarding every frame,” he says. “This is a real work of love, and it’s become my life completely.”

The Sand Saref storyline appears in DC’s Will Eisner’s Spirit Archives Volume 20.

via Variety

Here’s your uh-oh alert for today! The Hollywood Reporter is reporting Frank Miller is in negotiations with Samuel L. Jackson to play the role of the Octopus, the Spirit’s nemesis who wants to take over Central City (not to be confused with that other Central City).

Miller said during an introduction of the project at the Festival de Cannes that Jackson is his first choice to play the evil genius who knows the secrets behind the Spirit. He added that he is beginning to mull different actors to play the comic book hero.

Hmmm… While I like Samuel L. as an actor, I’m a little concerned about him playing the arch-nemesis. If they kept the villain in the shadows like Darwyn Cooke has been doing in the comic, then this could be genius, but knowing actors like to be seen, I think we’ll be seeing a lot of Sam on screen.

What do you think?

via Hollywood Reporter

Lionsgate has picked up the distribution rights to the live action adaptation of Will Eisner’s The Spirit movie, written by Frank Miller.

“Will was a dear friend, a mentor, and translating his vision to the screen will be a labor of love,” Miller said.”The Spirit” will be produced by Pritzker and Del Prete, along with Lionsgate’s Mike Paseornek and Batfilm’s Michael Uslan. Benjamin Melniker will exec produce with Steve Maier, and Linda McDonough and F.J. DeSanto are co-producers.

As great as Frank Miller is, this film will be his first solo directing gig. He’s only co-directed one other film - Sin City with Robert Rodriquez, and I’m not sure learning the ropes from the man who breaks all the rules is the best way to learn a craft, but hey, that’s just me.

via Variety

DC Comics has slipped us a sneak peek of titles shipping next week including The Spirit #3 by Darwyn Cooke. I was hooked with issue #1 and can’t wait to see how long Cooke can keep up the great story and art. Take the jump for the previews of The Spirit, Superman, and the long delayed Wonder Woman #4.

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Are you digging Darwyn Cooke’s The Spirit as much as we are? Issue #2 is just around the corner and DC Comics has released a sneak peek for you to check out. A sexy seductress is back, and it is up to The Spirit to stop her plans.
Here is how DC describes the issue:

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Or - “Sure, One Has No Socks, But The Other Makes Up For It With A Great Belt…”

Batman-Tarzan. Aliens-Stormwatch. Punisher-Archie. The comic industry is known for weird “chocolate in my peanut butter moments.” Some of these are wondrous beasts where the two things combine into a greater whole, others leave the poor reader wondering who switched the chocolate and peanut butter for salsa and cheesecake. “Two great tastes that taste WEIRD together,” so sayeth the great philosopher Doug to his dad. So, when you take The Spirit, a character who is only a superhero because the syndicate required that Will Eisner draw a mask on him, and Batman, the quintessential superhero archetype, it’s weird. Yeah, they have many points in common: wacky foes, the dark streets of their respective cities, over-the-top femme fatales, older police commissioner mentors. But the basics of the characters are practically opposite. It’s like a Hollywood buddy movie: One’s a superhero masquerading as normal human, one’s a normal human masquerading as superhero. But where’s their common ground?

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The Spirit will be coming to the silver screen in the next couple of years, but how did it finally get made? Denis Kitchen, agent and family representative for the Will Eisner estate, tells all in an interview with ICv2.com.

Finally Odd Lot Entertainment opens its office, he goes in and introduces himself to Deborah Del Prete and says, ‘I’ve got the best comic book property that’s never been made into a movie.’ And she put her hand up and said, ‘Stop, don’t tell me you’ve got The Spirit.’

More on the process is up at the ICv2.com website.

via ICv2.com (link)

Ever wanted to see how a great page is created? Check out the Will Eisner: A Spirited Life Interview blog for a great rundown of how Will Eisner and Alex Saviuk worked to complete the pages for Dark Horse’s The Escapist series, in which The Escapist meets The Spirit. If you are an artist, fan of Eisner’s work (who isn’t?), or just someone who enjoys the creation process, you should check the site out. Included on the site are the splash page and five additional pages from the story. Simply amazing…

via Will Eisner: A Spirited Life Interview blog (link)

The Spirited Life website (Will Eisner: A Spirited Life Interview Series) has a fascinating interview with Darwyn Cooke on his upcoming DC The Spirit and the upcoming Spirit/Batman one-shot.  If you haven’t seen Cooke’s work before then you are missing out.  He worked on Batman the Animated Series, Justice League and more on the television side.  His New Frontier series for DC will be the first direct to DVD movie produced.  I’m super excited to see a new Spirit monthly title and looking forward to seeing how Batman and The Spirit interact in the one-shot.

Via A Spirited Life (link)

The Hollywood Reporter spilled the beans early on The Spirit movie adaptation. According to the industry mag, comic legend Frank Miller will be adapting and directing the flick. Will Eisner’s The Spirit - one of the most influential comics of all time - is being produced by Odd Lot Entertainment’s Deborah Del Prete and Gigi Pritzker who will also finance the film. Also producing is Michael Uslan.

According to Uslan, Miller is the best person to direct the film.

What makes Frank’s involvement with ‘The Spirit’ particularly poignant was his special relationship with Will Eisner, captured last year in the book ‘Eisner-Miller.’ You have two of the medium’s greatest storytellers of sequential art and cinematic comics discussing the compelling and controversial art form. (source Hollywood Reporter).

Miller was a co-director of Sin City, and knowing how well the movie was adapted from the graphic novels, I’m sure Miller will take Eisner’s source material and do the film justice. According to Uslan, Eisner gave his approval to the film before his passing last year.

Production should begin in about a year.

Via Hollywood Reporter (link)