Being Frank

IGN: A Dame to Kill For is supposed to be the focus of the second film. Will you interpolate other stories into that narrative as you did with the first Sin City?
Miller: It's going to be A Dame to Kill For and I'm right now crafting a new story that's going to be weaved in through it, and what I have in mind involves Nancy Callahan after Yellow Bastard, and it's kind of a shocking new version of Nancy.

IGN: Are you concerned at all that Jessica Alba might not be willing to go in this new direction with Nancy, since she had some reservations about the role in the first film?
Miller: You can't do this job and think that way. You have to proceed assuming you're going to get everything you want, and so I write a story assuming I'll get Jessica. I know that when I do a story and it's good, actors love to know that the guy writing it knows what he's talking about, and I have no doubt that if we can get Jessica on board for this, she and I will work very well [together] again.

IGN: Is there a name for that segment yet?
Miller: Yeah, but I'm not telling you (laughs). I do, but I really don't want to talk about it; I'm kind of superstitious, and I'm always afraid I'll ruin something if I talk about it too much.

IGN: Have you and Robert assessed whether or not you have enough material to make a third film, if the opportunity arises?
Miller: Oh, we've got so much material that it's ridiculous. I mean, I would love to shoot Family Values, and that's a pretty rich piece of work. With the first Sin City, because Robert's a very good editor, he really wanted to make it jam-packed, and he was able to cut the stories down in size in ways that shocked me. Now that we've got success on our hands and we can breathe a little bit, I want to use it. So if you're asking me 'is there going to be a third,' my question is 'is there going to be a fifth?'

IGN: How does it feel to have a collaborator who is so committed to your work that they first shoot a sequence for free to convince you to make the movie, but then quit the Director's Guild to ensure that you are properly credited for co-directing the film?
Miller: With Robert, all I can say is that it's very rare to be a man in his 40s who discovers he has a long-lost brother, and that's how I feel about Robert. He's a good, honest man, he's taught me, he's turned me into a director, and he's a lot of fun to be around. My whole comment is like a love letter to him.

IGN: Simultaneously, Zack Snyder (the Dawn of the Dead remake) is working on an adaptation of your book The 300. How will that be different than Sin City, and how do you feel about another filmmaker adapting your work?
Miller: That all came together before I became a director. The whole deal for that came together when I was just networking movies, and then Robert Rodriguez entered my life and all of a sudden I'm a director, and meanwhile, one of my babies is out there and it's got a different director. So yeah, part of me would have loved to charge in there and rip it out of his hands and said, 'I'm doing this,' but on the other hand, Zack and the other people working on that had approached me with such good faith that I really don't mind just being one of the producers. [But] my main thing is not spending too much time on the set; I've been on other people's sets before and I start directing without realizing I'm doing it. As Robert said to you, once you get the bug, you get the bug.

IGN: Your contributions on past film projects, including the Batman films, have often been shaped and restructured to suit the vision of a filmmaker. Do you expect that 300 will be more or less accurate to the source material than previous projects?
Miller: The day that you and I walk under that marquee for 300, we will know what the movie is going to be. I know from making one that if someone asked me before I started with Sin City to predict anything, I would have made a fool of myself, and when it comes to 300, ultimately yes it's my book and it's a great story that can't be betrayed, but it's going to be in Zack's hands. I'm sure that not even he could answer that question, let alone me. The script is very faithful, and it's really a very nice script.

IGN: As one of its producers will you be able to exert much control over the design and production of the film?
Miller: No. The only way I can ever control it is to be the director. If I'm not the director, I'm not the director; otherwise, it's just an exercise in futility and I'm going to make a fool of myself. It's Zack's movie, [and] there won't be any competition over who the director is. It's his movie.

IGN: What else is on the horizon for you following the Sin City sequels and 300?
Miller: All I can say is yes, but if I start talking I'll curse it, and besides, you know what it's like when you're talking with a movie person and they talk about all of these things. They say, 'we got greenlit,' 'we got an option,' and most of the time, they don't happen and you end up really sounding like a wanker. My feeling is, about the time we get the poster out, I'll be happy to talk with you about my next movie.

IGN: Fair enough. Another project you contributed to in some form was the Batman series, which borrowed heavily from your Year One books. What did you think of Batman Begins?
Miller: I thought they did a really, really good job. I mean, I walked out of that movie with a smile on my face; I thought it was a really strong interpretation of the character, and they knew what to borrow from and how much. I got a major kick out of the fact that they used that bit where he calls on the bats to attack the cops and that sort of thing, and I loved Gary Oldman's interpretation of exactly the Kim Gordon that I'd written in Batman: Year One. But it was [Christopher] Nolan's movie and [Christian] Bale's movie, and I just simply absorbed it and enjoyed the hell out of it.

IGN: Is it easy to let go of your ideas and your properties after they are sold and sometimes re-imagined by others for films?
Miller: Imagine if you were madly in love with a woman and things went south and you see her with another guy. That's what it's like. No, it's not easy.

IGN: Has the success of Sin City meant more control for you on future projects?
Miller: Well, the big difference here is that I didn't make up Batman. I don't own an ounce of the work I've ever done on Batman, and I still work on Batman. I love the character, I think it's a lot of fun, and it's kind of fun to be in that ballpark every once in a while, where you're seeing a different crowd. But nobody can do anything with Sin City without me agreeing to it, so basically Sin City is me and I take full responsibility for it.

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