``I'm
having a meltdown,'' says New York City police Detective Sara Pezzini in
``Witchblade,'' a sharp-looking sci-fi action movie.
Her
assessment is understandable. Her list of personal traumas includes the
murder of her best friend, which Sara knows - but can't prove - was orchestrated
by a ruthless mobster (Conrad Dunn), and the death of her cop father, who
was killed in the line of duty. And now Sara has this strange, mystical
bracelet on her wrist that mutates into a huge, metal gauntlet. When needed,
the glove protrudes a sword and enables her to do fantastic, superpowered
things.
Sara
is now in possession of the Witchblade, an ancient, intelligent, living
weapon that is the center of the movie, which was inspired by the Top Cow
comic book and stars television veteran Yancy Butler, thus placing ``Witchblade''
in the middle of two major cable TV trends: live-action programs based
on comic book characters and action adventures starring tough women.
``I
actually don't consider myself the star of this,'' Butler said. ``I'm just
the wearer of the star, and, unfortunately, it's on my wrist.''
But
Butler, whose credits include series or guest-starring roles in ``Brooklyn
South,'', "Law & Order'' and ``NYPD Blue,'' isn't just an ornament
for a fancy weapon. Part of the appeal of ``Witchblade'' is the brooding
nature of Sara, who brings interesting dimensions to the well-worn character
of the flawed hero.
``She's
a smart [mouth] at times,'' Butler said over lunch at a Chicago Chinese
restaurant recently. But, at the same time, ``One of reasons why I really
liked the script, again, and why I chose to take the part, is her dichotomy.
She is very sad.
``As
human beings, we're not just one thing. She is very tough, but she is extremely
vulnerable. People often ask, `What would your advice be [to Sara],' and
I say, `She needs to go to a therapist and take a long nap.'''
It's
hard enough for Sara to deal with her personal issues, which are compounded
further in the movie. Plus, she doesn't fully know how to operate the Witchblade,
and its link to her is deeper than she could imagine.
`You're
from a line going back through time and forward into the future, part of
a powerful wave, a force, a warrior bloodline,'' says Sara's partner, Danny
Woo (William Yun Lee).
``Witchblade,''
with its fast-paced action, special effects, moodiness, tight camera angles
and an interesting and complex leading character, has all the ingredients
for a series. TNT calls it a ``feature,'' but if the numbers are good enough
the movie will go to a series.
It's
catching the wave of live-action properties derived from comic books that
are suddenly in vogue thanks in part to the success of the movie ``X-Men,''
which is based on the popular Marvel comic.
``Oh,
we are riding that wave in a major way,'' said Butler. ``They'd be silly
not to pick it up, I think."
``Witchblade''
is the latest action project featuring women, obviously spurred by the
success of ``Xena: Warrior Princess.''
``It's
really about time,'' said Butler. "People really need to start writing
better for [women].''
This
next article from Newsalert.com is very similar to the one above with a
few extra bits and pieces.
So
much for accurate quoting....
"I'm
having a meltdown," sighs New York City police detective Sara Pezzini in
"Witchblade," a sharp-looking sci-fi action movie premiering at 8 p.m.
ET Sunday on TNT. Her assessment is understandable.
Her
list of personal traumas includes the murder of her best friend, which
Sara knows, but can't prove, was orchestrated by a ruthless mobster (Conrad
Dunn), and the death of her cop father, who was killed in the line of duty.
And
now Sara has this strange, mystical bracelet on her wrist that mutates
into a huge, metal gauntlet. When needed, the glove protrudes a sword and
also enables her to do some fantastic, super-powered things. that she knows
she couldn't do before.
Sara
is now in possession of the Witchblade, an ancient, intelligent, living
weapon that is the center of the movie, which was inspired by the Top Cow
comic book and stars television veteran Yancy Butler, thus placing "Witchblade"
in the middle of two major cable TV trends: live-action programs based
on comic-book characters and action adventures starring tough, and sometimes
idiosyncratic women.
"I
actually don't consider myself the star of this," Butler said. "I'm just
the wearer of the star and unfortunately, it's on my wrist."
But
Butler, whose credits include series or guest-starring roles in "Brooklyn
South," "Third Watch," "Law & Order" and "NYPD Blue," isn't just an
ornament for a fancy weapon. Part of the appeal of "Witchblade" is the
brooding nature of Sara, who brings interesting dimensions to the well-worn
character of the flawed hero.
"She's
a smart (mouth) at times," Butler said over lunch at a Chicago Chinese
restaurant recently. But at the same time, "one of reasons why I really
liked the script, again, and why I chose to take the part, is her dichotomy.
She is very sad.
"As
human beings, we're not just one thing. She is very tough, but she is extremely
vulnerable. People often ask what would your advice be (to Sara), and I
say she needs to go to a therapist and take a long nap. She's a little
tired; she needs a siesta."
It's
hard enough for Sara to deal with her personal issues, which are compounded
further in the movie. Plus, she doesn't fully know how to operate the Witchblade,
and its link to her is deeper than she could imagine.
"You're
from a line going back through time and forward into the future. Part of
a powerful wave, a force, a warrior bloodline," intones Sara's partner,
Danny Woo (William Yun Lee).
"Witchblade,"
with its fast-paced action, "Matrix"-like special effects, moodiness, tight
camera angles and an interesting and complex leading character, has all
the ingredients for an ongoing series.
TNT
calls it a "feature," but if the numbers are good on Sunday, the movie
will go to a series.
Besides
the high-action quotient, it has a couple of other things going for it.
First,
it's catching the wave of live-action properties derived from comic books
that are suddenly in vogue thanks in part to the success of the movie "X-Men,"
which is based on the popular Marvel comics characters.
"Oh,
we are riding that wave in a major way," said Butler, an engaging New Yorker.
"They'd be silly not to pick it up, I think.
"It's
incredibly marketable, obviously. It is very flavor of the times. And people
dig it, it's fun. No, it's doing nothing but helping us. Thank you, `X-Men.'"
And
"Witchblade" is the latest action project featuring women, obviously spurred
by the success of "Xena: Warrior Princess." The trend continued with Pamela
Anderson Lee's "V.I.P." and Tia Carrera's "Relic Hunter."
The
syndicated series "Sheena" bows in October, with Gena Lee Nolin as the
1930s comic-book queen of the jungle.
"It's
really about time," said Butler. She made her TV debut in an episode of
Dick Wolf's "Law & Order" after graduating from Sarah Lawrence College
in 1991, then was cast as a cyborg cop in the producer's short-lived NBC
action series "Mann & Machine" in 1992. (Wolf made another NBC series
for Butler the following year, "South Beach.")
"People
really need to start writing better for (women)," she said. "They do it,
but again, it can often become a caricature of itself. Or she's just this
militant, Machiavellian butch monster that I wouldn't even want in a man,
let alone a human being."
Because
TNT spent $5 million to make the movie stylish, there are concerns about
how the network would keep the look in a series.
"I
think that you always wonder how that's going to manifest itself," Butler
said. "No, we're not going to be putting $5 million into (it). We have
to also remember that this was a two-hour (movie). And actually, which
is really sick, $5 million nowadays for that_and we're talking in total
with all the effects_is not that much."
But
Butler_whose father is a member of the Rock `n' Roll Hall of Fame group
the Lovin' Spoonful, and whose mother is a theater production manager_trusts
the production team to carry the feel of the movie into a series. Chief
among them are executive producer Dan Halsted, from whom Butler heard about
the role, and director Ralph Hemecker, who is responsible for the tone.
Butler
is not taking on additional work until she hears about the movie's numbers.
It's conceivable a series could start production by the beginning of the
year, she said. Being in a show could put a crimp in Butler's busy schedule.
The
actress, who has appeared in the films "Hard Target" and "Drop Zone," has
moved smoothly between the movies and TV.
On
Sept. 12, she will appear in "Thin Air," A&E's latest TV movie to feature
Robert B. Parker's private detective Spenser. Joe Mantegna will again be
playing the private eye.
"They're
just two totally different energies," Butler said of TV and film. "In television,
you're cranking out 12, 15 pages a day sometimes, whereas in films you're
cranking out three, and you get to actually *here's a concept*: rehearse!
But I like doing both. I just look for good projects."
"But
yeah, this will definitely be a formidable amount of work. But I'm looking
forward it. I love this character, and I want to find out what happens
to her."
