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DVD RELEASE: Black Dynamite Season 1 Hollywood Signing Event
The 2009 film, Black Dynamite, through finding humor in the authenticity of 70s Black Exploitation films earned a cult following and has led to a successful cartoon series of the same name on Cartoon Network’s nightly Adult Swim. On Tuesday, July 15 to celebrate the release of season 1 on DVD and Blu-Ray, stars/writers Michael Jai White (Black Dynamite) and Byron Minns (Bullhorn), co-star Tommy Davidson (Cream Corn) and producer Carl Jones stopped through Amoeba records in Hollywood to sign copies of the collection for their Los Angeles fan-base.
The group that arrived early to get in line were nothing less than fanatics: Black Dynamite T-Shirts, the original movie DVD and even enlarged photos from the film. “Pleased to know that a lot of the [people] who were fans of the movie, who weren’t necessarily animation fans, stumbled upon the show and watched skeptically and then became fans of the show,” Carl Jones stated. The ending of the popular Adult Swim series, The Boondocks, (although it has recently returned after a prolonged break) created a void for an animated show with a Black cast and theme (Let’s be honest, The Cleveland Show doesn’t count). An indie film seems an odd choice for cartoon adaptation, but was an obvious move in retrospect due to the lead character’s super hero like prowess (on the street and in the bedroom) combined with the comedic foundation of the material. Byron Minns explains “[The show] frees us up in a way, because with the animation it expands the world [of the film]. [The] animation lends itself for us to take us out of the [real] world and have giant apes. Stuff we couldn’t normally do.” Jones added “It’s a different objective. We’re not trying to blur the lines with the cartoon to give people the impression that it’s a 70s [show]. We’re using the medium as much as we can by really taking advantage of the animation and doing things that would cost a whole lot of money to do in a live action film.”
The show has been a success on the network that dominates the 18-24 male demo and was picked up for a second season. “Our initial intention in the beginning of this season was to go a little deep,” says Minns, being carful not to divulge any plot details. “We got our toes wet in the first season. 2nd Season we jumped all the way in,” Jones adds to further peak our curiosity while still leaving us in the dark. All will be revealed when season 2 premiers October 2014. Season 1 is on sale now on DVD and Blu-Ray.
Words and Photos by Dominic Painter
