Rights to Will Eisner comicbook “The Spirit” have been purchased by financier Odd Lot Entertainment, which is planning a live-action feature adaptation.
Odd Lot’s Gigi Pritzker and Deborah Del Prete will produce along with Batfilm’s Michael Uslan, who is an exec producer on “Batman Begins” and “Constantine.” Benjamin Melniker and Steve Maier are exec producing. Pic will be an Odd Lot/Batfilm co-production. F.J. DeSanto and Linda McDonough are co-producers.
Created in 1940, “The Spirit” is the story of a detective who thwarts an attempt to release a substance that will leave the inhabitants of Central City in suspended animation. He is exposed to the goo, giving him the ability to withstand any beating. He battles crime and a slew of femme fatales.
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The series inspired the celebrated Michael Chabon novel “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay” and made Eisner a comicbook legend whose name graces Comic-Con’s Oscar-equivalent Eisner Awards.
Eisner, who is still drawing from his home base in Florida, said he believed in the producers enough to entrust his most storied title. Financing for the development will be provided by Odd Lot, formed in late 2002 by Dee Gee Entertainment partners Pritzker and Del Prete, best known for “The Wedding Planner.” The duo recently completed production on “Hooligans,” a pic that starred Elijah Wood, Charlie Hunnam and Claire Forlani. They are readying for production the Chris Gerolmo-scripted “Trap for Cinderella,” to be directed by Iain Softley, and several other films.
