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FIRST LOOK

First Look: Scarlett Johansson and Samuel Jackson in Frank Miller's The Spirit

by Alex Billington
April 11, 2008
Source: IGN

First Look: Scarlett Johansson in The Spirit

The buzz is finally starting to pick up for Frank Miller's The Spirit. A week ago we posted a series of set photos which were quickly removed by Lionsgate. And coming next Saturday, April 19th, live from the New York Comic Con, is the official trailer for the film. In what seems like a desperate attempt to clean up the mess from last Friday, Lionsgate has released two official fully rendered stills from the movie. One is of Scarlett Johansson as the femme fatale Silken Floss, who is the secretary and accomplice of The Octopus, played by Samuel Jackson - who is in the second photo. Might be worth taking a look at these to see the difference the final look makes.

Thanks to the guys over at IGN for debuting these exclusively. We'll get to see the full trailer in just over a week, so hold tight and stay tuned!

Samuel Jackson in The Spirit

Scarlett Johansson in The Spirit

The Spirit is both written and directed by legendary comic book author Frank Miller, who previously worked with Robert Rodriguez to direct segments of Sin City. The film is based Will Eisner's newspaper comic strip of the same name that originally debuted in 1940. Lionsgate has set a release date of January 16th, 2009 for The Spirit.

Bland? Or a hint of something amazing that we will see more of on the 19th?

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Related categories: First Look, Hype

Zach

i really don't see how you could even suggest something by frank miller could be bland. from what i've seen from the set photos and the outdoor banners, this is going to be a near copy of sin city's visual style, which is not a bad thing at all. if nothing else, it's going to be a gorgeous movie.
Michael

This seems really bland and feels like a cheap way to cash in on the popularity of Sin City. The visual is just too similar to what was done on Sin City to be used on a project that's not really suposed to be related. This ultimately could haunt them, especially if the film doesn't live up to the success that Sin City had. I'll reserve judgement until I see the film, but I feel that maybe Frank Miller would have been better off taking Sin City 2 in his hands and getting that out there instead.
http://www.andreascliment.com Andreas Climent

I agree that it would have been better if Miller did Sin City 2, but these shots look pretty nice!
Djo.

The book Eisner/Miller clearly illustrates the close friendship & mentorship btw. these two giants. Miller's drafting skills have suffered a bit over the years- nothing compared to the first, hungry installments of Sin City, and his Dark Knight 2 was frankly kind of a mess. I think it would have been better if Miller really sat down w/ Eisner's work, and tried to get his own comics mojo back. Eisner was a specialist in using panels to translate theatricality to comics. His characters employ the type of dramatic techniques that work great on a stage, and he further explored techniques in the comics medium that simply wouldn't translate to a stage. Miller is the comic fan's artist of a different generation. Even having read their interviews, btw. the 2 of them I don't know if Miller really understands the spirit of what Eisner was REALLY about. He kind of talks over him alot in the interviews, as if his experiences are all updated versions of what Eisner went through. But reading Eisners own words, I think it paints a very different picture. It's in his own words- he was channelling the living spirit of the city around him, into familiar New York City characters, which translated its voice in a very authorly way. Most of Miller's characters, save perhaps Martha Washington (whom I'd LOVE to see a movie about!) are extremely 2 dimensional. He breathed life into Daredevil & Batman, but I don't know. If we see a quality Spirit comic come out of this, then at least it won't have been a waste of Miller's time- b/c Frankly, being a good comics maker doesn't make one a good film-maker. If the actors put in top notch performances, and Miller employs some of his best style-tricks yet, this could be good. I like what I've seen on the website- but nothing's really there yet. I think if it's got a lot of Saxophone in the soundtrack, this could be decent. But hey- if this is Miller's most sincere attempt to make sure that Eisner is remembered, then I'd expect he'll put a little more heart and soul into it than his usual shoot 'em up, bloody harlot-fests. Then again, there's a degree of irrationality to that hope, considering his last major outing was DK2.
Scott

It does seem like Sin City 2, which I'm okay with but they should call it what it really is. Millers work in the 1980's to mid-90's is genius. I agree, his Martha Washington material could be amazing on-screen. I also think it would be fitting if, someday, they could do a film adaptation of Dark Knight Returns.
Djo.

Ah- now I see the point. An entire generation of people simply don't know who Will Eisner was! The Spirit is not a Frank Miller creation. That's why this isn't being called "Sin City 2". In fact, I think I get it. This is even BETTER than any Sin City sequel could have been. It's something fresh. If you want Sin City 2- buy the books, b/c they're so close what a movie'd be anyhow. This is a whole new artistic undertaking from Miller. Something he's never done before. And that's a GOOD thing, when artist's make choices like this, with a passion behind what they're doing. A Spirit Comic by Frank Miller would NOT get a new generation to remember Will Eisner and his work. A MOVIE would. And if Frank's hands can't draw the way they used to, he can still envision the way a good shot would be framed. So now he's making movies, using his drawings as storyboards. If it were Zack Snyder, using someone else's drawings as storyboards, I wouldn't be so inclined to call it Art. But this makes a heap of sense, from an artistic perspective.
dick dornisch

What a bunch of crap..... For years I entertained a hope that someone in Hollywood would recognize the genius of Will Eisner and the tremendous contributions that he made to the comics (note: comics.) I began reading The Spirit in mid 1940 every Sunday when he appeared in the little funny papers supplement with Lady Luck and Mr. Mystic. And I was captivated as Eisner's artistry grew more and more inventive and innovative and his plot lines probably should have been considered by the O. Henry short story award committee. Small wonder that Feiffer, Steranko and Horn in their Comics histories treat him with near reverance. Read (or look), if you are lucky enough to find a copy, at his splendid "New York - the Big City.) When Hollywood stumbled into mistreating the great comic strips and comic book super heros to a revival on the big screen I thought perhaps now, Denny Colt, Ebony White, the Dolans, P'gell, the mysterious and NEVER VIEWED Octopus and his magnificet mean streets and exotic locales would have there day too. Especially after Warren Beatty finally produced a comic movie the way one ought to be done. I fact, I even write Beatty suggesting it, since he at least seemed to have some feeling for the Chester Gould classic. So now, what do we have going on. Well, what it appears to me is in all liklihood, another underlit, mumbling ultimately silly, (C'mon, honesty, was Sin City, anything but silly. interesting, okay granted, but certainly silly.) The difference with the Spirit is, it was silly, and it meant to be, it was humorous, always decent, clever, witty, fun. I sure as hell find it hard to imagine any of those qualities in Frank Miller's The Spirit. A visable Octopus, and one that is politically correct being as to how he is a SUPER criminal. Why, in hell does this clown have to imagine that he has to do something That Eisner (who Miller can't carry water for), has to do what the The Spirit's creator acknowledged again and again that mystery thrives best as mystery. And Ebony.....a graet charactor and one who carried many stories without the Spirit even being in the action. What a bunch of limp wrist, weak livered clowns Hollywood is theses days. Perhaps they ought to consider a Huckleberry Finn with a white or even better, No Jim at all. How about an all white Uncle Tom's Cabin, guys??? No, no, no. Everything I hear about Frank Miller's Spirit apalls me I will await the day when someone decides to do a Will Eisner's Spirit.