As sort of expected, they went the rapper route, though thankfully, he’s a decent acting rapper. Kirk “Sticky Fingaz” Jones is the Daywalker in Goyer’s TV show, which I’m sort of looking forward to. Jones was apparently on “Over There” and is more memorable to me as rapper and 1-9 gang leader Kern Little during the 1st and 2nd season of “The Shield”.
The rest of the cast is a bunch of bit players and no names. I think this is an okay choice, as they are apparently going very low-budget. I’m interested to see how it turns out.
Originally Posted by Eric Brooks They probably saw SPAWN.
yeah, because the role of blade requires some serious acting chops. the only two requirements (well three if you count being black) are to be a convincing martial artist and to be able to skowl menacingly. i ask this: does sticky fingaz have any kung fu skills?
Jai White gets mentioned pretty much right after Snipes for everything. Being the guy people associate with Wesley Snipes leftovers isn’t exactly a compliment. I agree, better to cast someone else. As to why they did, from the looks of this cast, I actually don’t think they could afford Michael Jai White.
I liked Kirk Jones on “The Shield” quite a bit. He’s interesting at least, as he’s a different presence than I expected. No, probably no martial arts skills, but Keanu Reeves didn’t have any either. Training will be sufficient.
Originally Posted by Tom Reagan yeah, because the role of blade requires some serious acting chops. the only two requirements (well three if you count being black) are to be a convincing martial artist and to be able to skowl menacingly. i ask this: does sticky fingaz have any kung fu skills?
The role of Blade does not require a great actor, but an actor with presence, such as Snipes. Nothing in SPAWN showed he had any acting talent or presence whatsoever. I’m not saying ‘Sticky Fingaz’ is going to work, but curious why so many people think Jai White is perfect for the role besides being Black. Martial Arts is easier to fake on film then talent and charisma. Sticky Fingaz is in good shape, and if they have a good fight choreographer for the show, then I’m sure they will get by.
Originally Posted by Tom Reagan yeah, because the role of blade requires some serious acting chops. the only two requirements (well three if you count being black) are to be a convincing martial artist and to be able to skowl menacingly. i ask this: does sticky fingaz have any kung fu skills?
The role of Blade does not require a great actor, but an actor with presence, such as Snipes. Nothing in SPAWN showed he had any acting talent or presence whatsoever. I’m not saying ‘Sticky Fingaz’ is going to work, but curious why so many people think Jai White is perfect for the role besides being Black. Martial Arts is easier to fake on film then talent and charisma. Sticky Fingaz is in good shape, and if they have a good fight choreographer for the show, then I’m sure they will get by.
I can’t believe I’m actually writing a post defending Michael Jai White, but if you saw his performance as Mike Tyson, you’d know he’s not a terrible actor at all, and definitely has an intimidating presence. As for the matrial arts thing, sure you can train and fake a lot of it, but I, and this is just my opinion I guess, generally like it much more when you know its the actor doing all his own stuff. I mean, The Matrix stuff worked because they had like a year to train Keanu. I doubt the training for this show will be that intense. To be clear, I really don’t care that much, I just thought that Michael jai White would’ve been a better choice all things considered.
Maybe I’m just tired of Michael Jai White’s name associated with the role of Blade, but i never got the impression Jai White was anything more then a B-movie actor who got lucky getting cast in a popular comic book movie.
I have liked Jai White in a couple things, but the Mario Van Peebles suggestion was always the best one I heard. He’s not a martial arts star but he could pull off the imposing qualities which is a lot tougher to learn, as opposed to the fighting techniques which many actors can look decent doing after a few months of training. I’m not hyped at all for Jones but I’ll still end up giving the show a shot.
Yeah, I think it was me that suggested Van Peebles in a previous thread, but I knew they wouldn’t have the balls or the cash to go that way. Looks that way anyhow. Sticky Fingaz doesn’t inspire a ton of excitement, but he’s better than some of the doomdsay scenarios I was planning for. What we’ve seen so far has been good, and also, martial arts isn’t necessarily a must. The weaponry and vampire hunting skills has always been more of the Blade character, it was Snipes that sort of made him this master martial artist.
Debuts about a week from now on “Superman Returns” day, aka June 28 at 10pm EST. I saw the preview for it on the “Running Scared” DVD and for a TV show it looks pretty damn good. From what I’ve heard they’re doing a running storyline, which I love, and the actuion sequences and FX work actually seems pretty good. Anybody else looking forward to this? I really like Sticky as Blade from what I’ve seen.
I’m definitely going to give it a fair shot. I’m glad it’s debuting in the summer where it won’t get lost in the shuffle. I’m still skeptical about Jones but I’d like nothing more than for him to prove me wrong.