Frank Miller's adaptation of Will Eisner's The Spirit barely managed to stay in the top ten at the box office in what turned out to be Hollywood's biggest Christmas weekend in history.
We told you The Spirit came in seventh on Christmas day returns and the PR campaign stayed in full-swing throughout the weekend, with copious spots running on many cable outlets, including last night's [adult swim] block. But when the smoke cleared, Miller's feature-length directorial debut had fallen two spots to #9, followed only by Doubt.
Marley & Me, Bedtime Stories, and Benjamin Button were the top three movies of the Christmas weekend.
© C Harris Lynn, 2008
A rambling melange of pop-culture.
Showing posts with label spirit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spirit. Show all posts
Monday, December 29, 2008
Saturday, December 27, 2008
The Spirit Clinging to Life at Box Office
Frank Miller's film adaptation of Will Eisner's The Spirit was soundly pummeled by Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson's dog (sans pony) show, Marley and Me, Christmas day. According to initial returns, The Spirit came in a distant seventh at the box office.
Of course, Christmas day brought a lot of heavy-hitters, including the Brad Pitt vehicle, The Curious Case of Benjamin Bratt; the Tom Cruise-ical Valkyrie; Jim Carrey's remake of Liar, Liar, Yes Man; and Adam Sandler's Disney outing, Bedtime Stories - all of which fared better than The Spirit. Miller's directorial debut could become a sleeper hit, but mixed reviews make it seem unlikely.
Perhaps it's a mixed blessing: if recent superhero movie performances are an indicator of audience taste, maybe the superhero movie fad is finally over; no longer will studios be able to churn-out cookie-cutter crap with a cape and expect big box office returns. Genuinely good movies, such as Iron Man and The Dark Knight, have proven the genre capable of delivering quality material - and it may well be that The Spirit will, in time, rise to such status, it may have just missed the boat. Only time will prove either theory true.
If The Spirit is a good film, it may have been overlooked in the wake of the superhero fad's (hopeful) death; it may (also) have been overcome by bigger box-office star-power; or it could just be a bad flick. Again, we'll just have to wait and see.
Interestingly, both The Day the Earth Stood Still and The Tale of Despereaux followed it on the charts. It may be safe to say audiences' love affair with all things comic has finally ended.
© C Harris Lynn, 2008
Of course, Christmas day brought a lot of heavy-hitters, including the Brad Pitt vehicle, The Curious Case of Benjamin Bratt; the Tom Cruise-ical Valkyrie; Jim Carrey's remake of Liar, Liar, Yes Man; and Adam Sandler's Disney outing, Bedtime Stories - all of which fared better than The Spirit. Miller's directorial debut could become a sleeper hit, but mixed reviews make it seem unlikely.
Perhaps it's a mixed blessing: if recent superhero movie performances are an indicator of audience taste, maybe the superhero movie fad is finally over; no longer will studios be able to churn-out cookie-cutter crap with a cape and expect big box office returns. Genuinely good movies, such as Iron Man and The Dark Knight, have proven the genre capable of delivering quality material - and it may well be that The Spirit will, in time, rise to such status, it may have just missed the boat. Only time will prove either theory true.
If The Spirit is a good film, it may have been overlooked in the wake of the superhero fad's (hopeful) death; it may (also) have been overcome by bigger box-office star-power; or it could just be a bad flick. Again, we'll just have to wait and see.
Interestingly, both The Day the Earth Stood Still and The Tale of Despereaux followed it on the charts. It may be safe to say audiences' love affair with all things comic has finally ended.
© C Harris Lynn, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
Advance Reviewer Pans Miller's The Spirit
A reviewer on Ain't It Cool News has posted an advance review of Frank Miller's The Spirit. And it is not pretty.
However, the guy is obviously not a comics fan, so let that temper your reaction to his nasty review. He lists some of his top movies of 2008 as a preface and includes both The Dark Knight and Iron Man, but once you read his ramblings, you will conclude that the movie theater is as close to any of these characters as he has ever gotten.
He also makes it pretty clear that he only knows Frank Miller from his movie work; he mentions his work on the Robocop films and Sin City, but does not even seem aware that Miller created Sin City! So:
Dear Who's-It,
Frank Miller created Sin City and was close friends with Will Eisner, who created The Spirit. It's absolutely fine that you did not care for his direction or work in general, but if you're going to pan it this hard, at least give the guy the benefit of a little research!
He does admit the movie looks great, which is at least half the battle - I can forgive Frank Miller for his directorial debut being a dud, so long as it looks as good as his sequential art work. The rest will come with time.
All in all, having not seen the movie, I can safely say this is not a researched review, but it's worth reading - most film-goers are not likely to know who Frank Miller is - or The Spirit, for that matter - so this may well be an indication of things to come.
© C Harris Lynn, 2008
However, the guy is obviously not a comics fan, so let that temper your reaction to his nasty review. He lists some of his top movies of 2008 as a preface and includes both The Dark Knight and Iron Man, but once you read his ramblings, you will conclude that the movie theater is as close to any of these characters as he has ever gotten.
He also makes it pretty clear that he only knows Frank Miller from his movie work; he mentions his work on the Robocop films and Sin City, but does not even seem aware that Miller created Sin City! So:
Dear Who's-It,
Frank Miller created Sin City and was close friends with Will Eisner, who created The Spirit. It's absolutely fine that you did not care for his direction or work in general, but if you're going to pan it this hard, at least give the guy the benefit of a little research!
He does admit the movie looks great, which is at least half the battle - I can forgive Frank Miller for his directorial debut being a dud, so long as it looks as good as his sequential art work. The rest will come with time.
All in all, having not seen the movie, I can safely say this is not a researched review, but it's worth reading - most film-goers are not likely to know who Frank Miller is - or The Spirit, for that matter - so this may well be an indication of things to come.
© C Harris Lynn, 2008
Thursday, October 09, 2008
The Spirit Collectibles
One of the most anticipated new films of the year is Frank Miller's movie adaptation of Will Eisner's comic strip, The Spirit, opening Christmas Day. A classic action-adventure-romance, The Spirit tells the story of a former rookie cop who returns mysteriously from the dead to fight crime from the shadows of an urban jungle. Dark Horse Deluxe has channeled the noir mood and exotic images of this Lionsgate release and brought the world of Central City into being with a new range of officially licensed collectibles, including a sculpted bust and statue, a beautiful snow globe, and a unique LED illuminated journal. As the movie opens nationwide, fans will be anticipating the arrival of these fine collectibles with the same eagerness with which they rushed to theaters to see the film.
The Spirit is portrayed by Gabriel Macht, who brings a larger-than-life heroic quality to the role. His performance inspired the initial sculptures: a limited-edition bust, full-size, limited-edition statue, and elaborate sculptural high-end snow globe. He was very generous in his cooperation for these projects, and the results are apparent in the realism of the finished work.
In selecting the creative team for this assignment, Dark Horse enlisted two of the most noted digital sculptors around to create the 3D versions of the moody hero. Hot on the heels of their stunning statues of the characters from the recent Batman smash hit, Kolby Jukes and Oluf Hartvigson have created, respectively, Dark Horse's statue and bust.
The bust, which is the latest example of what is now a well-established area of modern collecting, measures 4.30"W x 3.15"D x 6.00"H . Packaged in a protective foam cube in deluxe color packaging, this piece is a hand-numbered limited-edition of only 750 copies for worldwide distribution. The manufacturer's suggested retail price is $59.99 and The Spirit Movie mini-bust is scheduled to release on January 28, 2008.
The Spirit Statue presents the masked avenger in full figure (1:7 Life Size). The dimensions measure 11.21"W x 7.34"D x 8.5"H. Peering over a rooftop of Central City, The Spirit is poised and ready to spring. Sculpted by Kolby Jukes, this piece is also a numbered limited-edition of only 750 copies for worldwide distribution, with a manufacturer's suggested retail price of $199.00. It will be released on Christmas Day.
The continual snowfall is a graphic theme in The Spirit, as it as often been in Frank Miller's graphic stories, and creates a visual atmosphere that oozes drama. Therefore, it was not hard to imagine a beautiful snow globe that would capture and reproduce the effect. Central City, as depicted in the film, essentially becomes one of the main characters. The detail was focused on the buildings and fire escapes, and the movie's tagline acts as a rooftop sign. A high-quality 120mm glass sphere encases a liquid sky that is spackled with a miniature flurry of white. Crafting the miniature environment was a technical challenge for Dark Horse and sculptors Jukes and Hartvigson, but the result is a unique collectible that is fascinating. Limited to only 500 pieces, packaged in a foam cube in color packaging, The Spirit Movie Snow Globe has a manufacturer's suggested retail price of $99.99, and will be available in retail stores in late November.
Long known for its modern artist journal and stationery line, Dark Horse Deluxe has come up with a new journal for The Spirit. A moody silhouette of the hero stands against a snow-spackled night sky. This cover is enhanced with a dozen or so tiny lighting elements concealed inside the journal's cover. When activated by a hidden on/off button, the colored jewels in the snowflakes swirling around The Spirit light up as if under a streetlight on an urban winter's night. The journal itself is 51/2" x 81/2", with 128 interior pages suitable as a compendium of the owner's secret thoughts.
A logo-lettered book spine conceals spiral binding. The publication date for this item is December 6, 2008, just in time for the film release. The manufacturer's suggested retail price is $14.99.
© C Harris Lynn, 2008
Friday, June 22, 2007
Frank Miller Does Chandler
Now how great is this?
As most of you know, Raymond Chandler is my favorite author and Frank Miller is my favorite comic book legend. Now, reports indicate that Miller will direct Clive Owen in a film adaptation of Raymond Chandler's novel, Trouble is my Business. This is one of the few Chandler works I have not read and it has never been adapted to film.
Of course, many of Chandler's longer works were actually culled from earlier, shorter ones, and since this features his iconic character, Philip Marlowe, I have likely read the shorter version at some point. Still, I would love to read this book before it hits the screens because I have every plan to see it.
Fans of Miller's know how strong Chandler's influence has been on him and his work. Clive Owen said, "Frank Miller knows more about noir than anyone I have ever met... Miller adapting Chandler seemed like a perfect match."
No production dates have been given yet. Miller is currently working on Will Eisner's The Spirit and is then set to start work on Sin City 2 with Robert Rodriguez, so we'll keep you posted.
As most of you know, Raymond Chandler is my favorite author and Frank Miller is my favorite comic book legend. Now, reports indicate that Miller will direct Clive Owen in a film adaptation of Raymond Chandler's novel, Trouble is my Business. This is one of the few Chandler works I have not read and it has never been adapted to film.
Of course, many of Chandler's longer works were actually culled from earlier, shorter ones, and since this features his iconic character, Philip Marlowe, I have likely read the shorter version at some point. Still, I would love to read this book before it hits the screens because I have every plan to see it.
Fans of Miller's know how strong Chandler's influence has been on him and his work. Clive Owen said, "Frank Miller knows more about noir than anyone I have ever met... Miller adapting Chandler seemed like a perfect match."
No production dates have been given yet. Miller is currently working on Will Eisner's The Spirit and is then set to start work on Sin City 2 with Robert Rodriguez, so we'll keep you posted.
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Comics Movies News - Sin City 2, Transformers
Diamond notes that since Frank Miller is doing Eisner's The Spirit and Robert Rodriguez has recently been attached to a new Barbarella movie, it is sure to set the Sin City sequel back a bit. No start date was set for filming, but with the creators working on two separate projects, it is sure to be pushed back.
The new Transformers live-action movie will open one day earlier than originally scheduled. Transformers was set to open on Independence Day, July 4th, but has now been moved up to July 3rd instead. The movie tie-in collectible Transformers toys hit store shelves last Saturday (June 2nd), and the movie looks really good from the promos, so you might want to hurry and grab them before they're only available on eBay - for much more than you'll pay at the stores, I guarantee!
Shrek the Third fell to 3rd place and Spider-Man 3 landed at #5 at the box office this weekend, with Pirates of the Caribbean 3 holding onto the #1 position.
The new Transformers live-action movie will open one day earlier than originally scheduled. Transformers was set to open on Independence Day, July 4th, but has now been moved up to July 3rd instead. The movie tie-in collectible Transformers toys hit store shelves last Saturday (June 2nd), and the movie looks really good from the promos, so you might want to hurry and grab them before they're only available on eBay - for much more than you'll pay at the stores, I guarantee!
Shrek the Third fell to 3rd place and Spider-Man 3 landed at #5 at the box office this weekend, with Pirates of the Caribbean 3 holding onto the #1 position.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Daredevil HC Omnibus, Spirit #1
Some more comics news for you - this time, actual comics news - not comics meets TV or comics meets movies, and almost no mention of 300. Except for that one. There is some Frank Miller talk, though:
Marvel has released a hardcover Daredevil Omnibus featuring the works of Frank Miller and Klaus Janson. The book includes issues #158-161, #163-191, and What If? #28. This does not include the true milestone of the book - a major turning point in both DD's life, as well as the comics field in general - Miller's run with David Mazzuchelli in which Kingpin drove Murdock insane and DD's former flame and secretary, now a heroin junkie and porn performer, Karen Page returns. For the whopping price of $99.99, I'm not going to be buying. I have the vast majority of the issues collected here in my personal collection and the absence of issue #162 (obviously left out because it did not feature Miller or Janson's work) seems incomplete to me. I'd rather they'd included it with a small paragraph, pointing out that it was included only for completeness. If you don't have these issues, this may be the best way to experience them now.
The Spirit #1, written and drawn by Darwyn Cooke, sold out so DC sent it back to the presses for a second printing. The second printing will feature a new cover by Cooke and is scheduled to hit stores March 28th.
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