February
25 "The Spirit" update

A panel Saturday at the New York Comic-Con on the film adaptation of Will Eisner’s The Spirit succeeded in pumping up fans for the film, which will be directed by Frank Miller. Miller was absent from the panel, having suffered a severe hip and leg injury in a recent fall, but producers Michael Uslan and F.J. DeSanto filled in by talking extensively about Miller’s plans for the project.
Miller is currently writing a second, supposedly final, draft based on a story he worked out by posting copies of Eisner panels on a wall and filling in any gaps with his own sketches. The final result was an extensive visual storyboard that will be the basis for the film.
Uslan says that once the script is finished, production can being quickly. No casting decisions have been made, though Uslan says Miller has definite ideas about who he wants in the movie and has found many of those actors already interested in doing the film.
Uslan stressed he made a promise to Eisner, who died in early 2005, that the film would only be made with producers, studios and filmmakers that truly understand the material. He says he’s kept that promise by getting Miller on board and independently financing the movie with partners Odd Lot Entertainment to ensure that the film remains true to Eisner’s original comic series.
A few other tidbits surfaced: The film will feature many of Eisner’s famous femmes fatales, with Sand Serif – the character that directly inspired Miller’s creation of Elektra – playing a major role. The villainous Octopus also will play a big part in the film. Sidekick Ebony will not be in the film, not because of the politically incorrect nature of the character as much as that he doesn’t fit into the story Miller has worked out. Uslan says the film will be dark, but without ignornig Eisner’s sense of humor. He expects the film to be a hard PG-13. He suggested fans of Eisner’s more upbeat Spirit tales should keep their eyes peeled for a possible spinoff animation project. The film will use the same sort of digital technology as seen in Sin City and 300 to create a vision of Central City true to Eisner’s comics, including the awesome title treatments Eisner was so famous for. Miller drew a stark teaser poster for the film in his Sin City style.
Interestingly, many fans who got in line to ask questions said their interest in The Spirit comics and film was sparked by the new monthly series created by Darwyn Cooke and published by DC Comics. Denis Kitchen, Eisner’s former agent and publisher, says all of Eisner’s graphic novel work is either in print now or will be coming back into print soon.