Filmmakers page through graphic novels

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"Wanted" is the latest evidence that filmmakers can't get enough of graphic novels and comic-book series as inspirations for movies.And who can blame them?The print version presents a storyboard with accompanying dialogue all wrapped in a nice package, with a compact story arc and hard-core fans as added attractions. Plus, with Hollywood's computer-generated images at such a sophisticated stage, transferring graphic novels in the sci-fi/fantasy genre into films would seem like a no-brainer.Yet the road from page to screen hasn't always been smooth. Frank Miller and Alan Moore, masters of the graphic-novel form, are cases in point and counterpoint.It seems that nobody messes with Miller, and not just because his graphic novels are armed with testosterone to spare. Filmmakers have approached his works with respect bordering on adulation, which has proved to be a formula for success.Robert Rodriguez ("Spy Kids") broke with studios and went indie to collaborate with Miller on the film version of the writer's "Sin City," plus attracted an all-star cast, including Bruce Willis, Clive Owen, Jessica Alba and Elijah Wood (Frodo as a demented killer!). "Sin City 2" is due in theaters next year. Then Zach Snyder turned "300" -- Miller's account of courage against insurmountable odds -- into one of the hottest movies of last year. The artful film had frames that nearly duplicated painter Lynn Varley's book panels.Snyder will next try to turn the tide on turning an Alan Moore masterwork into a movie. With "Watchmen" -- named by Time magazine as one of the top 100 works of 20th-century American literature -- Snyder follows in inauspicious footsteps.The filmmaker would seem like the best fit so far for capturing the mad genius of Moore, who divorced himself from the botched big-screen version of his "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen," as well as critical successes "V for Vendetta" and "From Hell."Win or lose at the box office or in reviewers' star ratings, filmmakers keep going back to the deep well of graphic novels and comic-book series."Wanted," the live-action thrill ride, isn't nearly as true to its inspiration as either "Sin City" or "300" is to theirs. The screenwriters were handed the first issue of "Wanted" by Mark Millar and artist J.G. Jones and asked to adapt it, then sent new issues as they were released by publisher Top Cow. The script latches onto the character of Wesley, who resembles Eminem in the books but is played by "Atonement's" James McAvoy. He's a pathetic office drone who discovers that his absentee father was a master assassin and is thrust into his father's world.On Wesley's blood-spattered road to empowerment in the film, we meet his mentor, a vixen named Fox (played by Angelina Jolie, but drawn to resemble Halle Berry). Then along comes Sloan (Morgan Freeman) and the secret society he leads, which are creations of the screenwriters and far from the creature villains seen in print."The first 40 minutes of the film are pretty identical, scene for scene, to the book, and I was pleased with that," said Millar, who was only up to issue No. 2 when he sold the rights to Universal. "This wasn't the case with the first draft, but once (director Timur Bekmambetov) was attached, he really just embraced the darker aspects of the material."There are little nods to the comic-book series throughout, including an office nameplate glimpsed near the end that reads "J.G. Millar.""The movie is its own thing," producer Mark Platt says. "Millar backs it, and that's important to us filmmakers."Publishers and moviemakers who want to enjoy the multimedia potential of graphic novels without the risk are taking note -- and taking charge. Unlike "Wanted" and its predecessors, the new formula starts before a word is written or a drawing is inked, and with a multimedia plan already in place.Virgin Comics, for example, is recruiting teams (actor Hugh Jackman and writer Marc Guggenheim are the latest to sign on) to create original books with the intention of moving from page to screen. John Woo, Guy Ritchie, Terry Gilliam and Nicolas Cage are also signed to develop projects for Virgin.Not to be left behind, Walt Disney Studios last month signed a multiyear deal for the creative team of Ahmet Zappa, Harris Katleman and Christian Beranek (from the comics and studio worlds) to oversee Kingdom Comics, with the purpose of "developing graphic novels to create new film projects for the studio," the studio said in its announcement.It also promised that the Disney division "will soon announce some of the top graphic novelists and artists in the genre who will collaborate on upcoming projects."Also in recent weeks:-- Variety reported that Universal Studios has purchased the Oni Press graphic-novel series "The Last Call" and tapped Barry Josephson to produce an Evan Spiliotopoulous screenplay. It will be the fourth Oni Press imprint to be developed by Universal.-- Catastrophe Comics, launched by actor William Katt (TV's "Greatest American Hero"), last week released the first title in its noir comic-book miniseries, "Sparks." Catastrophe has also hooked up with Arcana Studios for a promised "big surprise" at Comic-Con International in San Diego next month.The comic-book superpowers have already figured out that you can't soar if you don't multitask.DC Comics (Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, etc.) is owned by Time Warner, which means the upcoming "Batman: The Dark Knight" is a Warner Bros. production. Over at rival Marvel, which had seen blockbusters made from its "X-Men" and "Spider-Man" characters, the publisher made the leap to Hollywood studio with this summer's "Iron Man" and "The Incredible Hulk," juggernauts hurtling toward "The Avengers" film, planned for 2011.With "multimedia" as the new buzzword, "Wanted" and "Watchmen," due next March, could become members of a rare breed: movies inspired by works that sprang into being with no Hollywood strings attached.(Sharon Eberson can be reached at seberson(at)post-gazette.com.)(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)