Frank Miller had to be dragged kicking and screaming back to Hollywood after his nightmarish experiences writing 'Robocop' 2 & 3. But Robert Rodriguez managed to sweet-talk him into co-directing 'Sin City,' an adaptation of Miller's film-noiresque graphic novels.
His interest in filmmaking rekindled, Miller allowed Zack Snyder to adapt his Spartan epic '300' into a box office smash. And then he decided he might have another go at the filmmaking thing himself.
So, while he waits for the right time to start 'Sin City 2' with Rodriguez ("We have a script and an ideal cast in mind," he says), Miller has chosen for his next project a movie version of "The Spirit," the groundbreaking comic strip series by his friend Will Eisner, who died in 2005 just as he and Miller were scheduled to appear together on a panel at the Smithsonian in Washington.
"What makes Frank's involvement with 'The Spirit' particularly poignant was his special relationship with Will Eisner," says Producer Michael Uslan, who refers to Miller and Eisner as "two of the medium's greatest storytellers of sequential art and cinematic comics."
"I want to do him proud," Miller says of his mentor. "It's true to the Will Eisner that I know. But it won't be nostalgic."
Miller selected a personal favorite storyline for his adaptation, that of Sand Saref, full of danger, romance, espionage and germ-warfare.
"It's about the first love of Spirit's life," Miller explains, "who has turned to a life of crime, and he has to bring her to justice."
If fans of Marvel's Daredevil think this story sounds familiar, it's because Saref served as an inspiration for Miller's own character creation, Elektra.
But, as Miller focuses on "The Spirit," writing and storyboarding everything himself ("This is a real work of love," he says), rumors fly of other film projects.
Variety reported Miller's involvement with the adaptation of Raymond Chandler's hardboiled classic 'Trouble Is My Business,' and Warner is preparing Miller's samurai story 'Ronin' for Director Sylvain White ('Stomp The Yard').
Shooting on "The Spirit" is expected to start in November.
(Miller interview conducted by Variety's Jeff Goldsmith.)