The Spirit (My City Screams) Frank Miller 2008 Film

The Spirit (also known as Will Eisner’s The Spirit) is an upcoming 2008 American film adaptation based on the newspaper strip The Spirit created by Will Eisner. Frank Miller wrote and directed the film, which stars Gabriel Macht as The Spirit and Samuel L. Jackson as his nemesis, The Octopus. Filming began in October 2007, with release scheduled for December 25, 2008.

Writer-director Frank Miller described the main character: “ The character has a terrifying side to him. This is a man who’s died and came back to life. So it twists into fantasy. And of course there are tons of women in it. There have to be it’s The Spirit. They’re all in love with him, and he’s in love with all of them. You might say he’s a bit of a slut.”

The film series will not begin with an origin story, but will instead open with the adventures of The Spirit already having begun. The film will be more contemporary than the ’40s and ’50s era of the strip and will aim for a “timeless feel.”

The protagonist will be involved in a love triangle with Sand Saref and Ellen Dolan, the daughter of Central City’s Police Commissioner Dolan. The controversial character Ebony White will not appear in the film.

In the early 1990s, producer Michael Uslan obtained the rights to Will Eisner’s 1940s newspaper comic strip The Spirit for a live-action film adaptation. The producer promised Eisner that he would not permit anyone who “didn’t get it” to work on the project. Two ideas pitched to Uslan were to put The Spirit in a costume and to have The Spirit really be a resurrected dead man that possessed superpowers.

In July 2004, financier Odd Lot Entertainment acquired the rights to the film. Odd Lot’s producers Gigi Pritzker and Deborah Del Pete began a collaboration with Uslan, working at Batfilm Productions, to adapt the story. Eisner, who was protective of the rights to his creations, said that he believed in the producers to faithfully adapt The Spirit. In April 2005, comic book writer Jeph Loeb was hired to adapt The Spirit for the big screen, but the writer eventually left the project. Later in April, Uslan approached Frank Miller at Will Eisner’s memorial service in New York several weeks after Miller’s Sin City was released in theaters, interested in initiating the adaptation technique with Miller’s film for The Spirit. Miller had initially hesitated, doubting his skill in adapting The Spirit, but ultimately embraced his first solo project as writer-director.

In July 2006, Miller was officially confirmed to write and direct the film adaptation for The Spirit. Miller announced that he was putting together a film treatment that included large parts of The Spirit strip panels. Miller described the project, “I intend to be extremely faithful to the heart and soul of the material, but it won’t be nostalgic. It will be much scarier than people expect.” Miller plans to film The Spirit using the same digital background technology that was used for Sin City and 300. The film would also copy specific shots from the comic, similar to Sin City.

In February 2007, Miller completed the first draft of the screenplay, and began work on a second draft. Principal photography was initially slated to begin in late spring 2007. Miller also plans to begin filming Sin City 2 in late spring, but Uslan indicated that filming for The Spirit will begin before Miller starts Sin City 2. Following the casting of Gabriel Macht as The Spirit in August 2007, filming was re-slated for the following October. It will take place in Albuquerque Studios in New Mexico. The Spirit was shot using Panavision’s Genesis digital camera.

At the New York Comic-Con on February 24, 2007, director/writer Frank Miller and producer Michael Uslan was scheduled to present a panel for The Spirit, though Miller was unable to attend due to recuperation from hip and leg injuries. Instead, Uslan, fellow producer F.J. DeSanto, and former The Spirit publisher Denis Kitchen presented a panel at which they described the history of the film and the film’s progress.

In October 2007, Titan Books announced it had acquired worldwide rights to a deluxe making-of book for the film, featuring interviews with the cast and crew, color photos, storyboards and production art, plus the full screenplay. It is scheduled to be released in December 2008, the same month as the film.

Lionsgate will distribute The Spirit in the United States and the United Kingdom. Sony Pictures will distribute the film in France, Germany, Italy, Scandinavia and parts of Latin America. The film will be released on December 25, 2008. On 6 May, Lionsgate announced they would Release The Spirit on the 25th of December, as apart of the “Spirit of Christmas” marketing campaign.

Cast:

• Gabriel Macht as Denny Colt / The Spirit: A rookie cop who returns from the dead to fight crime in Central City from the shadows. Miller had required actors who wanted the starring role to audition, and Macht was able to attain the role in August 2007.
• Samuel L. Jackson as The Octopus: A villain who plans to wipe out all of Central City and will kill anyone unlucky enough to see his face. Jackson was Miller’s first choice for the role and was cast in May 2007.
• Scarlett Johansson as Silken Floss: A femme fatale secretary and accomplice to the Octopus.
• Eva Mendes as Sand Saref. The actress told director Frank Miller that she wanted to work with him on The Spirit before she had seen a script for the film.
• Sarah Paulson as Dr. Ellen Dolan: The police commissioner’s daughter.
• Dan Lauria as Commissioner Dolan.
• Stana Katic as Morgenstern.
• Johnny Simmons as Young Denny Colt.
• Louis Lombardi as Phobos: One of the Octopus’s henchmen.
• Jaime King as Lorelei Rox.
• Paz Vega as Plaster of Paris.
• Meeghan Holaway as Holly. 

Links:

• The Spirit (My City Screams) Frank Miller 2008 Film Desktop Wallpapers: http://www.snoron.com/movies-wallpapers/the-spirit/

What Happens in Vegas Film Reviews

What Happens in Vegas… is a 2008 romantic comedy film from 20th Century Fox starring Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher.

In Manhattan, highly-strung stockbroker Joy is dumped by her fiance, whilst laid-back carpenter Jack is fired from his job. Both go with a friend to Las Vegas, where they meet. While drunk, Joy and Jack marry; they decide to divorce after returning home.

 Jack wins a huge jackpot after playing with Joy’s quarter. A judge decides that they cannot divorce right away, they first have to try to stay together. The one who does not cooperate will not get any share of the money. The newlyweds devise ever-escalating schemes to undermine each other and get their hands on the money, only to find themselves falling in love.

The film had its world premiere at the Odeon in Leicester Square, London. It opened in wide release in the United States on May 9, 2008. Big Brother 9 housemates Ryan and Sharon won a special screening of the film after winning a “luxury competition” in April. They were also awarded tickets to the May 1 Hollywood premiere.

In its opening weekend, the film grossed $20.1 million in 3,215 theaters in the United States and Canada, ranking #2 at the box office, behind Iron Man, but ahead of Speed Racer. As of May 15, 2008, it has grossed a total of $51.2 million worldwide $26.4 million in the United States and Canada and $24.8 million in other territories.

An outtake was leaked on YouTube and shows a scene where the characters portrayed by Diaz and Kutcher are getting married while intoxicated. The two were actually intoxicated in order to make the scene look realistic, but their erratic behavior caused the scene to be filmed multiple times.

Cast:

• Cameron Diaz as Joy McNally
• Ashton Kutcher as Jack Fuller
• Queen Latifah as Dr. Twitchell
• Rob Corddry as Jeffery “Hater” Lewis
• Lake Bell as Toni “Tipper” Saxson
• Treat Williams as Jack Fuller Sr.
• Michelle Krusiec as Chong
• Dennis Miller as Judge Whopper
• Dennis Farina as Richard Banger
• Jason Sudeikis as Mason
• Zach Galifianakis as Dave the bear

Links:

• What Happens in Vegas Film Reviews: http://www.snoron.com/movies-wallpapers/what-happens-in-vegas/

You Don’t Mess with the Zohan 2008 Film overview

You Don’t Mess with the Zohan is a 2008 comedy film. The story was written by Adam Sandler, Judd Apatow, and Robert Smigel and will be directed by Dennis Dugan. Sandler’s production company Happy Madison will produce the film, and Sony Pictures Entertainment will distribute the film. It is rated PG-13.

A Mossad agent fakes his death so he can re-emerge in New York City as a hair stylist. Sandler stars as Zohan, an Israeli commando who fakes his own death in order to pursue his dream: becoming a hairstylist in New York.

He romances his clients by giving them “special services” in the back room. However, he is eventually recognized, and risks losing his newfound life and career.

Judd Apatow teams up with his former roommate Adam Sandler to write a star comedy vehicle for the actor in You Don’t Mess With the Zohan, a tale of an undercover Mossadist who’s posing as a hairstylist in New York City. I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry’s Dennis Dugan directs for Happy Madison Productions and Columbia Pictures.

The score to the film was composed by Rupert Gregson-Williams. He recorded his score with the Hollywood Studio Symphony at the Sony Scoring Stage in April 2008.

Cast:

• Adam Sandler as Zohan
• Emmanuelle Chriqui as Dalia, a Palestinian who falls for Zohan but doesn’t know about his past in the Sayeret (Commando Unit)
• John Turturro as Phantom, Zohan’s nemesis
• Nick Swardson
• Rob Schneider
• Mariah Carey as Herself
• Talia Shire as ‘Phantom’s Mother’
• Alec Mapa
• George Takei
• Kevin James as Jo 

Links

• You Don’t Mess with the Zohan 2008 Film overview and Wallpapers: http://www.snoron.com/movies-wallpapers/you-dont-mess-with-the-zohan/

Pathology 2008 Film

Pathology is a 2008 thriller film directed by Marc Schoelermann. The cast was announced on April 4, 2007 and filming started in May 2007. The film premiered April 11, 2008 in the United Kingdom and opened in limited release in the United States on April 18, 2008.

A group of medical residents studying pathology devise a deadly game: to see which one of them can commit the perfect murder.

When med school student Ted Gray (Milo Ventimiglia) graduates top of his class he joins one of the nation’s most prestigious Pathology programs.

With talent and determination, Ted is quickly noticed by the program’s privileged and elite band of pathology interns who invite him into their crowd. Intrigued by his new friends he begins to uncover secrets he never expected and finds that he has unknowingly become a pawn in their dangerous and secret after-hours game at the morgue of who can commit the perfect undetectable murder. As Ted becomes seduced into their wild extracurricular activities the danger becomes real and he must stay one step ahead of the game before he is the next victim.

Cast:

• Alyssa Milano as Gwen Williamson
• Milo Ventimiglia as Dr. Ted Gray
• Michael Weston as Dr. Jake Gallo
• Lauren Lee Smith as Dr. Juliette Bath
• Johnny Whitworth as Griffin Cavanaugh
• John de Lancie as Dr. Quentin Morris
• Mei Melançon as Dr. Catherine Ivy
• Keir O’Donnell as Dr. Ben Stravinsky

Links:

• Pathology 2008 Film Reviews and Photos: http://www.snoron.com/movies-wallpapers/pathology/