Post by MALCOLM XERXES™ on Dec 28, 2004 15:21:59 GMT -5
It's no secret that I had my own eye on the role of BLADETM since first I encountered him in the pages of DRACULA LIVES!TM & THE TOMB OF DRACULATM, particularly given that I am not "ethnically correct" for the role of THE PUNISHERTM.
However, that said, I think that BLADETM/BLADE IITM/BLADE: TRINITYTM are excellent screen adaptations that have done the character proud, as well as his legions of Comics-reading enthusiasts.
I shan't be surprised if a TV series is proposed in the wake of this successful Superhero trilogy....
www.jsonline.com/onwisconsin/movies/dec04/285767.asp
Blade cuts across racial lines
By MAISHA ELONAI
Knight Ridder News Service
Posted: Dec. 20, 2004
He's tough as nails and more lethal than Nosferatu.
Advertisement
He wears shades after dark and lives in the light.
He's Blade, the death-dealing vampire hunter at the center of a
third feature film, "Blade: Trinity."
And the surprise is, he's black - and he's a hit.
Rare as it is to see an African-American character survive in an
action/horror film at all, let alone as a champion of good, Blade's
thirst for vengeance has captivated moviegoers worldwide.
But when "Trinity," starring Wesley Snipes as the human-
vampire hybrid, hit big screens this month, fans probably were
not thinking about racial politics in cinema. Most are into the film
for - what else? - the pointy teeth and the shiny swords.
Born in The Tomb
Blade's story left a legacy that has stretched across the Marvel
Universe for the last 30 years.
The vampire killer first appeared in issue No. 10 of The Tomb of
Dracula comics, recalled Martin King of Atomic City Comics in
Philadelphia. Written by Marv Wolfman in the 1970s, the series
focused on a team of vampire slayers led by one Rachel Van
Helsing, a descendant of Bram Stoker's enigmatic Abraham Van
Helsing.
"Blade was very visceral, one of the most popular characters" in
the series, King said. "It was very well-received."
But the Daywalker has evolved radically from his comic-book
origins. The early character wasn't even part vampire, just an
angry black man immune to Dracula's curse because the fiend
bit Blade's pregnant mother while she was in labor. His
bloodsucking foes soon learned to fear the wooden knives he
threw - made of ebony, of course.
"A black, jive-talking guy was hunting Dracula. As a kid, that
appealed to me," said screenwriter David Goyer, the creative
mind behind all three Blade films and director of "Trinity."
This new take on the classic story lured Goyer back to the
character in the 1990s, when he was looking to write a script
with a black superhero.
"By today's standard (the original character) was somewhat
dated," said Goyer, who is white. "But I liked his name, Blade, so
I thought, 'Well, he has to have a sword.' And I liked the fact that
he was a ronin, a masterless samurai."
Fangs add bite to movie
Goyer resurrected Blade with a new look, a new dental record
(being half-vampire, he now sports fangs) and the same rage-
driven vendetta against the undead.
"He was an anti-hero. Most anti-heroes have a certain amount of
self-loathing, and I thought, 'Why the self-loathing?' And then I
decided he must be part vampire."
It wasn't easy pitching a film with such an unconventional lead
character to distributors.
"The studio said, 'Can you make him white?' and I said, 'No, you
can't,' and fortunately New Line backed it," Goyer said. "I don't
think any other studio would have done that."
The casting of Snipes (Denzel Washington and Laurence
Fishburne were once mentioned as possibilities) lent star
power and credibility to the series.
"The lore is that films overseas that have a black superhero
generally don't do as well . . . and they (New Line Cinema) were
really worried how 'Blade' was going to perform. But amazingly,
both 'Blade' films did even better overseas than they did here."
Worldwide grosses for both movies were almost double the
domestic take - 1998's "Blade" scored $70 million in the United
States and $131 million globally, while 2002's "Blade 2" raked in
$81 million at home and $154 million overseas.
The international success of the first film actually enabled Marvel
Studios to embark on other comic-to-movie projects such as "X-
Men" (2000) and "Spider-Man" (2002). Goyer's calculated risks
revitalized a genre for a studio that hadn't created a major film
since "Howard the Duck" in 1986.
So how could one black superhero enthrall the world?
Maybe it's because the "Blade" movies are really colorblind and
celebrate men and women, scientist and mystic alike,
regardless of race.
Or maybe it's just the legacy of Blade.
"He was large and in charge," Atomic City's King said with a
smile. "People like him because he is winning."
However, that said, I think that BLADETM/BLADE IITM/BLADE: TRINITYTM are excellent screen adaptations that have done the character proud, as well as his legions of Comics-reading enthusiasts.
I shan't be surprised if a TV series is proposed in the wake of this successful Superhero trilogy....
www.jsonline.com/onwisconsin/movies/dec04/285767.asp
Blade cuts across racial lines
By MAISHA ELONAI
Knight Ridder News Service
Posted: Dec. 20, 2004
He's tough as nails and more lethal than Nosferatu.
Advertisement
He wears shades after dark and lives in the light.
He's Blade, the death-dealing vampire hunter at the center of a
third feature film, "Blade: Trinity."
And the surprise is, he's black - and he's a hit.
Rare as it is to see an African-American character survive in an
action/horror film at all, let alone as a champion of good, Blade's
thirst for vengeance has captivated moviegoers worldwide.
But when "Trinity," starring Wesley Snipes as the human-
vampire hybrid, hit big screens this month, fans probably were
not thinking about racial politics in cinema. Most are into the film
for - what else? - the pointy teeth and the shiny swords.
Born in The Tomb
Blade's story left a legacy that has stretched across the Marvel
Universe for the last 30 years.
The vampire killer first appeared in issue No. 10 of The Tomb of
Dracula comics, recalled Martin King of Atomic City Comics in
Philadelphia. Written by Marv Wolfman in the 1970s, the series
focused on a team of vampire slayers led by one Rachel Van
Helsing, a descendant of Bram Stoker's enigmatic Abraham Van
Helsing.
"Blade was very visceral, one of the most popular characters" in
the series, King said. "It was very well-received."
But the Daywalker has evolved radically from his comic-book
origins. The early character wasn't even part vampire, just an
angry black man immune to Dracula's curse because the fiend
bit Blade's pregnant mother while she was in labor. His
bloodsucking foes soon learned to fear the wooden knives he
threw - made of ebony, of course.
"A black, jive-talking guy was hunting Dracula. As a kid, that
appealed to me," said screenwriter David Goyer, the creative
mind behind all three Blade films and director of "Trinity."
This new take on the classic story lured Goyer back to the
character in the 1990s, when he was looking to write a script
with a black superhero.
"By today's standard (the original character) was somewhat
dated," said Goyer, who is white. "But I liked his name, Blade, so
I thought, 'Well, he has to have a sword.' And I liked the fact that
he was a ronin, a masterless samurai."
Fangs add bite to movie
Goyer resurrected Blade with a new look, a new dental record
(being half-vampire, he now sports fangs) and the same rage-
driven vendetta against the undead.
"He was an anti-hero. Most anti-heroes have a certain amount of
self-loathing, and I thought, 'Why the self-loathing?' And then I
decided he must be part vampire."
It wasn't easy pitching a film with such an unconventional lead
character to distributors.
"The studio said, 'Can you make him white?' and I said, 'No, you
can't,' and fortunately New Line backed it," Goyer said. "I don't
think any other studio would have done that."
The casting of Snipes (Denzel Washington and Laurence
Fishburne were once mentioned as possibilities) lent star
power and credibility to the series.
"The lore is that films overseas that have a black superhero
generally don't do as well . . . and they (New Line Cinema) were
really worried how 'Blade' was going to perform. But amazingly,
both 'Blade' films did even better overseas than they did here."
Worldwide grosses for both movies were almost double the
domestic take - 1998's "Blade" scored $70 million in the United
States and $131 million globally, while 2002's "Blade 2" raked in
$81 million at home and $154 million overseas.
The international success of the first film actually enabled Marvel
Studios to embark on other comic-to-movie projects such as "X-
Men" (2000) and "Spider-Man" (2002). Goyer's calculated risks
revitalized a genre for a studio that hadn't created a major film
since "Howard the Duck" in 1986.
So how could one black superhero enthrall the world?
Maybe it's because the "Blade" movies are really colorblind and
celebrate men and women, scientist and mystic alike,
regardless of race.
Or maybe it's just the legacy of Blade.
"He was large and in charge," Atomic City's King said with a
smile. "People like him because he is winning."
