She
may be playing a comic book character, but Yancy Butler is keeping it real.
As
Sara Pezzini, the police detective who acquires a mysterious, powerful
gauntlet in TNT's upcoming live-action "Witchblade" television series,
Butler wants to avoid the kind of campy indulgences that have plagued so
many other comics-to-TV projects.
"I
find that often when people try to write for strong women, and especially
when adapting a comic book to a real-life person, they have a tendency
to be caricatures of themselves," Butler says, recalling her work in the
pilot movie that spawned the series. "What I liked about Sara is that she's
a real human being. Our director [Ralph Hemecker] kind of brought it to
this realistic level where you do care about her and you can relate to
her. I think it makes it that much more potent.
"It
really could have been very cheesy," she admits. "Any project can be, but
this specifically, when you're dealing in such a fantastical realm, has
the potential to be... I can't think of any other word but cheesy. Not
only was this not cheesy, but it was executed so well."
Production
on on 11 one-hour episodes of "Witchblade" began in March in Toronto and
will continue through the end of June. TNT will rebroadcast last summer's
pilot movie on Tuesday, June 5 at 9 p.m. (ET), and the series will begin
Tuesday, June 12 at 9 p.m.
The
entire main cast returns from the movie for the series, including David
Chokachi as Jake McCartey, Anthony Cistaro as Kenneth Irons, Eric Etebari
as Ian Nottingham, and Will Yun Lee as Danny Woo.
Butler
-- whose credits include the television series "Mann & Machine," "Brooklyn
South," and "South Beach," as well the feature films "Hard Target" and
"Drop Zone" -- earned strong reviews for the pilot movie, which gave TNT
some of its highest original movie ratings for 2000.
"Yancy's
great, a total pro," says Hemecker, who is executive producing the series
after directing the pilot. "She's a great actress, and she's very physical,
which helps. She's really got the full package and that's not easy to find."
"Not
only is she Sara," says Top Cow's Marc Silvestri, another executive producer,
"she takes Sara to a new level."
Butler's
importance to the project played out in the pilot, which might center more
on just her than the series will because it not only introduced Sara, but
the Witchblade as well. "They didn't have a 'B' story, which is understandable,"
Butler says. "Everybody's purpose was served very well, with all of it
pyramiding up to Sara. But we really didn't have a 'B' story, so it was
all Sara all the time.
"Sara's
a little active. It was a very physically demanding role. But I like doing
stuff like that," the actress notes. "I like being able to play in the
playground. Yeah, it was physically demanding, but it turned out to be
great."
Butler
is gratified by the buzz her performance has generated, especially from
the fans of the comic book, whom she met at Comic-Con International in
San Diego and Wizard World in Chicago last summer. "To portray and give
a voice to someone who has only lived in a comic book before is very unsettling,"
she says. "It was such a relief to hear from Marc and the fans that it
works right."
Butler
says she appreciate the duality of Sara. "She's real strong yet vulnerable,"
the actress notes. "Kick-ass, yet very sexy. She's tough."
What
about wearing the Witchblade gauntlet? "It was totally big and heavy,"
Butler says, laughing. "The bracelet itself, I kind of liked. We made it
this harmless and very pretty bracelet. We actually had two gloves. One
was a rubber one, and one was a metal one. They were both very hard and
cold, very different. I can't say I've ever played a character like that."
All
those involved see "Witchblade" working as a weekly series. "There're a
lot of great ideas in the comic book," Hemecker says. "There are a lot
of places we can go. The nature of the comic book itself lends itself to
an episodic mode of storytelling."
"Once
you define that universe, you can play in it as long as you want," Silvestri
says. "Who would have thought you could make something interesting out
of some chick that runs around stabbing vampires? And Buffy's been around
for a long time. A couple of people walking around in murky photography
looking for paranormal things? The 'X-Files' has been around for a while,
too.
"There's
plenty of stories to tell about Sara," Silvestri continues. "The great
thing about the 'Witchblade' show is it's character driven. It's not about
the effects and it's not about spectacular action. That's in there, but
it's a far more a character piece."
"I'm
kind of a fan now," Butler says of the comic. But, she explains, "Instead
of just reading it, I'd kind of like to see it continue on TV."
