With its grizzled characters, dark subject matter, and uniquely stylized black-and-white palette, Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller’s Sin City is a supremely modernized take on the film noir. Adapted from Miller’s graphic novels of the same name, the movie follows an anthology structure, which allowed for a star-studded cast including such A-list names as Bruce Willis and Jessica Alba.
Faithful to the source material while still standing alone as its own piece of cinema, Sin City is one of the most enjoyable cult classics of the 21st century. So, here are 10 fascinating details from the making of Sin City.
Robert Rodriguez Resigned From The DGA To Secure Frank Miller A Co-Directing Credit
Robert Rodriguez was determined to secure a co-directing credit for Frank Miller as he didn’t feel right taking all the credit himself, but the Directors’ Guild of America wouldn’t allow it. So, Rodriguez resigned from the guild before shooting began, ensuring that Miller would be credited for his work.
This resignation from the DGA forced Rodriguez to pull out of directing John Carter (which, at the time, was named A Princess of Mars after the book it was based on), which he was planning to shoot once Sin City was complete.
Only Four Practical Sets Were Built
Most of Sin City was shot in front of green screens, with the backgrounds and sets being added digitally during post-production. Throughout the whole shoot, only four practical sets were built: Hartigan’s jail cell, Kadie’s bar, Shellie’s apartment, and the hospital seen in the epilogue.
A Lot Of A-List Stars Signed On Because They Wanted To Be In A Film Noir
Being an anthology movie with characters only appearing in a small handful of scenes each, Sin City was able to attract some major A-list talent. Some of these actors signed on after seeing the test footage that got the movie greenlit.
A lot of them, including Bruce Willis, signed on simply because they’d always wanted to be in an old-timey black-and-white film noir.
Hans Zimmer Turned Down The Chance To Compose The Score
Originally, Robert Rodriguez wanted Hans Zimmer to compose the score for Sin City. However, Zimmer was unable to accept, as he’d already committed to scoring Batman Begins for Christopher Nolan and he was in England preparing to write it.
However, Zimmer recommended a couple of friends to Rodriguez — Graeme Revell and John Debney — and suggested hiring them instead.
Making The Blood Show Up As White Was Harder Than It Looked
One of the many unique stylistic flourishes in Sin City is the blood showing up as white in the stylized black-and-white palette. However, making the blood show up as white on film was a lot more difficult than one might assume.
The usual prop blood was unusable because it didn’t provide the stark visual contrast that was required to make the blood white. In the end, the crew figured out that they could use fluorescent red liquid and bathe it in black light. This allowed the effects team to turn the blood white in post.
Quentin Tarantino Directed A Scene For $1
When Quentin Tarantino was directing Kill Bill: Volume 2, he asked Robert Rodriguez to do some work on the musical score and paid him $1 to do it. In return, Rodriguez hired Tarantino to guest-direct one scene for Sin City and paid him $1.
Tarantino accepted the job because he’s always preferred film over digital and was curious to try out the digital cameras that Rodriguez was using.
The Opening Sequence Was Shot Before Securing The Film Rights To The Comics
The opening sequence, “The Customer is Always Right,” was shot long before the rest of the movie. Over the course of one day, Robert Rodriguez shot the scene with Josh Hartnett and Marley Shelton in front of a green screen.
This was before he’d secured the rights the comics. Rodriguez shot the scene initially as test footage, just to show Frank Miller that he could faithfully adapt the look of Sin City for the screen.
Jessica Alba Has A Firm Policy Against Doing On-Camera Nudity That She Stuck To Even When Playing A Stripper
Jessica Alba has a long-standing policy against doing nude scenes. Her reasoning is simple: she doesn’t want her grandparents to see her naked because it would make Christmas awkward. And that’s very sound reasoning.
So, when Alba was cast as a stripper in Sin City, she refused to do any on-camera nudity. Since Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller didn’t think nudity would add anything to the story, they didn’t mind cutting Alba’s nude scenes and she managed to play a stripper without taking her clothes off.
The Filmmakers Used The Graphic Novels As Storyboards
Much like Zack Snyder would later do when he adapted Frank Miller’s 300 for the screen, when Miller and Robert Rodriguez were planning their adaptation of Sin City, they used panels from the graphic novels as storyboards.
Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, And Naomi Watts Were All Considered For Roles
When casting was underway for Sin City, Johnny Depp was the top choice to play Jackie Boy. Leonardo DiCaprio turned down the role of Junior, allowing Nick Stahl to take it. Naomi Watts, Sarah Jessica Parker, Ashley Judd, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Uma Thurman were all considered to play Lucille.
Jessica Simpson auditioned to play Nancy Callahan. Michael Douglas was offered the role of Hartigan, but turned it down. Adrien Brody was considered for the roles of both Dwight and Jackie Boy. Christopher Walken and Willem Dafoe were offered the role of Senator Roark, but both turned it down.