“The Origin of The Spirit” featurette

[Hunter Rider]

http://www.slashfilm.com/2008/10/20/the-origin-of-the-spirit/

 

[Sawyer]

No matter what others might say, I still think this looks pretty good.

100% accurate to Eisner's stuff? No. But still looks like a decent, watchable film. I'm in.

 

[Hurm...]

No matter what others might say, I still think this looks pretty good.

100% accurate to Eisner's stuff? No. But still looks like a decent, watchable film. I'm in.

Same. Looks like a fun movie, despite it's comic-movie accuracy.

 

[Bubastis]

You know, hearing frank miller talk about will eisner and reading his blogs actually give me hope. But then seeing the clips of the actual film makes me nauseous

 

[mego joe]

Y'know what really struck me as odd? Miller's comment that the film is not a tribute to Will Eisner, but a tribute to the Spirit.

Now what else is the Spirit but Will Eisner? It's his signature work. You can't separate the two. You can't accurately make a tribute to Spirit and not also make a tribute to Eisner at the same time by default.

Interestingly, Miller's storyboards or design/concept drawings work much better than the filmed versions of those same scenes/ images.

 

[Comic Book Boy]

Now what else is the Spirit but Will Eisner? It's his signature work.

I disagree. His CONTRACT WITH GOD trilogy and some of the graphic novels afterwards are FAR more seminal. Have you read those?

 

[Ziggyman]

"I won't let anyone touch it!"

Nice featurette...It's keeps getting better from the 2nd trailer!

 

[mego joe]

I disagree. His CONTRACT WITH GOD trilogy and some of the graphic novels afterwards are FAR more seminal. Have you read those?

I've read almost everything he's done, but I think his post-war Spirit work is where his craft was developed and honed. His later Graphic Novels may be 'better,' but his craft and techniques were developed in those Spirit stories.

And what I'm saying is that the Spirit as the first (I think) creator owned work stands more identifiably as 'Will Eisner' as anything else. If anything you see the seeds and roots of his later graphic novels in those post-war Spirit stories. By that time Eisner wasn't really writing about the Spirit he was writing about people and the Spirit just happened to be in the stories. You can see the sources of A Contract With God, A Life Force in those SPirit stories as well as A Signal From Space (aka Life on Another Planet) even in the outer space Spirit stories he did with Wally Wood at the end of the run.

By the end of his Spirit run, Eisner was fully developed. He may have tackled similar issues in a more straight on fashion or more starkly in his later Graphic Novels, but his Spirit work stands undiminished. He hit a plateau during his post-war Spirit work and never really came down the other side. But nothing says Eisner like the Spirit.

 

[theMan-Bat]

I love Frank Miller's storyboards seen in the featurette.

 

[theMan-Bat]

I love The Spirit's reaction when Plaster of Paris threw those little daggers into his shoulder. "Ahh!"

 

[mego joe]

I love Frank Miller's storyboards seen in the featurette.

Despite the fact that they seem even more like Sin City, I think they actually look and feel more like the Spirit than the actual filmed footage.

 

[Mercurius]

I disagree. His CONTRACT WITH GOD trilogy and some of the graphic novels afterwards are FAR more seminal. Have you read those?

They're seminal indeed.

But that has nothing to do with the fact that The Spirit and Eisner are inextricable.

Saying this is a tribute to The Spirit and not to Eisner is only a very poor play on words, that has no real meaning once you think it over.

Miller only said that because he knows he will be flamed as in Hell when his botched flick gets onscreen.

He is tryin' to get away with this sorry unimaginative work.

His only chance is that some people mistake it with a Sin City adventure-like (going for the action) and also because of the star-studded cast.

It's oficially THE SPINO (The-Spirit-in-name-only). t:

 

[Octoberist]

I'll be honest..shouldn't it be a tribute to Eisner's work as well..since his career was based around The Spirit? It was just a weird statement by Miller, in whom was tying to be poetic(?)..

 

[Bubastis]

Frank Miller to Will Eisner
"I'm gonna adapt your work all kinds of ******ed"

 

[Comics N' Toons]

i think i saw an interview where someone asked Frank about Will Eisner and the man started to cry!

 

[CrimsonMist]

i think i saw an interview where someone asked Frank about Will Eisner and the man started to cry!

That doesn't make the movie any better.

and LOL at Bubastis. That has to be the dumbest line ever conceived for a movie.t:

 

[Bubastis]

Thanks, Crimson. That came from a conversation I had with my friend where we just went on a line of I'M GONNA ______ YOU ALL KINDS OF______
IE: If you were buttering a muffin, you could be like "I'M GONNA BUTTER YOU ALL KINDS OF TASTY"
Or if you were a teacher, you could be like "I'M GONNA TEACH YOU (ALL) ALL KINDS OF INTELLIGENT"
It really is a horrendous line. I understand attempts to make the Spirit badass when they aren't excessive (like they are in the movie) but that line just sounds like something Sylvester Stallone would come up with if he was even less educated.

As for that Frank Miller Interview, his supposed admiration and respect for Will Eisner really do inspire me and give me hope for the movie, but the Frank Miller in interviews and the Frank Miller behind a camera tend to be entirely different things, unfortunately.

 

[CrimsonMist]

Thanks, Crimson. That came from a conversation I had with my friend where we just went on a line of I'M GONNA ______ YOU ALL KINDS OF______
IE: If you were buttering a muffin, you could be like "I'M GONNA BUTTER YOU ALL KINDS OF TASTY"

BAHAHAHAHAHA!

That's priceless. I have to use that one day for something. It's too good.t:t:

 

[Octoberist]

Thanks, Crimson. That came from a conversation I had with my friend where we just went on a line of I'M GONNA ______ YOU ALL KINDS OF______
IE: If you were buttering a muffin, you could be like "I'M GONNA BUTTER YOU ALL KINDS OF TASTY"
Or if you were a teacher, you could be like "I'M GONNA TEACH YOU (ALL) ALL KINDS OF INTELLIGENT"
It really is a horrendous line. I understand attempts to make the Spirit badass when they aren't excessive (like they are in the movie) but that line just sounds like something Sylvester Stallone would come up with if he was even less educated.

As for that Frank Miller Interview, his supposed admiration and respect for Will Eisner really do inspire me and give me hope for the movie, but the Frank Miller in interviews and the Frank Miller behind a camera tend to be entirely different things, unfortunately.

If you have to think..does the Spirit kill? And if he doesn't in the comics, then this little catchphrase is waaaaay out of character for him. Wayyy.

 

[CrimsonMist]

If you have to think..does the Spirit kill? And if he doesn't in the comics, then this little catchphrase is waaaaay out of character for him. Wayyy.

It's not even that. The line just flat out sucks.

 

[Bubastis]

It's both.

And that represents exactly why this movie is likely to flop. See, both comic book fans, critics, and average joe moviegoers adored the Dark Knight and Iron man. The Spirit looks sub-Batman & Robin to both people.

 

[theMan-Bat]

I haven't seen Miller's film yet since it doesn't hit theaters until next month, and I'm not going to pretend like I have seen Miller's film yet. But, from what little we see in the trailer, what he's "killing all kinds of dead" appears to be one of the many diluted clones of Pathos, but not the real Pathos. And I'm not afraid to admit, I like the line. It's amusing to me.

 

[theMan-Bat]

It's both.

And that represents exactly why this movie is likely to flop. See, both comic book fans, critics, and average joe moviegoers adored the Dark Knight and Iron man. The Spirit looks sub-Batman & Robin to both people.

Actually, Frank Miller's The Spirit looks like Sin City to people, and Sin City didn't flop.

 

[Mercurius]

Actually, Frank Miller's The Spirit looks like Sin City to people, and Sin City didn't flop.

I'm also sure that The Spino will be a suckcess.

 

[theMan-Bat]

I'm confident that it's going to be one hell of a good movie as well as being a successful movie.