Staking Out BLADE: The Series with Executive Producer David Goyer

Sunday, 20 August 2006

BY Joseph B. Mauceri Writer, director, producer, David Goyer serves as executive producer on the Spike TV original BLADE, based on the Marvel comic. A long time comic book fan, Goyer has earned a reputation in Hollywood for adapting genre tales and fantastical characters into inventive, action-packed hit films, like the ìBlade trilogy,î ìCrow: City Of Angels,î and ìDark City.î Growing up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Goyer wanted to write comic books since he was a kid, which eventually lead to his bringing them to life for the big screen. Goyer sold his first action script at the age of 22 while still at USC, which became the Jean Claude Van Damme thriller ìDeath Warrant.î He explored the worlds of horror in ìPuppetmastersî and also served as a producer on ìMission To Marsî and the television series ìSleepwalkers.î Goyer recently co-wrote Warner Bros.í acclaimed blockbuster ìBatman Beginsî with director Christopher Nolan. He made his directorial debut with something completely different: ZIGZAG, a fresh, funny, and fiercely poignant account of a robbery in reverse where two unlikely heroes fight to return a large sum of stolen cash. The film featured standout performances from a cast including Wesley Snipes, John Leguizamo, Oliver Platt, Natasha Lyonne and newcomer Sam Jones III. Goyer also adapted ZIGZAG from the acclaimed novel by Landon Napoleon. Goyer made his big breakout with ìBladeî based on the Marvel Comic about a legendary vampire hunter. Starring Wesley Snipes and Kris Kristofferson, the gained a vast fan base for its unmatched, blazing action and exhilarating humor and became one of Hollywoodís most successful superhero movies. ìBlade 2î also written by Goyer and directed by Guillermo Del Toro, featured Snipes again as the vampire-hunter Blade. The film also starred Kris Kristofferson returning as Whistler, Luke Goss, Tcheky Karyo and Ron Perlman. With ìBlade: Trinity,î Goyer wrote, produced, and directed the film.. Wesley Snipes returned as the day-walking vampire hunter. When the Vampire Nation hatches a plan to frame Blade in a series of brutal killings, he joined forces with the Nightstalkers, a clan of human vampire hunters, in an extreme battle in which the trail of blood leads directly to the notorious vampire legend, Dracula. The film also starred Jessica Biel as Abigail, the daughter of Whistler (Kris Kristofferson), who inherits the vampire-slaying duties that once belonged to Blade (Snipes); and Ryan Reynolds as Hannibal King, one of the Nightstalkers. As a producer Goyer has the ghost story ìAloneî in the works for New Line, and the Vertigo comic ìY: The Last Manî also for New Line, which he is producing with Bender/Spink. In addition to his several film projects, Goyer returns to television with a series for CBS, serving as Executive Producer with David Heyman (HARRY POTTER) and Brannon Braga (STAR TREK: VOYAGER) on THRESHOLD. CBS debuted the hour-long contemporary sci-fi drama about the governmentís response to an alien threat this Fall. Paramount Network Television is producing. Goyer served as the director for the pilot. Goyer recently signed one-year first-look writing, producing and directing deal with Warner Bros., where he is developing a film based on the DC Comics series, ìThe Flash,î which he will write and direct. He is also producing a remake of ìSoylent Greenî for the studio. Goyer is currently in production on ìThe Invisible,î a Spyglass Production which Touchstone Pictures will release. The film centers on a teenager who, after being attacked and left for dead, finds himself in limbo, invisible to the living and racing against time to find his body before he truly perishes. The only person who might be able to save him is his attacker, a troubled girl who is on the run from the law. The film stars Justin Chatwin, Margarita Levieva, and Marcia Gay Harden. Goyer directs with a screenplay by Mick Davis, with additional writing by Christine oum. The producers are Spyglassí Gary Barber, Roger Birnbaum, and Jonathan Glickman in addition to Neal Edelstein and Mike Macari. Somewhere in-between all those projects and his duties on BLADE: The Series, Goyer had the chance to answer a few questions about his work on the series. FEARS: There was a lot of talk of some type of spin off for BLADE around the time of "Blade: Trinity." How did this incarnation come about? As it came together what about the produced made you decide to stay on board as executive producer? David Goyer: Given that Wesleys participation in even a third film was, at one point, in question, New Line was obviously interested in exploring whether or not a series or spin-off could be done. It was New Line that first approached me with the idea of bringing in some other characters and thats where King and Abigail eventually emerged from. In terms of the series, New Line had long expressed interest. Wed discussed it during the production of the 2nd film, but I could never really wrap my head around an appropriate idea. Last summer, I came up with a concept that I thought was interesting and I pitched it to New Line. They liked it and we were off and running. FEARS: Given the wealth of the material that now exists on Blade (comics and movies) what were your ideas in redesigning the material for television? David Goyer: One thing that was immediately clear was that the series had to be a different beast than the movies. We obviously couldnt afford the amount of action or fighting that we indulged in with the movies. And in any event, series tend to be better formats for exploring intrigue and character back-stories. Id always been interested in delving more deeply into the vampire world machinations and this seemed like a good opportunity to do so. I also realized that a series would benefit from spending as much time with the vampires as we were spending with Blade. FEARS: Has the series reached a point yet where it has taken on a life of its own or do you still get these calls for your advice and suggestions on things because you are perceived as "The Giver of the Blade Lore?" David Goyer: Ive been more involved in the on-going series than people probably realize. I helped the writers break the stories for every episode, for the on-going arcs. Ive watched all the cuts, the casting tapes, etc. And I co-wrote the final episode of Season 1. But yeah, often Ill get a call or e-mail about a specific piece of Blade lore -- whether or not we can alter something, etc. FEARS: Given the demands of a weekly series and all the other projects that you are working on how do you balance everything? I know you wrote the pilot, but can you or do you want to be involved in writing or directing future episodes? David Goyer: If we get a second season, time permitting; Id like to write more episodes. I would certainly be involved in all of the major discussions regarding the direction of the season, etc. I really enjoy the cast and crew. Its been a very good, rare experience. Its a great group of people and we have a lot of fun together. FEARS: The show requires stunt work, special effects, cgi, and has this global feel to it, does it add pressure to the schedule and budget? David Goyer: Absolutely. Weve also got the pressure of living up to the feature films. There was definitely a learning curve for the first few episodes. For instance, we quickly realized that we needed to add a 2nd unit in order to flesh out the fight scenes. We also realized that wed need to send a unit to Detroit to film some establishing shots, and so on. By episode 6 or so, wed pretty much worked out the kinks. FEARS: If the show is picked up for a second season, how do you see the storyline evolving beyond the themes and ideas set up in the comics and feature films? David Goyer: If we go a 2nd season, we will start to shine the spotlight on one of the other vampire houses. And without giving too much away, some pretty apocalyptic things happen at the end of this season that really change the status quo. FEARS: Does having the show air on a cable channel like Spike give you more freedom to do things both visually and in the adult themes of the show? David Goyer: Having the show air on a cable channel has been a real blessing. We could never get away with some of the things we do on a traditional network show. It would have been a joke. And Spike has been very supportive of us pushing the edge of the envelope in terms of content. FEARS: How close were you involved with the casting process for Blade? I think Kirk "Sticky" Jones is an excellent Blade. What was it about his performance that convinced you the most that he had the chops to be the Daywalker? David Goyer: I was very involved in the casting of Sticky. We saw a lot of people. A LOT. But we liked Stickys energy and we werent interested in casting someone who was going to depict Blade in the same vein as Wesley. Those were extremely big shoes to fill and we knew we were going to get some s#$t for whomever we chose. We were fairly confident, though, that after a few episodes, both Sticky and the audience would find a comfort level. FEARS: I know you are working on a big screen adaptation of "The Flash," but Im a big fan of "Soylent Green," and a fan of the novel by "Harry Harrison. I think "Soylent" is one of the films that could be remade given all the things that have happened politically and socially since then. What are your thoughts on the remake and will you be involved in more than just producing the film? David Goyer: I cant comment on this question right now! FEARS: So with everything else that youre working on what is next to go into production for you and what project are you the most excited about that you wish would be next? What do you feel is your longevity with the series? David Goyer: I think that Blade: The Series could easily last five or 6 seasons. Weve certainly got enough stories in mind to do so. The idea would be to keep shaking things up from season to season. In terms of other projects, Ive got ìThe Invisibleî coming out in January, which is the new film Ive directed. Beyond that, Doug Liman is directing ìJumper,î which I adapted from the Steven Gould novel. Still working on the ìThe Flashî -- and a few other "secret" projects as well, which I cant talk about at this time. LINK THIS ARTICLE

 

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