Frank Miller: From Now On, I Direct My Own Stuff
Filed under: Action, Drama, Mystery & Suspense, Newsstand, Comic/Superhero/Geek
Even though Frank Miller's works have been adapted for the screen on several occasions and have met with resounding success - especially in the case of his latest adaptation 300 -- and he's always been a strong proponent of the filmmakers who've brought his work to the screen, I guess there was always something missing. So, what's Frank Miller looking for that he doesn't already have? Well, like many people who work in Hollywood, or wish they did, he wants to direct. Miller, who was the co-director with Robert Rodriguez on Sin City and will take that role again for the sequel, was being interviewed by London's Daily Telegraph while promoting his newest film 300. In the article he expressed his enthusiasm for 300 and more film adaptations of his work but also said: "This, I hope, will be the last property of mine that isn't directed by me." His statement makes perfect sense to me. Let me explain why.
Like it or not, filmmaking is a director's medium. The writer, while very important to the process, usually ends up taking a back-seat to the director once they come on board a project. As a writer, the best way to make sure the story you want to tell gets told the way you want to tell it is to direct the film yourself. Obviously, Miller knows this and believes it and wants to make sure he gets to do it his way. Now that 300 is a monster hit, I'll bet he has a very easy time convincing studios to let him direct his own projects from now on. After all, money talks and those $70 million dollars have to be talking pretty loudly right now.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-13-2007 @ 10:52AM
stephen p. said...
so every movie based on his stories will come out two years after it's release date or not at all then huh? miller is notorious for not keeping things on schedule.
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3-13-2007 @ 11:09AM
Yayaja said...
Hopefully this will put an end to 8 foot tall flamboyantly gay god-emperors.
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3-13-2007 @ 11:33AM
Elrond Hobbert said...
Right because everyone knows that if you're a great cook you can also do brain surgery. Frank do yourself a big favor and just keep doing things the way you've been doing them the past few years. Co-directing with Robert Rodriguez is a long long way from doing everything yourself. It would be a real shame to see your awesome stories locked up in one person with little experience in the directing world because of his ego...
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3-13-2007 @ 11:44AM
iCanDigThat said...
if it was some other writer who simply put words on a page then i'd agree with elrond up there but Miller knows how to frame shots, he knows composition and i'd be happy to see a movie directed in his hand, the cinematography would be incredible.
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3-13-2007 @ 11:46AM
Gilbert Davis said...
Interesting, not necessarily good news though. I think I read that Miller didn't initially like some of the choices the director made in 300 and I'm wondering if a project where he is the head cheese director will mean he won't look or listen to the ideas of others. It's a shame there isn't some secret formula or magic bullet which ensures a quality end result. Add hubris, ego, piles of money and unfettered control and you get the Wachowski brothers going from the genius of The Matrix to the mess that was the second two movies in the series.
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3-13-2007 @ 2:40PM
Kevin said...
Actually, just as a clarification, his script for Robocop 2 was much better than what was produced, and, as such, he shied far away from allowing any of his works to be made - that is, until Robert Rodriguez shot the opening for Sin City and showed it to him. Sufficiently impressed, he allowed that film, and, with that a success, 300.
I think a comic book writer is going to know a lot about shots and whatnot, but interacting with actors and dealing with lots of the much more mundane stuff as a director is an entirely different bag.
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