A version of this story appears in the latest issue ofEntertainment Weekly, on stands now oravailable here.
Two decades beforeBlack Panther, the first black cinematic superhero stormed screens in 1998s wild vampire-hunter epicBlade.
THE BEGINNING
PETER FRANKFURT (PRODUCER):This is what you should probably know.
Credit: Illustration by Tim McDonagh for EW
WESLEY SNIPES [PRODUCER AND STAR]:It was kind of serendipitous you know?
We were talking about doingBlack Panther.
But that didnt come to be, and we never lost the appetite to play in that world.
New Line Cinema/Warner Bros.
SoBladeseemed like a pretty good replacement.
But at the time it was a cool thing.
I had heard that New Line wanted to make a lower-budget black superhero film.
New Line/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock
GOYER:I suggestedBlade, as a trilogy.
I remember I came in and said Im going to pitch you theStar Warsof black vampire films.
FRANKFURT:We kept adding scenes like the blood club, these big action beats.
Courtesy of Theo Van de Sande
And when we finally handed it in, its not like any superhero movie anybodys ever seen.
Its got elements of kung fu, its vampire, its a genre buster.
The bad news is, its freaking expensive.
New Line Cinema/Warner Bros.
GOYER:At one point the [studio] came to us and said can Blade be white?
and I said absolutely fing not.
Like, that is just terrible.
New Line/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock
You cannot do that.
And that was it.
STEPHEN DORFF (DEACON FROST):It was bad guy versus good guy, that wholemano a mano.
New Line/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock
FRANKFURT:I knew David Fincher from way before, we were friends.
This is pretty good, I just have some different ideas about it.
So I said, David, look, I would love to have you direct this movie.
New Line Cinema/Warner Bros.
Youre my favorite director.
But I know that youre not gonna do it.
We were going into a meeting with Mike De Luca and he couldnt help himself.
But Id seen this movieDeath Machinethat this British guy Stephen Norrington had directed.
Its a little bit incoherent, but it is just nonstop balls-to-the-wall.
The action is insane, and he made it fornothing.
I was like Oh man, youve gotta meet Wesley.
SNIPES:Blade, hes likeShaft, but like Kool Moe Dee at the same time.
Part of the look we drew straight from the comic book.
So we thought was a good starting point.
But how to make it work in reality on set.
and, how to make it comfortable enough for the actor to move, recover and not pass out?
We had the leather, some other rubbery materials.
And oh my god, it was so hot, we couldnt use that.
Then the problem was, where does the sword go?
The tattoos, I actually got from a UFC wrestler named Kimo.
GOYER:We wanted [Frost] to be almost like a character from a Bret Easton Ellis novel.
DORFF:Frost was written for an older character originally.
And I had never done a concept movie before, I was against commercial movies for the most part.
Norrington was the one who said, You know, you’re free to make this your own.
FRANKFURT:Stephen and Norrington really clicked.
Theres a lot of Norringtons voice in Deacon Frosts character.
SNIPES:Stephen Dorff!
From the protagonist-antagonist perspective, it was important that he grow in his strength and powers.
But also he was cunning, so that made him a formidable foe.
That made up for the difference in [our] physical stature.
And at the time I think Leonardo [DiCaprio] and he were the young hot talents of Hollywood.
And I could feel that with Stephen that he had to be careful.
But how cool is it to play a vampire?
Theyre so sexy and morally corrupt.
And like, gleeful about it!
Its pretty gross, but vampires dont care.
And she had that kind of legendary beauty in the hood.
But Stephen Norrington was just like, Oh yeah!
He was into it.
Dragonetti, he was very elegant, an aristocrat.
FRANKFURT:Its not surprising that you cant find her.
It was hard for her.
SNIPES:Usually you dont find an African-American woman cast in a role like that.
We thought it would be cool, you know?
In our own little way, she was an homage to Pam Grier and that whole 70s era.
[Laughs] I think she knocked a couple of people out in those fight scenes.
Yeah, she clipped a couple.
FRANKFURT:It was a casting person who suggested Kris Kristofferson for [vampire hunter Abraham] Whistler.
LOGUE:Kristofferson was just a personal hero of mine helicopter pilot, Rhodes scholar, incredible songwriter.
DORFF:I mean, I got to play guitar with him in the trailer.
Then we basically rigged the entire set like you would a modern-day sprinkler system.
LATHAN:When the blood comes down,woooh!I mean who would have thought of that?
THEO VAN DE SANDE (CINEMATOGRAPHER):That scene has become such a cult thing.
We shot for three days, and it was pretty gross.
[Laughs]
SNIPES:The extras, they had to actually sit around in the blood stuff.
[Laughs]It was a tough gig.
They couldnt change during lunch, they couldnt wipe it off, for continuity.
I applaud them, I applaud them.
Thank yall so much.
I mean, we thanked them at the time but Im doing it again.
Some of them are still traumatized from that experience.
And some of the people freaked out!
It wasnt real blood, it wasntCarrie, right?
But they freaked out and left, they quit.
Like, No more.
Of course its not true because otherwise I would be dead by now.
[Laughs]
FRANKFURT:There were a lot really fun cool extras around.
And Traci Lords was there she was an incredibly good sport and a lot of fun.
GOYER:I was there when we filmed and it was a mess.
The whole place was sticky, and the whole crew.
And the place smelled!
It was so hot.
That corn syrup, it was really bad.
LOGUE:I argued to not be in the blood itself.
I was just kind of off to the side.
And he always had this posse with him.
GREG GRANDE [SET DECORATOR]:The posse, yeah, they were around a lot.
So he was really a method actor in this sense.
There was this real passion that he had for this project.
And Steve Norrington was like Wait, wait, cut!
I was like Yo, it will be good, man.
Trust me, it will be funny!
People gonna dig it.
And Steve was from England so he didnt really get it at the time.
You know, an inside-baseball thing.
But ultimately, it made the cut.
DORFF:The mood was intense just like any big movie, but it was also really cool.
He went on Letterman as Blade!
FRANKFURT:It could be a very fraught set.
It was a happy in certain ways for instance, like the Dorff-Donal-Arly group, right?
And that sort of encompassed a lot of other people too.
But Norrington is not a hang guy.
LOGUE:I thinkBladewas probably the most fun experience Ive ever had on a film.
Even though it was intense sometimes and there were moments of drama it was just so great.
Wed have little dinner parties with Stephen and Arly and NBushe, we just really had a great time.
VAN DE SANDE:Norrington was always the motor behind it.
He had so much knowledge.
He had worked with David Fincher on several films and was a super visual-effects maverick.
He had some social qualities, yes, but I like to be challenged.
And hes such a genius person.
He designed almost everything by himself storyboards, everything.
It was more antic, more hopped up and crazy and also more epic.
Hed say, Forget about all the fantastical stuff, just play what you know.
SNIPES:A favorite line?
I cant say I have one.
But Some motherfers are always trying to ice-skate uphill thats pretty popular.
We were sitting at the dinner table actually, going through the script, and boom!
It just came out.
LATHAN:I dont know that Ive died a lot on camera Ive gotten married a lot.
So thats kind of a number one, the stake through her body.
[Laughs]
GRANDE:Everyone really was on their best foot forward.
Afterwards, he leaned over and said, Oh my god.
First of all this is rated NC-35, so well deal with that, but its incredible.
We knew we had something, but the issue was, could it cross over?
Would it be considered a horror movie, a black action movie likePassenger 57?
There were a lot of ways for this movie to get boxed in.
DORFF:They did pretty innovative marketing at the time.
We did crazy vampire parties all over America, 15 cities or something.
SNIPES:To have a worldwide hit, it was pretty cool.
We didnt do it for that reason, though.
We had a chance to do something really cool.
This was our version ofInto the Dragon, with vampires.
GRANDE:I was pleasantly surprised how great it was.
And I mean, how many [sequels] have they done since then?
Were gonna take this and make it real and make it dark and dystopian.
So I remember being excited to be a part of it once I went to the premiere.
I was like, Oh, this turned out great!
I just thought I was kind of a sellout.
But it definitely popped, you know?
Today its like the vampires become wolves and theyre flying, and so much technology!
ButBlade, that is classic.
But there was so much drama between New Line and Marvel about who owned the rights.
FRANKFURT:I think this really does qualify as the first successful Marvel movie.
We told a big, fun, serious story without winking at the genre.
GOYER:It proved to Marvel that you could make a successful franchise using a tertiary or secondary character.
But we cant by any means take full responsibility for any of that.
He makes all those DC movies look like amateur hour when he gets behind the camera.
His framing, his style, his sense of sound design, hes just a great director, period.
But you gotta play the game a little bit.
He just makes his costumes for Burning Man or whatever, he doesnt really give a s about Hollywood.
GOYER:Norrington is a mercurial guy.
I remember he wouldnt even come to the premiere.
FRANFURT:Hes just very eccentric.
He didnt go to the premiere of [2003s famously troubled]League of Extraordinary Gentlemeneither.
And my followers were like, Yeah, you didnt know that?
LOGUE:Its weird because physically I change a lot depending on what Im playing.
But far, far and away,Bladeremains the number one on the street for me, getting recognized.
That andLaw and Order: SVU.
Its the movie that really catapulted my career, and I got a lot of jobs because of it.
It was one of the primary reasons why Chris Nolan wanted me to writeBatman Begins.
I was like, Katie, you have a VHS player?
[Laughs]
SNIPES:Absolutely, Im proud ofBlade.
Im thankful for it.
Ive been blessed with a wonderful opportunity, something that is now considered a part of the urban iconography.
And I made some great friends.
We learned a lot about the business, and we traveled around the world.
I wouldnt take the Oscar!
I mean, if Icouldtake the Oscar for a vampire karate guy though, thats cool… [Laughs]
