Sin City: According to Variety, Robert Rodriguez has committed to direct Sin City, an adaptation of the Frank Miller graphic noir crime novel series.

Dimension Films co-chairman Bob Weinstein has given Rodriguez the go-ahead to begin shooting next month in Austin, Texas.

Set in Sin City, the film interconnects storylines that involve the unsavory inhabitants of the town. Rodriguez has already shot the film's opening with Josh Hartnett and Marley Shelton, and he's now casting the remaining roles as the rest of the film gets under way in March.

"I'd been a fan of 'Sin City' since it was published in 1991, and I always felt that when you walk into a comicbook store, it jumps off the shelf at you," Rodriguez said. "After doing the 'Spy Kids' movies, I was looking to do something that would offer lighting and special effects challenges. I decided I didn't want to adapt Frank's book but rather translate it to the screen with the same visual flourishes that Frank used so well."

Rodriguez said the film consists of multiple storylines involving characters with questionable morals. "The morality tales and a love story revolve around this dark city, which is really the main character in the film."