FRANK MILLER: AMERICAN GENIUS explores the near half-century career of Frank Miller, the legendary comic book artist and writer, and features interviews and cameos from his admirers, students, and collaborators, including Neal Adams, Robert Rodriguez, Jessica Alba, Jim Lee, Zack Snyder, Stan Lee, and more. The film was produced, written and directed by Silenn Thomas for Frank Miller Ink.
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Short filmTranscript
00:00 This man, you talk about talent.
00:03 He writes, he draws, he screenwrites, he directs,
00:08 and he is tops at all those things.
00:11 And that's pretty damn good.
00:14 Frank Miller!
00:16 I'd go into the comic book store and I would only look for Frank Miller.
00:19 I wouldn't even look at other stuff.
00:21 He is 100% a genius.
00:22 There's something about his work that transcends comics.
00:25 That's what great art does.
00:28 He made these massive leaps.
00:31 The Daredevil series.
00:32 Ron and Wolverine.
00:33 Sin City.
00:34 Superman 300.
00:35 The Dark Knight Returns.
00:36 The introduction of the graphic novel to American superhero comic storytelling.
00:41 I have a relationship with the audience,
00:45 who I like to tease and I like to thrill.
00:49 Frank's power comes from silhouettes and shadows,
00:53 which makes everything more valuable.
00:55 I use less and less line, finally I just started using no line at all.
01:00 To be an artist is to speak your truth as loudly as you can.
01:06 The paper, the paint, the brush, the pen, everything matters.
01:11 He got to a point where he was recognized by everyone.
01:16 Frank! Frank! Frank! Frank!
01:18 I had a tough time handling the success.
01:21 It was a real test of character.
01:23 [crowd cheering]
01:25 Stan Lee, he said that my stuff wasn't quite up to Marvel's standards yet.
01:31 I got into comics as an artist,
01:35 and I had to fight to be allowed to write my own work.
01:38 It can look like revolution when somebody's combined things
01:41 that haven't been combined.
01:43 In my career, it's when I've taken the risk to follow the stuff I'm dying to do.
01:52 The stuff that I think would be fun to read.
01:55 Those are the most intense projects I've had,
01:59 and the most rewarding on every level.
02:01 Through persistence and good luck,
02:10 I've managed to spend my life doing exactly what I wanted to do
02:13 ever since I was five years old.
02:14 That's about as American as it gets.
02:16 [MUSIC PLAYING]