Mark Millar to Direct Superhero Movie

Mark Millar to Direct Superhero Movie

The prolific comic book writer and creator of Wanted and Kick-Ass will try his hand at directing!

News
By bsprecher - Nov 01, 2009 09:11 AM EST
Filed Under: Other
Source: Digital Spy

Scottish-born comic book writer Mark Millar has been living with one foot in the comic book world and one foot in Hollywood ever since his creator-owned comic Wanted was first optioned by Universal Pictures. He once said that he would never leave comic books and that movies were only a "fun hobby," but it appears as if Millar is prepared to make it more of a job than a hobby.

Millar, whose creator-owned Millarworld line of comics are currently being published by four different comic book companies, recently announced on his web-site that he is ready to direct. Of course, Millar, ever the showman, couldn't just tell us what the film will be...

"What is it? Who is it about? Well, that's all a secret for now, but I learned a lot from Kick-Ass and love having the same creative freedom I have with comics when I work in cinema."

"I couldn't be more excited. More as it happens, but this might just beat out War Heroes and American Jesus as my follow-ups to the Wanted and Kick-Ass movies."

Millar said that directing will be a way for him to challenge himself creatively and just shake things up a bit.

"Have two other pictures about to go into development, but I think you need to scare the hell out of yourself every once in a while, and something totally new like directing should do the trick."

Millar said that he hopes to begin principal photography as early as March 2010.

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LEEE777
LEEE777 - 11/1/2009, 10:09 AM
Hey if you can get a job thats a hobby too, i say lucky b*stard lol! Great news @ BRENT!

I also really hope KICK ASS kicks a$$!!

We need more quality good comic book movies out there!

LEEE777
LEEE777 - 11/1/2009, 10:12 AM
MILLER on a TICK movie, now that would be SPOONDIFULL!

Yeah i know it wont never happen! Don't even know why that just popped in my head! ; D
ThisFan
ThisFan - 11/1/2009, 10:12 AM
He is one of my favorite comic writers and i think he could direct a good movie now i need to read American Jesus
ThisFan
ThisFan - 11/1/2009, 10:14 AM
Also Frank Millar is one of the best comic writers today
LEEE777
LEEE777 - 11/1/2009, 10:20 AM
I say get FRANK MILLER on the DAREDEVIL movie!

And...

MARK MILLER on a ULTIMATES movie! ; D
bsprecher
bsprecher - 11/1/2009, 10:27 AM
I have great respect for Frank Miller, the comic book writer and creator of such properties as Ronin, 300 and Sin City, but did you guys see Robocop 3 or The Spirit? Let's leave the directing to someone else...
LEEE777
LEEE777 - 11/1/2009, 10:50 AM
BRENT @ I really didn't mind THE SPIRIT it was supposed to be a comedy right lol? ; D

Multi @ You've got 2 be joking? I can name a movie far worst from print to film!!

Guess what it is?! : D
JoshWilding
JoshWilding - 11/1/2009, 11:14 AM
Awesome news!!! Mark Millar is my favourite comic book writer so I cannot wait to see what this turns out to be! :)
supermarioworldE
supermarioworldE - 11/1/2009, 11:24 AM
Writers should not be allowed to direct movies. As brent mentioned, Frank miller had his hand in hollywood, and wound up getting a stink finger. Spirit was awful. Even Stephen King, one of the greatest authors of all time, tried directing, and he wound up making Maximum Overdrive, which was a terrible movie. Mark Millar is an amazing comic book writer, but he needs to put some distance between him and hollywood
JoshWilding
JoshWilding - 11/1/2009, 11:39 AM
supermarioworldE: I see you point but its a bit early to jusge Millar before he's even directed anything!
InTylerWeTrust
InTylerWeTrust - 11/1/2009, 11:41 AM
I think comic book writers should only be script contributors (or maybe actual screen-play writers, if they're good enough) on CBM's. They shouldn't be directors.

Spirit was a horrible, horrible movie. I shudder when I think of it...
Bandrews1
Bandrews1 - 11/1/2009, 12:09 PM
As long as he don't wind up directing like Frank Miller than I'm there.
slimybug
slimybug - 11/1/2009, 12:24 PM
I saw him at the Chicago Comic-Con this summer and, if memory serves me correctly, he said he had NO interest in directing.

Hm. Must have changed his mind.
slimybug
slimybug - 11/1/2009, 12:30 PM
Whoops Double post.
Phinehas
Phinehas - 11/1/2009, 1:22 PM
I'm with Brent mostly on this one. He may actually have a knack at it, but until he is proven with lower budgeted films, I'd be wary. I certainly wouldn't let him direct a major property franchise on his first outing. Brent, according to IMDb, Fred Dekker directed Robo3. A reject of both USC and UCLA's film schools respectively.
bsprecher
bsprecher - 11/1/2009, 1:43 PM
@Phinehas: Hmm, I always thought Frank directed that. I know he wrote it...
Phinehas
Phinehas - 11/1/2009, 2:00 PM
Well, Brent... IMDb has taken faulty fan-stories from here before, so you may still be right! LOL

But you are definitely correct that he wrote it and Robocop 2. Directors had changed from Paul Verhoeven (Basic Instinct, and Starship Troopers), to Irvin Kerschner (Empire Strikes Back) to Fred Dekker. Its amazing what a difference a director can make. Its good to be cautious with these ambitious comicbook/graphic novel writers wanting to control the direction of the film. I am not opposed to it per se. Everyone is at liberty to try new enterprises. But it is a skill and an art. If it weren't there'd be far more better films out there.
lvlheaded
lvlheaded - 11/1/2009, 3:25 PM
throw him The Pro. if it goes bad no biggie, doesn't have the fan base to lynch him.
CorndogBurglar
CorndogBurglar - 11/1/2009, 3:57 PM
writers shouldn't be directors?? what are we nazis now?? just because frank miller didn't do a good job on the spirit, that means no writer should be a director?? is it crazy to think that some people are just good directors and others aren't, regardless of what they USUALLY do? come on, thats a silly comment.
LEEE777
LEEE777 - 11/1/2009, 4:03 PM
MULTI @ They did!!! : D
supermarioworldE
supermarioworldE - 11/1/2009, 5:17 PM
@Josh

It's just that it's very uncommon for comic book writers to direct films, let alone good comic book movies.

@corndog

It's not silly, it's just a fair assumption based on past examples. How many authors can you think of, that have directed good movies, or have directed at all? How many comic book writers? I'm not saying that Millar wouldn't be able to pull it off, it's just that it's rare for such a thing to happen.
CorndogBurglar
CorndogBurglar - 11/1/2009, 5:55 PM
@ supermario

thats not a very fair question. how many comic book writers do you know of that HAVE been a director of a movie? aside from frank miller. it just seems like your basing that comment off of frank miller's failure of the spirit.

and you ask, "How many authors can you think of, that have directed good movies, or have directed at all? How many comic book writers?" just because someone HASN'T directed, does not mean they wouldn't be good at it.

my answer to your question is kevin smith, by the way.
supermarioworldE
supermarioworldE - 11/1/2009, 6:16 PM
@corndog

but that's my point exactly. We don't have too many cases where authors or comic book writers have directed films, but in almost every case, there have been failures. It's not fair to say for certain how millar will do with directing, it's just that past examples have shown (Stephen king, frank miller) that writers that direct, usually don't do a good job.

btw, kick ass wouldn't be a good example of millar's strength in Hollywood, because he is only co-producing the film.
CorndogBurglar
CorndogBurglar - 11/1/2009, 6:21 PM
@ supermario

answer the question though. how many comic book writers do you know of that have directed a movie?? you keep saying frank miller, i don't hear any others to back up your claim. and frank miller only did the spirit poorly. one movie. stephen king isn't even a comic book writer, he doesn't write the dark tower comic series. you can't say all comic writers suck at directing if you only know of one to base that off of.

if that were the case, then i could say all comic writers are great directors, because of kevin smith. it doesn't work that way.

supermarioworldE
supermarioworldE - 11/1/2009, 6:46 PM
I'm not just talking about comic book writers, but all writers in general. But yes, Miller is the only comic book writer that i can think of, that has also directed a film, and he failed. Like i said, we can't know for certain how millar will do, but i have doubts based on the only two writers i can think of, that have actually tried their hands at directing.

and i think you meant to say that all directors are are great comic book writers, based on kevin smith. Smith directed clerks before he tried writing comics. He is a good example of a person who switched jobs and succeeded
Phinehas
Phinehas - 11/1/2009, 8:17 PM
I always liked Bo Jackson before he had hip surgery.
darthstern
darthstern - 11/1/2009, 11:25 PM
yeah mark millar is a great writer kick ass and superman red son are some of the best stuff in the past 10 years but a director cant see it. most writers are horable directors they have a problem getting past their vison and cannot compromisefor the screen they forget its two different mediums.
And hey i dont get what all the hub bub was about "old man logan" i think is was not one of millars better works lot of holes and just very predictable"
thwhtGuardian
thwhtGuardian - 11/1/2009, 11:31 PM
The spirit wasn't anything to write home about but then again you have to look at the comic: the spirit is a pretty campy hero and the movie delivered that pretty well. Campy comic= campy movie. Granted that doesn't excuse the poorly written dialogue, but still I'd put it on par with Dick Tracy which is the only analogous hero. They're both fairly campy pulp detectives and I'd say both movies translated that aspect fairy well. I give Frank kudos for not trying to make the character "Dark" which is big props because he's the man who pretty much fathered that movement.
So I'd still put the Spirit above Wolverine which had poor dialogue and bastardized the source material.
selinakyle
selinakyle - 11/2/2009, 7:19 AM
Two words..."The Spirit"
CorndogBurglar
CorndogBurglar - 11/2/2009, 10:58 AM
@ anil

i agree, i really enjoyed old man logan, but i would hardly call it a masterpiece. earth-x was a masterpiece.
ironknight27
ironknight27 - 11/2/2009, 11:13 AM
I am willing to give Mark Millar a shot. He is one of my favorite comic writers and I know that doesnt mean that he is guaranteed to be a good director but I think he should be given a shot. After all we have had some established directors who have butchered some comic book movies.
Runefyst
Runefyst - 11/2/2009, 1:33 PM
I don't really think it's fair to say he's gonna be a bad director JUST because he's a comic book writer. True, it hasn't gone well in the past, but who knows, maybe he'll be good!

That being said, I wouldn't give him something big budget to direct right away, but I think he should be allowed to try something smaller if he wants to. :)
ElBeaster
ElBeaster - 11/2/2009, 3:24 PM
Millar is like the polar opposite of Alan Moore when it comes to movies. He sells the rights to all of his comic books as quickly as possible so he can bring in more money.

And Miller hated what they did with his Robocop scripts. That's why he gave up on Hollywood until Sin City. I think they printed his original scripts into a graphic novel.
CorndogBurglar
CorndogBurglar - 11/2/2009, 5:20 PM
@ runefyst

that was my point though. you can't say someone will be a bad director because they're a writer. there's not enough examples to make a blanket statement like that.

might as well say all black people are good at basketball.

LEEE777
LEEE777 - 11/5/2009, 5:15 AM


MILLER & HALL!!
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