Hardboiled and sexy: Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez discuss Sin City
posted October 19, 2009 - 10:35amGoing through my old articles and interviews, I find some stuff that bring back fun memories. Like when SIN CITY competed at Cannes. What do you say, why not join me - let's travel back to May 2005, to a hot afternoon on the French Riviera...
Award winning writer-artist Frank Miller started drawing comics professionally in the late 1970s and got his breakthrough when he in the early 1980s started writing his own scripts. First, he took Marvel Comics' almost forgotten superhero Daredevil and turned him into a huge success, and then he did a similar revamp over at competing publisher DC Comics with their Batman. Miller revolusionized American comic books.
In the beginning of the 1990s, he created Sin City, published in seven volumes this far, which is an hommage to Mickey Spillane's hardboiled novels, albeit more twisted and violent.
Frank Miller has been involved in a handful of movies as a screenwriter, but now he's made his debut as a director - along with established director Robert Rodriguez, he's adapted Sin City for the big screen; a movie that's competing at Cannes.
Just like David Cronenberg's A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE (competing the same year), also based on a graphic novel, SIN CITY is remarkably violent, but in an exaggerated, unrealistic way. Heads roll, bodyparts are cut and blown off in a record making amount.
"I don't believe in that Monkey Does What Monkey Sees-shit," says Frank Miller when asked if he thinks the audience will imitate what's happening in his movie. "Most big, classic works of literature and drama are incredibly violent; from The Illiad and onwards."
"I don't believe in that Monkey Does What Monkey Sees-shit," says Frank Miller when asked if he thinks the audience will imitate what's happening in his movie. "Most big, classic works of literature and drama are incredibly violent; from The Illiad and onwards."
"Violence is a much too big word," Miller continues. "Violence can mean so much, just like the word sex. Sex can be both DEEP THROAT and Rita Hayworth. Violence can be both Bugs Bunny and realistic dramas. A story I guess we've all heard while growing up, is the one about the little kid who thought he was Superman, tied a towel around his neck and jumped out a window and died. You know what? That kid has never existed! If that story was true, I would have known his name. Japanese pop culture is the most violent in the world, but at the same time, their crime rate is very low, unlike in America. I really don't think reality imitates art."
Miller is interrupted by actor Michael Madsen, who plays Bob in SIN CITY:
Miller is interrupted by actor Michael Madsen, who plays Bob in SIN CITY:
"Frank, I just want you to know that I know who that kid who jumped out the window was," he says. "I was that kid! But I survived."
As always, Robert Rodriguez is wearing a cowboy hat, and he does also have something to add to Frank Miller's opinions on fictitious violence.
"We didn't have any problems at all with the MPAA (the American board of film rating)," Rodriguez says. "The movie is too artificial, it isn't realistic. MPAA realized SIN CITY is about the darkness, not just the fact that the movie's look is dark, but the darkness within the characters."
SIN CITY is based on three volumes of the series, three separate stories with a few elements in common. All the men are tough, chain smoking, violent guys, while all the women are sexy, half naked, violent strippers or hookers. The portraits of the women have led to some strong reactions in the U.S., where the movie already has opened.
As always, Robert Rodriguez is wearing a cowboy hat, and he does also have something to add to Frank Miller's opinions on fictitious violence.
"We didn't have any problems at all with the MPAA (the American board of film rating)," Rodriguez says. "The movie is too artificial, it isn't realistic. MPAA realized SIN CITY is about the darkness, not just the fact that the movie's look is dark, but the darkness within the characters."
SIN CITY is based on three volumes of the series, three separate stories with a few elements in common. All the men are tough, chain smoking, violent guys, while all the women are sexy, half naked, violent strippers or hookers. The portraits of the women have led to some strong reactions in the U.S., where the movie already has opened.
"Well, what can I say?" Miller sighs. "I'm a guy! When I sat down to create Sin City, I decided that the men were going to be tough, the women sexy and the cars hot. Mainly because it's more fun to draw stuff like that."
"In SIN CITY, the women are as strong and powerful as the men," Robert Rodriguez comments.
Brittany Murphy, who plays Shellie, presents her view on the subject:
"It's the women who run the city," she claims. "Sin City is controlled by women with the oldest profession in the world. The roles are reversed. In the movie, it's the men who have deep inner monologues, who ponder about life, while the women have the men in their hands and sometimes kill them."
"In SIN CITY, the women are as strong and powerful as the men," Robert Rodriguez comments.
Brittany Murphy, who plays Shellie, presents her view on the subject:
"It's the women who run the city," she claims. "Sin City is controlled by women with the oldest profession in the world. The roles are reversed. In the movie, it's the men who have deep inner monologues, who ponder about life, while the women have the men in their hands and sometimes kill them."
SIN CITY was shot in Robert Rodriguez' own studio in Austin, Texas, and it's made in a completely new way - as good as everything but the actors is computer generated. The actors acted in front of green screens, and all of the locations, the cars and other things were added later on.
"But this is not a special effects movie," Frank Miller says. "We used the actors as the canvas we painted on."
"And we used the graphic novels as references," Jessica Alba, who plays Nancy the stripper, adds. "We looked at Frank's pictures and understood what it was going to look like when the surroundings had been inserted."
"Frank's comics are amazing, well-directed, well-edited unfilmed movies," Robert Rodriguez says. "We copied Frank's scenes from the comics as often as we could."
SIN CITY is produced by Dimension, a division of Miramax, and Miramax gave Rodriguez free hands to do what he wanted to do, after a little test scene. Harvey Weinstein thought for two seconds before he green lit the project.
"Dimension is an independent company," Rodriguez says. "We could hardly have made it for another studio. The others would have thought it was too weird and complain about the movie being in black and white. At Dimension, we could do exactly what we wanted, how we wanted, so we played and experimented all the time.
"But this is not a special effects movie," Frank Miller says. "We used the actors as the canvas we painted on."
"And we used the graphic novels as references," Jessica Alba, who plays Nancy the stripper, adds. "We looked at Frank's pictures and understood what it was going to look like when the surroundings had been inserted."
"Frank's comics are amazing, well-directed, well-edited unfilmed movies," Robert Rodriguez says. "We copied Frank's scenes from the comics as often as we could."
SIN CITY is produced by Dimension, a division of Miramax, and Miramax gave Rodriguez free hands to do what he wanted to do, after a little test scene. Harvey Weinstein thought for two seconds before he green lit the project.
"Dimension is an independent company," Rodriguez says. "We could hardly have made it for another studio. The others would have thought it was too weird and complain about the movie being in black and white. At Dimension, we could do exactly what we wanted, how we wanted, so we played and experimented all the time.
Just recently (this being May 2005), the Weinsteins left Miramax, which was about to be reconstructed, something Robert Rodriguez and his buddy Quentin Tarantino was looking forward to. Tarantino is also involved in SIN CITY, he's credited as a "special guest director". This means that he directed one scene, in which Clive Owen and Benicio Del Toro are sitting in a car.
"You say that two hearts beat better than one," Benicio Del Toro says. "Then three hearts must beat better than two!"
"Robert was the creative one during filming," Clive Owen says. "Quentin came in as yet another fresh breeze.
What's going to happen after the success of SIN CITY?
"I always try to make other comics than Sin City," Frank Miller says. "I need to get away from Sin City every now and then and think of something else."
But a sequel to SIN CITY is already in the making.
"We haven't started writing the screenplay yet, but next time we'll use 'A dame to kill for'," says Robert Rodriguez.
"You say that two hearts beat better than one," Benicio Del Toro says. "Then three hearts must beat better than two!"
"Robert was the creative one during filming," Clive Owen says. "Quentin came in as yet another fresh breeze.
What's going to happen after the success of SIN CITY?
"I always try to make other comics than Sin City," Frank Miller says. "I need to get away from Sin City every now and then and think of something else."
But a sequel to SIN CITY is already in the making.
"We haven't started writing the screenplay yet, but next time we'll use 'A dame to kill for'," says Robert Rodriguez.
Now, it's October 2009. Rodriguez and Miller are still talking about that sequel.
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Comments
...And thank you for reading
...And thank you for reading and liking it, Wdzzz!
OOKABALLAKONGA!
This is one Ive never seen..
But your article is excellent. Thanks for sharing.
Sequel - Too Late
I truly believe it is too late for a sequel. I don't think it's going to happen, but if it does they've lost all the wind in their sail.
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