The Spirit

All of the underwater scenes were shot dry-for-wet, which greatly reassured Eva Mendes, who cannot swim.

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Spirit's comic-book sidekick Ebony White was omitted, largely because the character was typically depicted as a 1930s racial stereotype. Writer-director Frank Miller disliked the idea of the Spirit having a sidekick, so the character was removed entirely rather than updated.

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The names given to three characters in the film — Logos, Pathos and Ethos — come from Aristotle, who argued that these three elements are necessary for persuasive rhetoric.

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It is the only film Frank Miller directed alone.

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Eva Mendes signed on to the film without even seeing the script because she wanted to work with Frank Miller. She said: "I loved Sin City (2005) and 300 (2006), and I love working with creative geniuses. His brain is like, 'What's going on in there?'".

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According to legend, Lorelei (death) was a siren who lured ships and sailors to their destruction.

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It was shot on green screen in fifty days.

BEHIND THE SCENES · SOURCED

In an interview with Total Film Magazine, writer-director Frank Miller admitted that just before shooting Paz Vega's scene he shouted "Cut!" instead of "Action!" because her costume distracted him.

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Some scenes were shot using a new digital camera called "The Phantom," which can capture up to 1000 frames per second. Much of the film was shot with Panavision Genesis cameras.

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Dolan (Dan Lauria) uses the phrase "hard goodbye" as a metaphor for death. It is also the title of the Marv Sin City story written by Frank Miller.

DEEPER MEANING · SOURCED

The film appears on Roger Ebert's "Most Hated" list.

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Although Sand Saref is a character from the comics in her own right, her seducing wealthy men, marrying them and killing them is a trait taken from the Spirit femme fatale P'Gell.

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In the early 1970s, William Friedkin bought the film rights to The Spirit and asked Will Eisner to write a screenplay. Eisner declined but suggested Harlan Ellison write it. In 1976 it was announced that Friedkin's Spirit film would be a television movie airing on NBC. When Friedkin and Ellison fell into an unrelated argument, the plans for the film came to an end.

PRODUCTION STORY · SOURCED

Central City shares its name with the city where the DC Comics superhero the Flash lives.

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In February 2007 Frank Miller completed the first draft of the screenplay and began work on a second draft. Principal photography was initially scheduled to begin in late spring 2007. Miller also planned to start shooting Sin City 2 in spring 2009, and Michael E. Uslan stated that The Spirit would be shot before Miller began Sin City 2. After Gabriel Macht was cast as the Spirit in August 2007, filming was rescheduled for the following October.

PRODUCTION STORY · SOURCED

Will Eisner always wanted James Garner to play the Spirit.

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All of the butler clones' names end in "-os," and the last two seen on screen are "Adios" and "Amigos."

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In July 2006, the film industry press reported that Frank Miller would write and direct the film adaptation of The Spirit. Miller and the producers announced this to the public at the 2006 Comic-Con International in San Diego, California. Miller said he had assembled a film treatment containing large portions of The Spirit strip panels. As 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 shot the film using the same digital backlot technology used in Sin City (2005) and 300 (2006). The film also copied specific shots from the comic, similarly to Sin City (2005).

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In July 2004, financier OddLot Entertainment bought the film rights. OddLot producers Gigi Pritzker and Deborah Del Prete began collaborating with Michael E. Uslan, Benjamin Melniker and Steven Maier of Batfilm Productions to adapt the story. Will Eisner, who protected the rights to his works, said he believed the producers should adapt The Spirit faithfully. In April 2005, comic book writer Jeph Loeb was hired to adapt The Spirit for the screen, but the writer eventually left the project. Later in April, Uslan met Frank Miller at Will Eisner's memorial in New York City, a few weeks after Miller's Sin City (2005) opened in theaters, and became interested in launching the adaptation technique with Miller's The Spirit. Miller was initially hesitant, doubting his ability to adapt The Spirit, but ultimately took on his first solo project as writer and director. Miller described his decision-making process: "The only thought in my mind was, 'This is too big. I can't possibly do this,' and I turned it down. About three minutes later, at the threshold, I turned around and said, 'No one else can touch this,' and I took the job right away."

PRODUCTION STORY · SOURCED

A few seconds after the Octopus (Samuel L. Jackson) mentions "Star Trek," Silken Floss (Scarlett Johansson) says the word "cling on," similar to the "Klingon" race in the Star Trek universe.

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Frank Miller used photocopies of Will Eisner's original Spirit artwork to create the film's storyboard. The introduction of Plaster of Paris (Paz Vega) is taken directly from her comic book introduction in The Spirit #441 (7 November 1948).

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At 7:13, a sign reading "Iger Street" appears. Jerry Iger was the partner of Will Eisner, the creator of The Spirit, during the Golden Age of comic books. They created pre-packaged stories for comic book publishers to use.

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Nicole Kidman was considered for the role of Dr. Ellen Dolan.

CHARACTERS & CAST · SOURCED

Charlize Theron was accepted for the role of Dr. Ellen Dolan.

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Samuel L. Jackson and Scarlett Johansson appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

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This was Seychelle Gabriel's debut.

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Samuel L. Jackson and Eva Mendes appeared in Cleaner (2007).

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Claire Danes was accepted for the role of Dr. Ellen Dolan.

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Natalie Portman was accepted for the role of Sand Saref.

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Reese Witherspoon was accepted for the role of Dr. Ellen Dolan.

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Renée Zellweger was accepted for the role of Dr. Ellen Dolan.

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Kate Hudson was accepted for the role of Dr. Ellen Dolan.

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Gwyneth Paltrow was accepted for the role of Dr. Ellen Dolan.

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Kate Winslet was accepted for the role of Dr. Ellen Dolan.

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Cate Blanchett was accepted for the role of Dr. Ellen Dolan.

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