I gotta admit it.  I didn’t like John Singleton’s sequel to the original Shaft.  Despite receiving the blessings from Gordon Parks, the director of the 1971 original, and Richard Roundtree himself, the whole affair seemed a little wrongheaded.  Shaft, the character, was a man of a certain era, and he needed those trappings to fully inform the character.  He needed the 1970s.  Classic detectives like Phillip Marlowe or The Thin Man wouldn’t quite work if you dropped them into the early 21st century, and neither does Shaft.

Also, Singleton cast Samuel L. Jackson in the title role.  Simply put, besides being tough, Shaft is a sexy dude.  Isaac Hayes’ classic theme drips with sex.  It’s a soulful elegy to Shaft’s sexual prowess.  Hell, his name is “Shaft,” and that’s so obvious it would make Freud blush.  Despite Samuel L. Jackson’s badass credentials, sexy he ain’t.  Sorry, Sam, but it’s true.  You may be a bad motherfucker, but nobody believes you’ve got the sex appeal to get-down-and-dirty and actually…well, you know.

Now if I were remaking Shaft, I would set it firmly in 1971 and use Ernest Tidyman’s 1971 novel as the template for casting.  Following, I’ll provide a selection of text from Tidyman’s first Shaft novel to describe a major character, show the original actor cast and then provide my choice for the role for a re-make:

JOHN SHAFT – Black private dick who’s a sex machine to all the chicks.

Page 83: “Shaft’s face was…more round than oval, more flat and concave than sculptured and convex.  The eyes and nose seemed to have been cut into it, rather than built into it.  It was almost a Polynesian carved face, cut into stained balsa or some dark wood.  The lips were full, but they lay flat against his teeth.  A mask, but not a mask…Life and strength.  It was framed in a modified Afro haircut, notched with unexpectedly delicate and tightly set ears.”

Original: Richard Roundtree.  I can’t imagine the original, or the sequels, without him.

My Selection:  The Wire’s Idris Elba.

BUMPY JONAS – ( “Knocks Persons” in the novels) - undisputed gangster kingpin of Harlem

Pages 33-34: “Knocks Persons just sat there.  Massive, mountainous, a great brown mound of a man in a black suit completely filling the white leather chair that looked like a vertical bathtub on a chrome base with casters…shaven head gleaming in the soft indirect light, folds of flesh around his bull neck almost hiding the collar of his shirt.  A lumbering giant whose police records described him as a fraction over 6 feet 6 inches tall, weighing 290 pounds with distinct scars in at least eleven places on his massive body.”

Original: Moses Gunn, a strong actor with a great, slow-burning menacing presence, but not exactly “massive.”

My Selection: Who else but Michael Clarke-Duncan of The Green Mile fame?

BEN BUFORD – Black firebrand and revolutionary; an old pal of Shaft’s from back in the day

Page 56: “…Watusi-tall and warrior-fierce in his stance.  So tall and lean with a great bush of tight black curls surrounding his slender ascetic face.  His arms and legs so slim and long that even the suits he affected were not quite enough to cloak the angularity of the body.  He did not look at all like his voice.  A warrior or an inflamed divinity student with gold-rimmed glasses perched on his nose.

Original: Christopher St. John (St. John was actually Tidyman’s preferred choice for the role of John Shaft)

My Selection: This one was kind of difficult, but I would have to go with the Isaiah Washington, formerly of Grey’s Anatomy.  Haughty, and brash, as evidenced by his inexcusable outburst toward his co-star, T.R. Knight, but a skilled and dynamic actor whose bearing fits Buford’s description.

LIEUTENANT VICTOR ANDEROZZI – Shaft’s contact with the New York Police Department.

Page 13: “The lieutenant had a thin, gray face and black hooded eyes.  He was as tall as Shaft, just under six feet, but much leaner, and the way he stood made Shaft think of sharp objects.  The lieutenant looked like a linoleum knife, ready to cut.  The big beak of a nose made it complete.”

The Original: Charles Cioffi.  Good actor, and he had great chemistry with Roundtree, but he doesn’t make one think of “sharp objects,” does he?

My Selection: Adrien Brody (The Pianist, Summer of Sam).  He may be a little young, but that nose, man!  That nose!

HELEN GREEN - (”Dina Green” in the movie) - the wife of Shaft’s accountant, Marvin Green; possibly Shaft’s only platonic female friend.

Shaft and Ben Buford use the Green’s apartment as a temporary safehouse after escaping an attempted hit on Buford.  (I don’t think we ever see Marvin Green in any of the Shaft novels or movies, but Helen is present in at least two of the books.)

Page 87:  “She was the least black negro he knew, possibly the most attractive, possibly the most feminine and womanly as well.  Marvin Green was a fortunate man to have her as a wife and the mother of his children.”

Page 89: “…a Negro girl two or three generations removed from the blackness of skin and soul that had brought Shaft to her kitchen in flight…”

Original: Camille Yarbrough.  She didn’t take any guff off Ben Buford, chastising him for his language.  Even Shaft deferred to her.

My Selection: At first, I was thinking Taraji P. Henson (I was just looking for an excuse to post her picture), but as I looked further into the book for a good description, I found that Ernest Tidyman also described Helen Green as having “hazel eyes.”  Therefore, it became evident that Eva Marcille would make a better choice.

Those are my choices.  Now it’s your turn.  Who would you pick?

- JEP

Today marks the release date of Denzel Washington’s new film, Book Of Eli, which is directed by The Hughes Brothers (Menace II Society, From Hell).  When the studio released the first trailer for the film, it immediately seemed familiar to me.  I knew I had seen these images before.  Then, I realized that I had first seen them in the form of the stunningly beautiful concept art of Rodolfo Damaggio.  I’ve visited his site many times over the past couple years, and these images had been posted for some time under the enigmatic captions ”Under development.”

Damaggio had a brief career in comic books, mostly doing DC Comics properties, whichI first spoke about here.  I particularly enjoy his quote under the “Comics” tab of his website, which states, “If you really wanna know how to draw ..DO COMICS.”  Testify, Brother Rodolfo!  Besides being an excellent draftsman, Damaggio is a first-rate storyteller, even within the confines of a single image.  Damaggio’s work is inspiring, and I even purchased two pages of his original art, which I have framed and mounted above my drawing table.

- JEP

Today is the opening day for the new movie, Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief.  I first saw the trailer for this film when it played before Avatar.  It seems like a perfectly adequate young adult movie based on a young adult book series.  I have no problem with that.  I accept that I’m not necessarily the target audience for this kind of film.

Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief, is a film adaptation of the first book from Percy Jackson & The Olympians series of young adult novels by author, Rick Riordan.  It appears to be a coming-of-age story cut from the Harry Potter cloth, wherein a young man discovers his hidden birthright of magical powers along his fate as the only one who can destroy an ancient evil.  In Percy Jackson’s case, he’s a halfbreed demi-god, the son of Poseidon, the God Of The Seas from Greek mythology.  I sought out the background information of the Percy Jackson series, because there was one aspect of the trailer that caused me to literally, and ruefully, laughed out loud: the Black kid.  No, I’m not laughing at Brandon T. Jackson, the young actor in the role.  I’m certain that he does a fine job.  What made me laugh was the point at which the trailer flashes a title card that states “THE HERO,” and then a displays series of shots which clearly establish the clean-cut White kid, Percy Jackson, as the protagonist-the hero.  Next, the character of Grover Underwood-the Black kid- is established as “THE PROTECTOR.”  Even from the trailer, you can tell that Grover’s the guy sent to guard and guide Percy through his hero’s journey and introduce him to the wonders of the strange new world he is about to enter.  He’s a cross between Yoda and Bagger Vance, I guess.

I appreciate Rick Riordan’s attempts at inclusion; to get a bit of diversity on the page, and ultimately, the silver screen, but we’ve been down this road before.  We’ve been the stalwart Black sidekick.   If Grover’s tough, resilient, plucky, or whatever enough to protect Percy Jackson from whatever threats he may encounter while he discovers, and learns to use, his powers, then it stands to reason that good ol’ Grover would have the fortitude to BE the hero, right?  (Hell, with a name like ‘Percy Jackson,’ I’m shocked that he ISN’T Black.)  I know, the Black kid can’t be the hero in this particular story, because the Percy Jackson & The Olympians is rooted in Greek mythology, so their gods obviously weren’t Black.  I would give you that argument, if Rosario Dawson hadn’t been cast as the Greek goddess, Persephone.  

Perhaps she’s described a little lighter in the books.  Then again, maybe Percy Jackson can’t be Black, because he’s the son of the God Of The Oceans, and everyone knows that Black folks don’t swim.

One thing I missed in the trailer, but realized later, was the fact that Grover uses crutches.  Apparently, Grover does this to hide the fact that he’s actually a satyr, and the crutches help disguise the unusual posture and gait caused by his cloven hooves.  Because I’m already  approaching 1000 words, for the time being I’ll ignore the fact that the Black kid is secretly a mythological being whose has traditionally been portrayed as a sex-crazed, indolent, half-animal with a huge schlong that does nothing but play music all day.  That’s a post for another day.  Instead, I’m going to focus on Grover Underwood as yet another example of the plucky, Black, crippled sidekick that seems so popular in fiction.  Rick’s cashing in all his EEOC chips with Grover, huh?  But, where have we seen this archetype before?  Let me see:

Well, there was that one kid, Stevie Kenarkin from the Fox sitcom, Malcolm In The Middle, played by Craig Lamar Traylor:

As much as I love the Teen Titans, I have to regretfully add Vic Stone, Cyborg, to this list.  His dangerous Black virility was dampened by the fact that his limbs, part of his face, and possibly his junk, was burned off by an other-dimensional protoplasmic creature:

Hammer (no MC) was a minor character from the comic book, X-Force, who was paralyzed during a mission with The Six-Pack, a team of mutant mercenaries led by Cable.  His teammate Kane (a White dude) had both his arms blown off, but he received superior cybernetic replacements for those.  In a fictional universe where characters return from the dead with alarming regularity, Hammer still remains confined to his wheelchair.

A recent addition to the ranks of the crippled Black sidekick is Marvel’s James Rhodes, aka War Machine.  Seems like he had his face blown off in Avengers: The Initiative, along with a lot of his other pieces.  Fortunately, it seems that he may get better in time for the next Iron Man movie.

However, my favorite example of the plucky Black, crippled sidekick is from no less a writer than Alan Moore himself.  When Rob Liefeld hired Moore to revitalize his Youngblood property, Moore introduced Max Doyle, a robotics expert who piloted a number of of giant robot bodies.  Collectively, Max and his robots went by the name of Big Brother.  Get it?  ‘Brother’ can be slang for a Black dude and he zips around in a giant…Uh, I’ll let Alan Moore describe the character in his own words:

Big Brother is the final male member of the team.  His real name is Max Doyle.  He’s Waxman’s adoped son; he’s seventeen; he’s black; he’s only about five feet tall, and he’s crippled in both legs.

I actually dug the concept, but once you read the description out loud, it sounds like Johnny Sokko played by Arnold Drummond from Dif’frent Strokes.

I’m not saying that these attempts at greater diversity are not appreciated.  They are, because these portrayals are a far cry from the days of Stepin Fetchit and Aunt Jemima.  However, if you’re a writer in a position to create a new character and their supporting cast, just stop for one second and ask youself: “Why can’t the HERO be Black? Asian? A Woman? Physically challenged?”  I think if  you answer it honestly, you’ll find yourself with something more challenging to yourself and your readers than a token nod to cultural diversity. 

- JEP

It appears as if Hollywood is gearing up for another adaptation of Alex Raymond’s classic comic strip, Flash Gordon.  Flash Gordon has all the elements of a huge Hollywood blockbuster: a handsome hero, beautiful, and frightening alien vistas, and beautiful alien princesses.  Most Gen-Xers have fond memories of the campy Dino DeLaurentis’ movie adaptation from the early 1980s, but I think technology has finally caught up with Alex Raymond’s imagination to more accurately bring Flash Gordon and the world of Mongo, with its lion-men and winged hawk-men, to vibrant, moving life.  Flash Gordon is part of the American collective unconsciousness; pieces of it remain in the tapestry of American pop culture from properties like George Lucas’ Star Wars to the animated Jimmy Neutron, to James Cameron’s Avatar.  Nonetheless, as popular as Alex Raymond’s Flash Gordon is, his final creation, Rip Kirby is largely unknown by today’s audiences.

Rip Kirby may be Alex Raymond’s lesser known creation among the general public, it is arguably his more highly regarded work among fans of comics, and particularly artists.  Although Flash Gordon is obviously rooted in 1930s Futurism, as evidenced by the Art Deco-inspired cityscapes that dot the planet Mongo, the basic story of a two-fisted action hero fighting an evil dictator on an alien world, could be updated to any time period.  Rip Kirby might be a less desirable property for Hollywood today, because the strip was such a product of its time, that it would be difficult to remove it from its post-World War II setting and still maintain the elements that made it unique.  It probably should have been adapted in the late fifties with Cary Grant as Rip and Doris Day as his adoring sidekick, Honey Dorian.  If adapted today, I could almost see a Rip Kirby movie as something like the Peyton Reed-directed film Down With Love (2003), starring Ewan McGregor and Rene Zellweger, by way of the Coen Brothers.  But who could you get to star in such a film?  I’m glad you asked.  Let’s start with a celebrated alumni of the Coen Brothers filmography:

George Clooney as ‘Rip Kirby’

For years, I’ve said that George Clooney is the Last Great Hollywood Movie Star.  As a celebrity, George Clooney seems like he’s from a different era.  He’s always impeccably groomed and although he jets around the world, he does so in a relatively low-key manner, free of the entourages, spectacle and “candid” paparazzi shots courted by most modern celebrities.  As an actor, in most of his roles, Clooney plays similarly low-key, but clever, urbane and dapper gentleman.  Clooney The Celebrity and Clooney The Actor would inform the role of Rip Kirby, a scientist/sleuth/gentleman adventurer who prefers deductive reasoning and a quiet night at home playing the piano, but still packs a nice right hook.  If you slap a pair of horn-rimmed glasses on George Clooney, and he would be a perfect Rip Kirby.  If you ever saw his verbal sparring with Catherine Zeta-Jones in Intolerable Cruelty, you know that Clooney can skillfully channel the whiz-bang snappy banter of a 1950s-era film.

Reese Witherspoon as ‘Honey Dorian’

In Legally Blonde, Reese Witherspoon demonstrated that she could bring depth and intelligence to a character like Elle Woods, who probably would have remained a breezy, lightweight character in the hands of a lesser actress.  Witherspoon could transform Honey Dorian, the moony-eyed, love-struck part-time model/part-time sidekick to Rip Kirby into a plucky, smart, clever partner for Rip, and still maintain the character’s sunny innocence and charm.

Stanley Tucci as ‘Desmond’

I’ve been a fan of Stanley Tucci since I saw him in the 1996 film, Big Night.  He’s a brilliant actor, who is good at playing a man with something to hide.  Rip Kirby’s British manservant, Desmond, was supposed to be a reformed criminal, but the way he was written, I never bought it.  He just seemed too proper and stuffy.  Tucci could bring out those undertones and be an able, sarcastic foil to Rip Kirby’s all-too perfect gentleman detective.

Dita Von Teese as ‘Pagan Lee’

Pagan Lee was a classic femme fatale.  In her first appearance, the sultry, raven-haired beauty was a moll for the The Mangler, a gangster with his eye on the Hicks Formula, a weapon of mass destruction that was potentially more devastating than the atom bomb.  By the end of the story, she grew tired of The Mangler’s cruelty and decided to turn on him.  Over the course of subsequent Kirby adventures, Pagan eventually  became a successful actress and songstress, who hid from her past (and the aggrieved Mangler) under the assumed name of “Madelon.”  I’m not sure if Dita Von Teese can act, but with her cold, dark, vintage beauty and her own history with self-styled anti-authoritarian bad boys I think there really wouldn’t be much acting involved.  Pagan Lee is a part she was born to play.  (Besides, she could provide her own wardrobe.)

Benecio Del Toro as ‘The Mangler’

The Mangler was probably the closest thing that Rip Kirby had to an arch-nemesis.  Rip Kirby was described in his very first strip as a “famed athlete, scientist, amateur sleuth, marine reservist,” and although The Mangler lacked the academic training and resume of the Renaissance man Rip Kirby, he made up for it with an atavistic cunning and penchant for casual violence that made him a match for the detective.   Benecio Del Toro has played sinister, but charming characters before, most notably in Sin City, and I could easily see him playing the cruel, pin-striped gangster with the scarred face and a missing finger.  He has the acting chops to seem an able threat to Clooney.

That’s my take.  What do you think?

- JEP

One day, if by some miracle, someone decides to do a WORLD OF HURT movie, I think I finally know who I want to play Pastor.  First, a little background:

Back when I first started WORLD OF HURT, I struggled to find the right face for Pastor.  I worked out countless sketches, but the only features I was settled on were the prominent nose with the flared nostrils and the widow’s peak, but I went back and forth on most of the specifics of his face.  I figured it would be much easier if there was some actor out there who had some the features that I had in mind for the character.  I really couldn’t find a contemporary Black actor with the facial structure that I was looking for.  Most of the actors I could think of were too young, too pretty, or frankly looked a little odd without facial hair.  Pastor is supposed to be a handsome guy, but I needed strong, manly, rugged features and intensity and intelligence behind the eyes.  I also wanted his face to have just a bit of mileage to it.  Frequent commenter, regular reader and fellow webcomic artist, Jessica, once suggested acclaimed British actor, Chiwetel Ejiofor:

Some of the actors that I had in mind were Isaiah Washington;

Lamman Rucker;

comedian and former 7-Up pitchman, Godfrey;

However, it wasn’t until just this week, I found the most unlikely candidate in actor and award-winning choreographer, Darrin Dewitt Henson.  You might remember Henson from the commercial for the dance instructional video, Darrin’s Dance Grooves, which enjoyed heavy rotation on MTV during the late 90s (”Ain’t no lie, BYE-BYE-BYE.), however since that time, he has established a solid, steady acting career with performances in movies like Stomp The Yard and most recently, Tekken.  He also starred as “Lem” in Showtime’s TV series, Soul Food, which was based on the film of the same name.  However, it was these images from his appearance in the 2007 film, The Express which caught my eye:

And especially this one:

That IS Pastor!  The best part is that Darrin Dewitt Henson was playing the role of Jim Brown in The Express, a role which he was hand-picked to play by Brown himself.  Additionally, in an interview on The M’onique Show, Henson disclosed that he speaks fluent French, much like Pastor himself!

What do you guys think?

- JEP