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     For thousands of years it has existed. An intelligent symbiotic weapon of incredible power. A living gauntlet that becomes one with its wearer. The Witchblade. Only women of unmatched strength of mind, body and will have ever successfully worn the Witchblade. Joan of Arc was one. Others have been both  its master and its servant. But in all cases, the Witchblade has been used to cut a swath of blood and viscera through the ranks of previously insurmountable evil. 

   And now, in the latter days of the 20th century, the Witchblade has allowed destiny and fate to seek out a new bearer of its power and its curse. Sara Pezzini is a NYPD homicide cop. She's young, tough and smart, and possesses a razor-sharp beauty that she wields like a sword. She's earned her gold shield, but every day she must prove herself on the street, to her bosses and, ultimately, to herself. With a legendary cop father to live up to, Sara attacks her job with a vengeance. She battles a system that favors guilty over the innocent, sometimes, in her all-or-nothing quest to bring down the bad guys, almost going too far. 

  While investigating her best  friend's death, Sara's life, and what she has believed about her world and the forces at work within it, is radically changed forever. That night, fate brings Sara in contact with the Witchblade. Unable to free herself from the Witchblade, Sara must learn to govern its power while simultaneously balancing her life and career as a police detective. But now that Sara possesses the Witchblade, her eyes are opened to a world of evil that goes far beyond just crime on the street. The darkness is countless layers deep, and Sara has no choice but to peel back each one and confront what awaits her. 

   Week in and week out, Sara Pezzini employs her skills as a police detective to fight crime, using the Witchblade to combat a much greater and frighteningly organized conspiracy of evil that threatens the very soul of humanity. As Sara tries to keep her secret, do her job and have some semblance of a life, she finds that her most formidable adversary may be the Witchblade itself. 

   Yancy Butler, star of the TNT Original Movie, 'Witchblade could give Bruce Willis a run for his money. As tough homicide detective Sara Pezzini, Butler flies through the air, bad guys on her heels, bullets blazing like in a 'Die Hard' sequel. The special effects are impressive for TV film fare, but when you watch the action sequences, you're getting the real thing..

   Butler did all of her own stunts, because, "Ill try anything once," she laughs. After roles in TV shows like 'Mann & Machine' and Steven Bochco's short-lived CBS cop series, 'Brooklyn South,' the actress is used to physically-challenging roles. When she starred opposite Wesley Snipes in  'Drop Zone,' she faced another challenge: jumping out of an airplane.. 
"I had to sky dive for the movie and I was terrified," she explains. "But like everybody, I thought it was going to be one of those experiences that changes your life. It didn't." 

   In 'Witchblade,' Butler plays a woman who has a life-altering experience of her own. "The film begins with the death of my characters best friend," she reveals. "She's tracking the hit man she believes did it and ends up in the middle of a shoot-out with one of his henchmen in a museum, in a Joan of Arc display. After a huge explosion, she finds this bracelet on her wrist that seems organic, almost alive." The bracelet, or the 'Witchblade,' protects Sara and allows her to see the past”

UPBEAT sat down with the energetic and free-spirited actress for a brief conversation.

UPBEAT Who is Sara Pezzini?
Yancy Butler: "She's a New York homicide detective. She's lost almost everyone she loves, so she's built this wall around her and puts everything into her job, which doesn't leave room for much more." 

UPBEAT What kind of powers does this Witchblade have?
Yancy Butler: "The bracelet becomes a gauntlet that she wears, basically  against her will. It protects her from physical harm and allows her to see the past. Unfortunately, she doesn't quite know how to control it yet."

UPBEAT What is Sara's initial reaction to the Witchblade?
Yancy Butler "She doesn't buy into it at first. Imagine if it happened to you. All of a sudden you find this thing on your write and people are telling you it has powers. I would be a little skeptical myself, but she finally befriends the blade."

UPBEAT If this did happen to you, would you run to the first mental institution you could find or would you react similarly to Sara? What advantages and disadvantages would it have for you, Yancy?
Yancy Butler "That's a great question. If this happened to me, aside from thinking I was losing my mind, I would definitely make an immediate call to the nearest therapist (laughing). If it was happening to me, I don't know that Id necessarily want to see into the future. I don't want to know what's happening next. I think seeing some of the past can be helpful, especially if you're into crime solving, like Sara. But for me, its like when I jumped out of that plan for 'Drop Zone.' I thought it was going to open my eyes to things, or at least change my life in some way. But it really didn't do anything accept scare me to death. Its the same thing with knowing the future. We think we want to know, but do we really?"

UPBEAT How tough was it to play this role, physically?
Yancy Butler "This was pretty physically demanding. I like to do my own stunts as much as possible. Its like when you see the playground all set up and you really want to play in it and then someone tells you no. So I like to do my own stunt work as much as possible. With the camera work on this film, we really had to do it so that it was me. I like to say that Ill try anything once. My very first series "Mann & Machine" was also very physical and so was "Brooklyn South." I think that once you get into a part, like playing a cop, and someone sees you, you work out in the long run and then you get asked to do it again. That's why I've played a lot of cops."

UPBEAT Were you happy with the results? Do you think fans of the comic book will be happy with it?
Yancy Butler "I wasn't really familiar with the comic book when I read the script. But I think so often when films are made from comic books they end up being caricatures of the comic heroes. I especially like the way the director of Witchblade did this film and his vision for this. I like the way Sara is portrayed. Its very much in her nature to be dualistic; she's vulnerable yet very strong. I think sometimes women who are supposed to be strong are also written mean and vindictive, but Sara isn't like that. You really care about her and go along with her when she's wondering "What the heck is this thing? What's happening to me here?"

UPBEAT Would you like to do a series again?
Yancy Butler "'Witchblade' was originally conceived as a series and I would love to see it go to that because I really like the show. The cast is just so great and also, I would love to see what happens to Sara. I have to say this had the potential to be really cheesy and its not cheesy at all. If it does go to a series, great, if not, the movie stands on its own or maybe there is potential for more movies here and there."

UPBEAT When 'Brooklyn South' was cancelled by CBS, it must have been a real let down for you. What happened there?
Yancy Butler "'Brooklyn South' was a great show. We did have a huge cast but we were starting to hone in on the characters and we received a lot of critical praise. We won a Peoples Choice Award and we were all very surprised when we were cancelled. I know that Steven Bochco was also surprised and very disappointed. I cant really say I understood the marriage there between Steven and Les Moonves [President of CBS] but I know it was a tough thing for Steven. It was difficult because we were up against Monday Night Football and then we were interrupted by the Olympics. It was tough for us to catch on. People just don't have the patience anymore to follow a show around. "

UPBEAT Yancy is an unusual name. Is it your given name?
Yancy Butler "It's my given name but everyone always asks if its my real name because it does sound kind of stagy. Now I love it and I think it fits me very well, but when I was younger I hated it because none of the kids could say it and all the adults would mispronounce it. Yancy is actually a Native American name, but I'm Irish. Go figure!"

 © 2000 UPBEAT Entertainment News Online Bridget Petrella Media Relations