Frank Miller, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson and Eva Mendes talk about January’s new superhero adaptation…
I walk up the steps out of the Knightsbridge tube station.
It is a chilly Thursday afternoon.
Far from the exaggerated forms of his bruisers and broads, he is a thin, weaselly man.
In a leather jacket and fedora, he looks more like a stooge than a heavy.
As was expected, they keep us waiting.
Patiently sitting in my chosen spot, I self-consciously read through the latest issue ofBatman, purchased that morning.
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The doors open, and theSpiritprocession enters.
This would account for the look of the picture, which recallsSin Cityalmost to a fault.
Even a casual glance at the films logo immediately evokes300.
The Miller-Eisner relationship has been described as a 25 year argument and it seems that here Miller has won.
Is the film just for teenage boys?
She has a point, as Jackson says they manipulate the guys… they are in control.
It was based onThe Spirit, [but] not a translation or a replication… We shot the movie…
It just came out as it was.
Our time is up, the final question addresses the as-yet ignored elephant in the room.
What would Will Eisner, who died in 2005, think of the finished film?
Miller, however, relishes the chance to have the final word.
He says, Heres how I think Will would see it, and clears his throat.
This last comment repeats in my mind as I pick up my digital recorder, and make my exit.
Frank Millers adaptation of Will EisnersThe Spirit will be released in the UK on January 1st.
Review 30 minutes of Frank Millers The Spirit
19 December 2008
