`Witchblade' carves a niche for cable's latest female action hero Jump to first matched term
By Allan Johnson
Chicago Tribune (KRT)

"I'm having a meltdown," sighs New York City police detective Sara Pezzini in "Witchblade," a sharp-looking sci-fi action movie premiering at 8 p.m. ET Sunday on TNT. Her assessment is understandable. Her list of personal traumas includes the murder of her best friend, which Sara knows, but can't prove, was orchestrated by a ruthless mobster (Conrad Dunn), and the death of her cop father, who was killed in the line of duty.

And now Sara has this strange, mystical bracelet on her wrist that mutates into a huge, metal gauntlet. When needed, the glove protrudes a sword and also enables her to do some fantastic, super-powered things. that she knows she couldn't do before. Sara is now in possession of the Witchblade, an ancient, intelligent, living weapon that is the center of the movie, which was inspired by the Top Cow comic book and stars television veteran Yancy Butler, thus placing "Witchblade" in the middle of two major cable TV trends: live-action programs based on comic-book characters and action adventures starring tough, and sometimes idiosyncratic women.

"I actually don't consider myself the star of this," Butler said. "I'm just the wearer of the star and unfortunately, it's on my wrist." But Butler, whose credits include series or guest-starring roles in "Brooklyn South," "Third Watch," "Law & Order" and "NYPD Blue," isn't just an ornament for a fancy weapon. Part of the appeal of "Witchblade" is the brooding nature of Sara, who brings interesting dimensions to the well-worn character of the flawed hero.

"She's a smart (mouth) at times," Butler said over lunch at a Chicago Chinese restaurant recently. But at the same time, "one of reasons why I really liked the script, again, and why I chose to take the part, is her dichotomy. She is very sad.

"As human beings, we're not just one thing. She is very tough, but she is extremely vulnerable. People often ask what would your advice be (to Sara), and I say she needs to go to a therapist and take a long nap. She's a little tired; she needs a siesta."

It's hard enough for Sara to deal with her personal issues, which are compounded further in the movie. Plus, she doesn't fully know how to operate the Witchblade, and its link to her is deeper than she could imagine.

"You're from a line going back through time and forward into the future. Part of a powerful wave, a force, a warrior bloodline," intones Sara's partner, Danny Woo (William Yun Lee).

"Witchblade," with its fast-paced action, "Matrix"-like special effects, moodiness, tight camera angles and an interesting and complex leading character, has all the ingredients for an ongoing series. TNT calls it a "feature," but if the numbers are good on Sunday, the movie will go to a series.

Besides the high-action quotient, it has a couple of other things going for it. First, it's catching the wave of live-action properties derived from comic books that are suddenly in vogue thanks in part to the success of the movie "X-Men," which is based on the popular Marvel comics characters.

"Oh, we are riding that wave in a major way," said Butler, an engaging New Yorker. "They'd be silly not to pick it up, I think. "It's incredibly marketable, obviously. It is very flavor of the times. And people dig it, it's fun. No, it's doing nothing but helping us. Thank you, `X-Men.'"

And "Witchblade" is the latest action project featuring women, obviously spurred by the success of "Xena: Warrior Princess." The trend continued with Pamela Anderson Lee's "V.I.P." and Tia Carrera's "Relic Hunter." The syndicated series "Sheena" bows in October, with Gena Lee Nolin as the 1930s comic-book queen of the jungle.

"It's really about time," said Butler. She made her TV debut in an episode of Dick Wolf's "Law & Order" after graduating from Sarah Lawrence College in 1991, then was cast as a cyborg cop in the producer's short-lived NBC action series "Mann & Machine" in 1992. (Wolf made another NBC series for Butler the following year, "South Beach.")

"People really need to start writing better for (women)," she said. "They do it, but again, it can often become a caricature of itself. Or she's just this militant, Machiavellian butch monster that I wouldn't even want in a man, let alone a human being." Because TNT spent $5 million to make the movie stylish, there are concerns about how the network would keep the look in a series.

"I think that you always wonder how that's going to manifest itself," Butler said. "No, we're not going to be putting $5 million into (it). We have to also remember that this was a two-hour (movie). And actually, which is really sick, $5 million nowadays for that - and we're talking in total with all the effects - is not that much."

But Butler - whose father is a member of the Rock `n' Roll Hall of Fame group the Lovin' Spoonful, and whose mother is a theater production manager - trusts the production team to carry the feel of the movie into a series. Chief among them are executive producer Dan Halsted, from whom Butler heard about the role, and director Ralph Hemecker, who is responsible for the tone. Butler is not taking on additional work until she hears about the movie's numbers.

It's conceivable a series could start production by the beginning of the year, she said. Being in a show could put a crimp in Butler's busy schedule. The actress, who has appeared in the films "Hard Target" and "Drop Zone," has moved smoothly between the movies and TV. On Sept. 12, she will appear in "Thin Air," A&E's latest TV movie to feature Robert B. Parker's private detective Spenser. Joe Mantegna will again be playing the private eye.

"They're just two totally different energies," Butler said of TV and film. "In television, you're cranking out 12, 15 pages a day sometimes, whereas in films you're cranking out three, and you get to actually - here's a concept - rehearse. But I like doing both. I just look for good projects.

"But yeah, this will definitely be a formidable amount of work. But I'm looking forward it. I love this character, and I want to find out what happens to her."

(c) 2000, Chicago Tribune.