Sin City Release Date: April 1, 2005 Starring: Marley Shelton, Michael Madsen, Mickey Rourke, Jessica Alba, Maria Bello, Nick Stahl, Benicio Del Toro, Bruce Willis, Clive Owen, Michael Clarke Duncan, Rosario Dawson, Alexis Bledel, Brittany Murphy, Elijah Wood, Jamie King, Carla Gugino, Josh Hartnett Directed by: Robert Rodriguez, Frank Miller
To convince Frank Miller that he could translate Miller’s noirish graphic novel series Sin City to the screen, Robert Rodriguez (Once Upon a Time in Mexico) invited the writer-artist to watch him shoot the opening sequence, with Josh Hartnett and Marley Shelton. “Talk about reeling somebody in,” Miller laughs. Then Rodriguez resigned his Directors Guild membership so that the duo could be listed as codirectors. “Frank’s books pretty much are illustrated screenplays,” he says. “And so much of what goes on between the panels is in his head.” The pair re-created the comics’ wildly stylized urban backdrop on green screen, with an ensemble worthy of Quentin Tarantino (who guest-directed one scene). Says the S&M-styled Rosario Dawson: “When I’m 80 I’ll be like, ‘Look at those handcuffs hanging off my hip—yeah, I kicked ass!’ ”
