Frank Miller talks making SIN CITY
It's probably no exaggeration to say that no one cartoonist has had such a huge influence over the last 20 years of comics as Frank Miller, whether it's his gripping work on DAREDEVIL, or his reinvention of Batman with THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS. Miller's work has influenced a generation of filmmakers, as well, but he's breaking into a new league with SIN CITY, opening April 1 and assembled by Austin maverick Robert Rodriguez [SPY KIDS, ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO]. Rodriguez was so dedicated to making the film that he put Miller on as co-director. Not only did Miller work on the set every day, but the original comics were used as definitive storyboards, making this without question the most faithful comic book film adaptation yet.
We caught up with Miller as he was in Austin, just finishing up directing some of the films voiceovers with stars Mickey Rourke and Bruce Willis, a process he likens to „directing radio dramas.“ With it's startlingly unique look and stellar cast, SIN CITY is already being called „the next PULP FICTION.“ Miller sits down and tells us how it got there.
THE BEAT: Let's go back to the origins. You're a big crime fiction fan --who were the writers who inspired SIN CITY?
FRANK MILLER: I can't avoid mentioning the obvious ones like Hammett, Chandler, Spillane. It's like a bottomless treasure trove when you really get into this stuff, when you go from that tier to the Jim Thompsons and Carl Hiaasens. Just recently I discovered a writer. There's a series called „Femme Fatale“ and it features among others the extraordinary work of a writer named Dorothy Hughes who hasn't published in a long time. But the book in particularly that she deserves to be renowned for called IN A LONELY PLACE. It's utterly chilling and I think she's in the top tier of these writers. But that was just a plug. I can't say she inspired Sin City.
But mostly SIN CITY came from those writers and long nights living alone in Manhattan discovering the black and white movies and the work of people like Sam Fuller. I was always into noir. When I lived in Vermont I was drawing stuff that looked like an amateur doing Sin City. When I first got to New York I was swiftly informed that they only did guys in tights. And so I had to adapt and learn how to do superheroes, which I really enjoyed. But when I got the chance I went back to what I loved most.
THE BEAT: I just reread the first few last night and was like „Whoa.“ What do you think is the appeal of noir and this kind dark, revenge driven fiction?
MILLER: It's going to sound odd, but I think it's the romance. Every Sin City [story] is a romance of some sort. They're very dark and the consequences are bad and they're usually futile, but I think that's at the heart of it. You can't have virtue without sin. What I'm after is having my characters' virtues defined by how they operate in a very sinful environment. That's how you test people.
THE BEAT: Are there heroes in Sin City?
MILLER: Yes, I would say that each one has a hero. There might be flaws. They might be disturbed, but if you look at it, ultimately, their motives are pure. These aren't Jim Thompson and James M. Cain stories. Dwight wants to keep the girls from getting killed. Hartigan does everything for Little Nancy--he throws his whole life away for her. And Marv goes on a quest that ends up destroying a lot of awful, evil people. So I consider these people heroes. If you go by Chandler's definition in The Simple Art of Murder they're what I'd like to call „knights in dirty armor.“
THE BEAT: I guess sometimes the ends justify the means.
MILLER: Or at least the ends justify being really mean!
THE BEAT: Why do you think Hollywood is so in love with comics right now?
MILLER: I'd say because comic books don't cost money to produce, so people can create more freely. If I or a number of people want to get something published, the publisher knows he's just spending a few grand and they’re willing to take more chances. There just isn't that much bureaucracy. And so things that are just fresh and vital come out. I mean who would have thought that this New York guy that Steve Ditko drew would end up being a billion dollar franchise? But I think it's because of the freedom that comic artists have that we produce things that are more fresh than would you could produce in a Hollywood boardroom where everyone's worried about spending $150 million.
THE BEAT: I guess there's more of a kind of purity of spirit in comics.
MILLER: Especially now. The field is improving. It's kind of splintering but stuff can come out. A great divide has opened between the independents and the old school publishers. It's very vital and I think that it – I sense a big difference there. The other thing is that one person can make a comic book. One person can't really make a movie. As soon as you start complicating the process you're gonna have a lot more voices around. Sometimes the solitary voice can be the best one.
THE BEAT: Do you worry at all about Hollywood diluting what's going on in comics right now? People getting their eyes on the prize and being seduced to the dark side.
MILLER: [Laughs.] Each in our own way. I held out. I just wouldn't do it that way. But when you have a franchise like Fantastic Four, say – I have no idea what that movie's going to be like—there's an awful lot of pressure to change things and one of the people who made it up isn't around anymore. So I don't know. I think that what happened with Spider-Man and X-men were extraordinarily faithful. Although not as faithful as Sin city is!
THE BEAT: Yeah, you've had the ultimate experience, haven't you?
MILLER: You mean directing?
THE BEAT: Well, yeah. I mean even in the trailer they put up your panels and there's the scene and it looks just like the comic. This is the closest a cartoonist has ever had – I guess unless you count Miyazaki, who's a cartoonist as well – but they are almost taking your brain and getting a feed from it and putting it on the movie screen.
MILLER: When we were shooting it, we had an animatic cam, a camera that showed my drawing and often we would have what the camera was seeing and put it on my drawing and then twist it and turn it to match my composition. That's a how faithful this is. And also I was able as director to explain all the characters to all the actors and get the nuances. I'm very encouraged. I mean if I'm a lousy director, it will be a lousy movie, but Robert [Rodriguez] and I had an awfully good time, and I think we did some really good stuff.
THE BEAT: Had Robert Rodriguez had from the beginning this idea of how he was going to make it with green screen?
MILLER: Absolutely. As he was convincing me to go along with this – and I was a pretty hard sell – he was telling me about the technology, and I couldn't grasp it. He was telling me he was going to be really, really faithful and I liked him but I couldn't believe that because I'd heard it so many times before. Even though he offered me the sun and the moon and the stars I turned him down several times. And then he called me up and said „How about you coming to Austin and we'll shoot a test and we'll see if we want to work together.“ How do I turn that down? There was Marley Shelton and Josh Hartnett standing there and all I could think was „Test, my butt, come on, it was the first day of principal photography.“ And working with the two actors I just fell in love with the process, so we started casting almost immediately.
THE BEAT: Obviously you have an all-star cast on the movie, but it's amazing how much they end up looking like the drawings.
MILLER: [Laughs] I know! It became like a competition among them. The first actor coming in was Mickey [Rourke] and he needed the prosthetic to get the profile. There's no way Marv couldn't have that bizarre profile. But then the rest of them all started saying „I want to look like a drawing too!“ Benecio del Toro, who wasn't asked to put on a prosthetic, said „I want that nose he drew!' Nobody had ever heard of an actor requesting a prosthetic before. Those things are horrible to wear. It just became a fever that hit the cast that came in and saw the existing footage and made themselves look more like the characters. I remember one of the things Bruce Willis said to me is "Hey man, I want that scar!“
THE BEAT: As soon as they saw the material they got sucked into the glamour of it all, eh?
MILLER: It sure felt that way!
THE BEAT: I can see how anyone who has any visual sense whatsoever would be drawn to these incredible visuals in the originals.
MILLER: There's also a real love of the genre among a lot of the cast. Bruce is a major film noir fan. He's read all the books and everything that's out there. Mickey has a real gut level love of the stuff. And Clive Owen's a Raymond Chandler fan. Rosario Dawson instantly grasped that she's an S&M Superhero. So that's pretty good.
THE BEAT: As the process went on how did you feel when you saw your drawings being brought to life?
MILLER: At first I was terrified. I was terrified by the whole process. I was nervous the first week or so. I didn't even know what a director really did. When Quentin Tarantino showed up, I got a better picture. The problem with working with Robert as a co-director, is that Robert wears many hats. And they're all cowboy hats. He was co-director, he runs the entire production company and he's the editor and the music and so on.
THE BEAT: Earlier you were saying that one man can't make a movie but he sure tries.
MILLER: He sure comes as close as you can get. But when Quentin showed up and I saw Quentin work I went, oh I get it, my job is all the stuff I like doing. Framing shots, coming up with shots, working with actors. I had a sketchbook and was coming up with shots because you need more shots than you get in a comic. It was a fascinating process. Once I got over the jitters, I came running into work, I was aching for the next scene. I was like a little kid. How often do you get the chance to be a complete novice at something [and do it]?
THE BEAT: You have a couple of movies optioned now. So what's the future of Frank Miller in Hollywood or Austin or wherever?
MILLER: I've told everybody within earshot that if this does well and they do a sequel, I'm in.
THE BEAT: You don't need to be persuaded this time!
MILLER: This time it will be easy! Other than that, there are a few things floating around. But right now, as of tomorrow I'm back drawing my comic books.
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