Frank Miller to write/direct Buck Rogers

[Nostalgiabuff]

Next thing ya know they'll make a Lone Ranger Movie and have a non-native American Play Tonto

actually Johnny Depp will be Tonto and he is part Native American, maybe not as good as Jay Silverheals but I think he will play a good part.

I think Miller has publicly complained about the studio constraints put on him with Robo 3, I don't recall the specifics but remember hearing an interview with him about it.

[Earth 2 Chris]

Miller is now "in" in Hollywood. I saw him hosting TCM with Robert Osbourne the other night, picking his favorite movies.

If The Spirit tanks, he may be "out" as director though.

I would admire Miller's work if he could adapt material to his style and not totally re-invent that material. If he wants to write Sin City, then don't do All-Star Batman. If he wants to direct Sin City 2, don't direct The Spirit.

I'm waiting for Frank Miller's film adaptation of "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown". All in black and white with a few bright colors here and there. Linus is left for dead in the pumpkin patch, but arises and spends the whole movie talking about how he protects it's sincerity with force.

Chris

[The Bat]

I'm waiting for Frank Miller's film adaptation of "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown". All in black and white with a few bright colors here and there. Linus is left for dead in the pumpkin patch, but arises and spends the whole movie talking about how he protects it's sincerity with force.

Chris

Riot!!!!!!!

[garagesale]

I like ALL Frank Miller stuff... even tho I hate his politics...

JamesD

[ctc]

>It'll probably feel a lot like Chaykin's "American Flagg!" but with Buck standing on rooftops in silhouette a lot.

HAW! Never thought of that, but I think you're right.

>The early word on the Spirit seems to be "poo poo".

Weird. Everyone LOVED it when it was called "Batman."

>If he wants to write Sin City, then don't do All-Star Batman. If he wants to direct Sin City 2, don't direct The Spirit.

I kinda think Sin City was Miler's ultimate project. Even his Daredevil and Dark Knight stories seem like prototypical Sin City. And I think once he'd done it, it became ALL that he does. (Even "300" felt like "Sin City" with leather jockstraps.") Sometimes it works, sometimes it's too far afield from the story.

There seems to come a point in most artist's lives when they stop developing and experimenting. (We used to call it "Byrning out.") I think Miller has reached it.

As a weird aside; I've never found his stuff all that "extreme," even though a lot of folks seem put off by the supposedly rampant sex and violence. Maybe it's all them years of reading Guido Crepax and Go Nagai....

Don C.

[johnmiic]

I don't think Twiki is in the original Buck Rogers stories so I don't think they will use him in any new version. He and Theo, were a reaction to Star Wars. Tho from the shape of Twiki's helmet I think we can tell what he would be used for.

[thunderbolt]

The Sin City movie style might be a interesting take for Buck's retro future look.

[palitoy]

>

>The early word on the Spirit seems to be "poo poo".

Weird. Everyone LOVED it when it was called "Batman."

You should probably read up before you make statements like this. The similiarities to the Burton film are few and far between. It may be a better film if Burton made it.

[ctc]

>The similiarities to the Burton film are few and far between.

I don't mean the film, I mean the character in general. I'm not an expert, but in the Spirit stories I can remember he seemed a lot more.... I don't want to say "befuddled," but he wasn't the super in-control action hero type. Everything I've seen and heard of the new movie makes him seem like a watered down Batman.

Don C.

[palitoy]

>The similiarities to the Burton film are few and far between.

I don't mean the film, I mean the character in general. I'm not an expert, but in the Spirit stories I can remember he seemed a lot more.... I don't want to say "befuddled," but he wasn't the super in-control action hero type. Everything I've seen and heard of the new movie makes him seem like a watered down Batman.

Don C.

That I get, yeah that's one of my bigger problems with this version, that guy looks like the Spirit but he isn't acting like him. What's with the over serious "Whisper talk", the ability to fly from rooftops and defy gravity in truly odd ways?

This "befuddled" element (while pretty accurate, i like to think of it as human) doesn't seem to fit in Miller's "vision".

I wish Brad Bird had gotten his animated feature off the ground.

[ctc]

>This "befuddled" element (while pretty accurate, i like to think of it as human) doesn't seem to fit in Miller's "vision".

Yeah. I suspect 'cos Batman has made so much money that's what the producers explicitly wanted.... and I'm thinkin' Batman is the mental image of "costumed hero" that everyone works from now.

>I wish Brad Bird had gotten his animated feature off the ground.

I think that would have worked better. Most of the comics I'd seen were kinda cartoony; at least enough that live action doesn't really do it justice. And not in the "dark, gritty exaggerated action" sense. It was mostly in the expressions and physical takes.

Don C.

[palitoy]

Yeah. I suspect 'cos Batman has made so much money that's what the producers explicitly wanted.... and I'm thinkin' Batman is the mental image of "costumed hero" that everyone works from now.

Much of the Sin City crew could fly as well but in a sense you're right. The Spirit would be a hard sell to a backer, so they sold it out a little. Too bad, I think one of his more appealing facets is washed out.

I think that would have worked better. Most of the comics I'd seen were kinda cartoony; at least enough that live action doesn't really do it justice. And not in the "dark, gritty exaggerated action" sense. It was mostly in the expressions and physical takes.

I agree, the Spirit comic is good at channelling some noir moments, it's very atmospheric. The settings, the back grounds, the characters, an animated feature would have brough that to life easily.

It could be done in live action but Miller's take on Noir is over the top and not real subtle, the Spirit comics are wonderfully subtle.

[Earth 2 Chris]

As it stands, from what I've seen, the Sam Jones TV movie was a better adaptation.

Chris

[palitoy]

As it stands, from what I've seen, the Sam Jones TV movie was a better adaptation.

Chris

Sam Jones was great in that, I wasn't thrilled about the 80s look for it but it had it's moments. I especially liked the theme song and the montage.

Eisner wasn't pleased however, he kind of refused to talk about it with me.

[mego73]

I truly hate the impulse that modern Science Fiction and remakes have to make it dark and pessimistic. And each time, they say it's a new approach. Not that it doesn't work now and again, but Buck Rogers is begging for a more traditional approach, much like Superman got in the 1978 movie.