The Spirit has long been a fan favorite for nearly 60 years. Will Eisner’s creation has been a groundbreaker in its visual style, and has seen many imitators. Now it looks like the streetwise masked man and friends are finally getting the big-screen treatment…
Odd Lot Entertainment has acquired the rights to produce a feature film based on seminal superhero comic book, Will Eisner’s THE SPIRIT, in partnership with Batfilm Productions. Odd Lot’s Gigi Pritzker and Deborah Del Prete (HOOLIGANS/THE WEDDING PLANNER) will produce the picture along with Batfilm’s Michael Uslan (BATMAN BEGINS/CATWOMAN/ CONSTANTINE). Executive Producers will be Benjamin Melniker and Steve Maier. Co-Producers will be F.J. DeSanto and Linda McDonough.
Will Eisner’s THE SPIRIT was created in 1940 and is the story of a masked detective – believed to be dead and operating out of a wildwood cemetery – who fights crime in Central City with his fists, cunning (a tongue-in-cheek sense of the absurd), and unbelievable tolerance for punishment. The property is considered by many fans and comic book historians to be the best creative work ever to come from the comic book industry in the last 70 years. Will Einser is the comic-genre master storyteller, whose name graces the comic industry’s most prestigious awards each year at Comicon – The Eisner Awards.
Will Eisner, currently living in Florida, says, “I’m pleased to see that a film adaptation of THE SPIRIT will be produced by so experienced a creative team as Michael, Deborah and Gigi. This is an important event in the history of the comic book character, with which I have been closely identified.†The intention for the adaptation is to create a handsomely crafted, stylized, character-driven tale. Additionally, it is a perfect match for the visual medium of film as Eisner’s drawings were groundbreaking in incorporating cinematic camera angles and atmospheric lighting effects.
Source: Odd Lot, Batfilm Productions
