It’s easy to forget, at least for me, how awesome the first Sin City was. It came out back in 2005 and blew everyone’s minds due to its visual flair that was a game-changer in Hollywood, and showed how to loyally adapt a comic book into a movie with style. 9 years later, and we’re finally getting a sequel, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For.

As Geoff Boucher says, Sin City was a synthesis of film and comic, and Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez come to the stage, to discuss their latest collaboration.

Robert Rodriguez tells us all that he wasn’t trying to make a movie based on Sin City. He was trying to turn a movie into a living embodiment of Frank’s work.

Frank Miller talks about how comic book movies are getting better, because they’re staying closer to the source material. Not that he’s biased or anything.

The tale “Another Saturday Night” opens the movie, and is the clip that we see, with Mickey Rourke’s Marv getting into trouble again, trying to piece back his memory, while beating the piss out of people. It’s the same beautiful style from the last movie, and even seems like the same plot.

The rest of the panel arrives: Jessica Alba, Rosario Dawson and Josh Brolin. An impressive trio, but it’s hard not to get a little bummed that Mickey Rourke could’ve been there.

The thing that people are most excited for in this movie is Alba’s transformation and coming into her own as Nancy, who has turned into a warrior for the next movie. Everyone raves about her performance throughout the panel, and she even collaborated on the story (which is an original one, not based on any Sin City tale). I remember after Dark Angel and the first Sin City, that Jessica Alba was probably the biggest crush I had in all the world. Then Fantastic Four happened and her career has suffered. I hope Sin City 2 corrects her course.

Josh Brolin jokes that he wanted to play Nancy, but settled for working with 2 iconoclasts.

Apparently when making the movie, they would go to Frank after every shot, determined to make Frank happy, which is a hard thing to do. This panel was basically a Robert Rodriguez worships Frank Miller and so should you hour.

For being absent, Eva Green’s talents are all over Comic-Con this year. She’s the best part of Penny Dreadful, and apparently owns as the alleged Dame in which people kill for. Like you had any doubt.

Rodriguez says that everyone’s performances are 100 times better, as they get use to the technology.

Josh Brolin never met Mickey Rourke while working on the film, even though they were in several scenes together. Does that make sense? Not really, but that’s the beauty of green screen and the crazy process that Rodriguez uses to make these movies. And according to Brolin, “it works,” as he’s forced to balance the scene out, as he sees Mickey’s work and then reacts to it, completes it. It sounds weird and impressive and sounds like a pain in the ass. Brolin calls it a “bizarre, alien experience.”

Rosario Dawson wasn’t allowed to cut her hair for the movie because of a conflicting contract on another movie, but after arriving on set, she went home and cut her hair anyways, because she didn’t want anyone to think she wasn’t giving it her all. Rosario Dawson rules.

Alba stunned everyone, setting the bar (she was the first to shoot her scenes). She was in character on set, and connected with the dark side of Nancy, and it was hard to disconnect until after the movie. Alba admits she was more mature, comfortable and wanted to kick ass.

Eva: “She is a scary woman.”

Alba calls Powers Boothe a “scary mofo.”

Miller apparently drew an impossible action pose for Alba, knowing she couldn’t do it, and then he was amazed to see her actually do it.

80% of the film’s score was written on Robert Rodriguez’s phone.

The film doesn’t really have a script; they go by Frank’s storyboards.

Fan questions are awful, so I dozed through the end of this one.

Apparently Robert Rodriguez has his actors draw portraits of their characters before they start filming, to get the creative process going. What an awesome idea.

Robert shoots the film in color, then they strip it of color, then they add in colors afterwards. The colors will again be another character/element of the proceedings, like in the original.

Is Frank planning to write more Sin City graphic novels? Yes, as he has loads of story ideas, but he has no idea when he’ll get to them.

Frank’s also asked about a movie adaptation of Martha Washington, to which he responds that he’d love to, but “this time I’ve going to be a prick…do it my way.”

RIP Michael Clarke Duncan, who played Manute in Sin City. Dennis Haysbert is taking over the role from his friend, and studied the film from the first movie, to honor MCD.

Frank Miller is already talking Sin City 3, clearly excited with the second one, promising that they will be returning to Hall H a lot sooner next time around than 9 years. Here’s hoping.

Imagine if this film brought together its whole cast. It would’ve been the biggest collection of talent this side of Avengers. Seriously, can we have Mickey Rourke at Comic-Con? Or Eva Green, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Alexa Vega, Juno Temple, Stacy Keach, LADY GAGA, Jamie Chung, Jaime King, Ray Liotta, Powers Boothe, Bruce Willis, Christopher Meloni, CHRISTOPHER LLOYD, Jeremy Piven, Dennis Haysbert/Allstate? Um, yeah, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For is going to be fun.

So, naturally, it’s my job to come up with more. Or, more accurately, figure out what incredibly talented actors need their own show. This isn’t in lieu of other work, but just something I want, or think should happen, or needs to happen. And considering the crap that the networks consistently push out every pilot season, it’s nice to dream about the alternatives.

Last time around, I spotlighted Rowan Atkinson. This week, I stick to the best acting country in the world.

Alan Rickman might be one of the most decorated and respected actors never to be nominated for an Oscar. I made that up, but it seems right. So while I don’t want that trend to continue, I think we can all agree on one thing.

We need more Alan Rickman in our lives.

Like every week.

His career and body of work has kind of been dominated by a little movie franchise called HARRY POTTER, when he was consistently the best part of every movie as the enigmatic Severus Snape, and helped create fandemonium around his character, before Tom Hiddleston did the same as the villainous Loki. Girls like pale British dudes.

But now that HARRY POTTER has finished, there’s a giant gaping (Snaping?) hole in our lives. One that can be fixed with a leading role on a TV show.

Alan Rickman would and should be able to star in anything he wants, because of his range. While he’ll forever be known as a bad guy thanks to being the best villain in an action movie ever, as Hans Gruber in DIE HARD, there’s more to his repertoire.

There’s also never not a great time to watch the infamous falling scene:

If a hero is only as good as his villains, Hans Gruber proved that rule, as he CREATED John McClane, and made DIE HARD and Bruce Willis’ career. Willis should be buying Rickman a drink every year on the film’s anniversary.

Rickman’s been the villain in ROBIN HOOD: PRINCE OF THIEVES, as the naughty Sheriff, and he was a cheating jerk in LOVE ACTUALLY, who broke Emma Thompson’s heart. And that’s something you just don’t do.

But, the guy also has mad comedy chops, as evidenced by his de-genitalized Metatron in Kevin Smith’s DOGMA, and my personal favorite role of his…

Alexander Dane (or Dr. Lazarus) in GALAXY QUEST.

There’s also SENSE AND SENSIBILITY, which if I had either one of those things, I’d have seen by now.

But it always comes back to HARRY POTTER, and anyone who’s read the books or seen the films (so hopefully most all of you) can testify, know the massive character arc that Rickman would have to portray as Severus. And he was beautiful.

Now, obviously I’d want a GALAXY QUEST TV show more than anything (or a Severus Snape HBO TV series), but I’ll use some of his more famous quotes as jumping off points to create random theoretical TV shows, starring He-Needs-A-Sir Alan Rickman.

DIE HARD:

“You’d have made a pretty good cowboy yourself, Hans.” –John McClane

BRILLIANT. Put Alan Rickman in the Old West and he could make Ian McShane blush, whether he’s the cagey Sheriff, the Corrupt Mayor, the man on the Most Wanted poster’s, or the town drunk. Whoever he is (maybe the transvestite hooker?), I want to see that show. I miss DEADWOOD, clearly.

OR he could be the leader of a settlement traveling west across the Oregon Trail, based on the greatest video game of all-time. It’d feature a rip roaring soundtrack from T Bone Burnett, but he’d be overshadowed by two notes every time: Dun Dun! It could even be called “Happy Trails, Hans.”

HARRY POTTER:

“Discipline your mind.” –HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE

This inspires many ideas. Perhaps Rickman is the head of a think tank, or the mastermind of the Manhattan Project. Or, maybe he’s just a therapist with controversial techniques, or a hypnotist who works to help his patients quit smoking, masturbating in public or eating red meat. The possibilities are endless.

“Turn to page 394.” –HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN

We’ve seen millions of “teachers who inspire” movies, from STAND AND DELIVER, THE GREAT DEBATERS, DEAD POET’S SOCIETY, FREEDOM WRITERS, COACH CARTER and Matthew Perry’s THE RON CLARK STORY. Most are vaguely to wholly insulting, and they’re all manipulative and self-serving. Who wouldn’t want to be manipulated by Alan Rickman in a “teachers who inspire” TV show that lasts for 14 seasons, with each year packed with up and coming (read: jackass) actors?

Or, the ominous sounding Page 394 is actually a strange dimension, or portal, to another world, and Alan Rickman is the gatekeeper, or the man who discovers it.

“Mister Potter. Our new celebrity.” –HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER’S STONE

Alan Rickman is a greasy member of the paparazzi, and we learn what it takes to navigate the seedy underbelly of Hollywood, as they perform the most thankless (yet important) job in entertainment.

“You ought to be careful. People will think you’re…up to something.” –HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER’S STONE

Yes, cop procedurals make my eyes roll because there are so many of them. But with the right lead, or the right concept, they can still pop. I’d like to see Alan Rickman on the other side of things, as a cop, or a corrupt one toeing the line. Alan Rickman would be an AWESOME detective, and speaking of, HAS to be in the running for a spot on TRUE DETECTIVE season 2.

DOGMA:

Bethany: Were they sent to Hell?
Metatron: Worse. Wisconsin. For the entire span of human history.

How hasn’t this been made into a show? Put Alan Rickman in Wisconsin, witnessing all of the massive and earth-shattering moments that have taken place there. It’s pretty lean until Brett Favre, beer and cheese come to Wisconsin. But…ALAN RICKMAN.

GALAXY QUEST:

“Miners, not MINORS”

It’d be like the controversial and mercifully cancelled KID NATION, only the kids would have to suffer through the noxious and extremely dangerous conditions of mines in this racy reality show. Alan Rickman would host.

Gwen DeMarco: Alex, where are you going?
Sir Alexander Dane: To see if there’s a pub.

Alan Rickman finds a pub. And then he purchases it, and is the grouchy but heart of gold bartender in this generation’s CHEERS. Could also be called HAPPY TRAILS.

Admittedly, I ran out of ideas and pulled some crappy quotes…

…but whatever it is Alan Rickman decides to do, he will be embarking on those aforementioned happy trails, because talent wins out.

By Grabthar’s hammer, by the suns of Warvan, you shall be avenged.