Black Dynamite (2009)

Director:

Scott Sanders

Writers (WGA):

Michael Jai White (screenplay) &
Byron Minns (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

13 January 2010 (France)

Genre:

Action | Comedy

Tagline:

He's super bad. He's outta sight. He's...

Plot:

Black Dynamite is the greatest African-American action star of the 1970s. When his only brother is killed by The Man it's up to him to find justice.

Plot Keywords:

1970s | African American | Fight | Heroin | Orphanage

Awards:

2 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Phyllis Applegate	...	Aunt Billy
Obba Babatundé	...	Osiris (as Obba Babatunde)
William Bassett	...	Captain Yancy
Troy Lindsey Brown	...	Kid #1
Fredella Calloway	...	Waitress
Cheryl Carter	...	Black Dynamite's Mother
Juka Ceesay	...	Valet Girl (as Juka Cesay)
Kevin Chapman	...	O'Leary
Tommy Davidson	...	Cream Corn
Lucky Davis	...	Paperboy
Nicholas Earley	...	Neighborhood Kid
Richard Edson	...	Dino
T.J. Edwards	...	Soul Brother (as Jason Jack Edwards)
Jon Kent Ethridge	...	12 year old Black Dynamite
Mary Evans	...	Woman at table
Cory Gluck	...	16 year old Jimmy
Dionne Gipson	...	Afroditey
Arsenio Hall	...	Tasty Freeze
Paul Hayes	...	Doctor
Darrel Heath	...	Militant 2
Erika Vution	...	Black Chick (as Ashli R. Jackson)
Justine Joli	...	White Woman Swimming
Izetta Karp	...	Granny
Irwin Keyes	...	Henchman
John Kerry	...	Chief
Charmane Star	...	Asian Chick (as Sheryn Lascano)
Daniel Leavitt	...	Teasing Boy #1
Buddy Lewis	...	Gunsmoke
Neil Lewis	...	18 year old Black Dynamite
Buddy Love	...	Drug Dealing Pimp
Brian McKnight	...	Sweet Meat
James McManus	...	Richard Nixon
Byron Minns	...	Bullhorn
Phil Morris	...	Saheed
Jessica Moreno	...	Dumb Broad #1
Joy Mulligan	...	Nurse
Tumani Nicole	...	Brikwilla
Miguel A. Núñez Jr.	...	Mo Bitches (as Miguel Nunez)
Victor Orlando	...	Club M.C.
Nicole Ari Parker	...	Mahogany Black
Damion Poitier	...	Thug #2 (as Damian Poitier)
Candace Rice	...	Shawanda
Salli Richardson-Whitfield	...	Gloria
John Salley	...	Kotex
Akhir Shabazz Regains	...	Freddie
Tucker Smallwood	...	Congressman Monroe James
Edwina Snowden	...	Black Chick #2
Brittney Sorensen	...	White Chick
Chris Spencer	...	Militant 1
Mike Starr	...	Rafelli
Larnell Stovall	...	Thug #1
Nicole Sullivan	...	Patricia Nixon
Nakia Secrest	...	Euphoria (as Nakia Syvonne)
Ben Tan	...	Kid #2
Paul Taylor	...	Pretty Terry
Al Vicente	...	Capo
Baron Vaughn	...	Jimmy
Jimmy Walker Jr.	...	Roscoe (as Jimmy Walker Jr)
Michael Jai White	...	Black Dynamite
Kym Whitley	...	Honey Bee
Lee Whittaker	...	Donut Man
Billy 'Sly' Williams	...	Willy Sly (as Billy Sly Williams)
Mykelti Williamson	...	Chicago Wind
Bokeem Woodbine	...	Black Hand Jack
Cedric Yarbrough	...	Chocolate Giddy-Up
Andre Younge	...	Reggie
Roger Yuan	...	Fiendish Dr. Wu
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Pete Antico	...	Abraham Lincoln (uncredited)
Sorana Black	...	Disguised Waitress #1 (uncredited)
Sean Christopher	...	Nipsy (uncredited)
Andray Johnson	...	Karate Instructor (uncredited)
Lauren Mary Kim	...	Hoe (uncredited)
Jesse Lewis IV	...	Militant #3 (uncredited)
Alexis McCombs	...	Hooker (uncredited)
K.J. Middlebrooks	...	Pimp in barbershop (uncredited)
Kevin Murry	...	Nipsy's neighbor (uncredited)
Garen Petrossian	...	Goon 3 (uncredited)
John Rhymes	...	Suga Pimp (uncredited)
Charlotte Stokely	...	White Chick #2 (uncredited)
Poco Zocko	...	Goon (uncredited)

Directed by
Scott Sanders

Writing credits (WGA)
Michael Jai White		(screenplay) &
Byron Minns		(screenplay) &
Scott Sanders		(screenplay)
Michael Jai White		(story) &
Byron Minns		(story)

Produced by
Jillian Apfelbaum	....	co-producer
Deanna Berkeley	....	executive producer
James Berkeley	....	executive producer
Charla Driver	....	line producer
Alison Engel	....	co-producer
Nathan Funk	....	co-producer
Trevor Funk	....	co-producer
Intesar Haider	....	associate producer
Seth Harrison	....	co-producer
Matt Richards	....	co-producer
Jenna Segal	....	co-producer
Paul Segal	....	co-producer
Jenny Wiener Steingart	....	producer
Jon Steingart	....	producer

Original Music by
Adrian Younge

Cinematography by
Shawn Maurer

Film Editing by
Adrian Younge

Casting by
Jason James
Rick Montgomery

Production Design by
Denise Pizzini

Set Decoration by
Antonia Nunez

Costume Design by
Ruth E. Carter

Makeup Department
Tena Austin	....	key makeup artist
Kali Balugo	....	key makeup artist
Randi Mavestrand	....	additional makeup artist
Valerie Nelson	....	additional hair stylist
Cole Patterson	....	additional makeup artist
Allen Payne	....	additional hair stylist (as Al Payne)
Charles Gregory Ross	....	hair department head
Yvette Shelton	....	key hair stylist
Laini Thompson	....	makeup department head
Megan Weems	....	additional hair stylist

Production Management
Tessa Lyn Stephenson	....	unit production manager: additional photography

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Cristi Rickey	....	second second assistant director
Chad Rosen	....	first assistant director
Tessa Lyn Stephenson	....	second assistant director
Ron Yuan	....	action director
Ron Yuan	....	second unit director

Art Department
A.J. Chatem	....	propmaker foreman
Davin Cheng	....	storyboard artist
Derek Dean	....	set dresser
Ethan Goodwin	....	set decoration buyer
Laura M. Guzik	....	art department coordinator
Kevin 'Chevy' Martinez	....	set dresser
Joyce Yeich	....	assistant property master

Sound Department
David Barber	....	sound editor
David Barber	....	sound re-recording mixer
Melissa Bylsma	....	sound coordinator
Trevor Dowswell	....	sound coordinator
John Evans	....	boom operator
Sara Glaser	....	sound mixer
Sean Gray	....	sound designer
Sean Gray	....	sound effects editor
David Kitchens	....	sound supervisor
Steve Morantz	....	production sound mixer: additional photography
Richard Ragon	....	second unit sound mixer
George Wymenga	....	sound utility

Visual Effects by
Brian Adler	....	visual effects supervisor
Ko Eun Koni Jung	....	visual effects
Seo Jungwook	....	research and development
Jason Madigan	....	technical director
Sunny Sung-Yong Park	....	visual effects (as Sungyong Park)
Sadie D. Johnson	....	digital project manager (uncredited)

Stunts
Tsuyoshi Abe	....	stunts
Robbie Alexander	....	stunt double: Michael Jai White
Pete Antico	....	stunt performer
Clayton J. Barber	....	stunts (as Clayton Barber)
Troy Lindsay Brown	....	stunt performer
Fernando Chien	....	stunts
Arnold Chon	....	stunts
Sean Christopher	....	stunts
David Chan Cordeiro	....	stunts (as David Cordeiro)
Gary Daniels	....	stunts
Roel Failma	....	stunts
Clay Donahue Fontenot	....	stunts (as Clay Fontenot)
Precious Garrett	....	stunt double: Tommy Davidson
Precious Garrett	....	stunts (as Preshas Jenkins)
Lauren Mary Kim	....	stunts (as Lauren Kim)
Henry Kingi Jr.	....	stunt double (as Henri Kingi)
Luke LaFontaine	....	stunts
Will Leong	....	stunt performer (as Leong William)
James LeQuang	....	stunt performer
James Lew	....	stunts
Michael Li	....	stunt rigger
Jalil Jay Lynch	....	stunts (as Jalil Lynch)
Panuvat Anthony Nanakornpanom	....	stunt double: Phil Morris (as Anthony Nanakornpanom)
Norb Phillips	....	stunts (as Norbert Phillips)
Damion Poitier	....	stunts
Jeff Pruitt	....	stunts
Simon Rhee	....	stunts
Buddy Sosthand	....	stunts
Larnell Stovall	....	stunt double
Jen Sung	....	stunts (as Jen Sun Outerbridge)
Jake Swallow	....	stunts
C.C. Taylor	....	stunts
Steve Upton	....	stunt rigging coordinator
David Wald	....	stunts
Lee Whittaker	....	stunts (as Lee Whitaker)
Mike Wilson	....	assistant fight choreographer
Mike Wilson	....	assistant stunt coordinator
Kerry Wong	....	assistant fight choreographer
Kerry Wong	....	assistant stunt coordinator
Roger Yuan	....	fight choreographer
Ron Yuan	....	action director
Ron Yuan	....	fight coordinator
Ron Yuan	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Benjamin Agee	....	electrician
Darwin Montana Browne	....	key grip
Robert Forrest	....	film loader
Prashant Gupta	....	still photographer
Jeremy Launais	....	gaffer
Luis Lopez DeVictoria	....	best boy grip
Frank Sun	....	additional photographer
Gregg Thompson	....	grip
Gregg Williams	....	camera operator
Ramian E. Williams	....	set lighting technician

Animation Department
Greg Franklin	....	animation director (uncredited)

Casting Department
Rich King	....	extras casting
Mac Marshall	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Pierre Ciofassa	....	set costumer
Megan Coates	....	set costumer
Elaine McGhee	....	key costumer
Kara Stanford	....	key set costumer

Editorial Department
Craig Alpert	....	special consultant
John Nash	....	on-line editor
Mike Sowa	....	digital intermediate color timer
Gilbert Carreras	....	color timer (uncredited)
Valance Eisleben	....	digital intermediate editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Brian Bennett	....	composer: stock music
Syd Dale	....	composer: stock music
David Gold	....	composer: stock music
Steve Gray	....	composer: stock music
Alan Hawkshaw	....	composer: stock music
Clive Hicks	....	composer: stock music
David Hollander	....	music supervisor
Keith Mansfield	....	composer: stock music
Johnny Pearson	....	composer: stock music
David Snell	....	composer: stock music
Alan Tew	....	composer: stock music

Transportation Department
Joey Banks	....	transportation captain
Billy Colbert	....	transportation coordinator
Tim Farrands	....	driver
Javier Jimenez	....	driver
Reese Lane	....	driver
William Majik	....	driver
Peter Ortega	....	driver
Joey Rivera	....	driver
Craig Walendy	....	driver

Other crew
Craig Alpert	....	special consultant
Matt Baker	....	key production assistant
Susan Bambara	....	additional script supervisor
Nick Bergthold	....	location assistant
Ben Feldman	....	production legal services
Felisha N. Grice	....	production assistant
Mariah Breitel Hembree	....	post script services (as Mariah Breitel)
Paula Killen	....	office production assistant
Derick LaSalla	....	assistant production coordinator
Angela Mak	....	production legal services
Frank Pinnock	....	location consultant
Alicia Rivera Frankl	....	production accountant
Anna Rosenbaum	....	assistant to producer
Stella Rubin	....	production accountant
Tim Shuler	....	office production coordinator
Jennifer Spencer	....	production assistant
Mike Tristano	....	weapons supplier

Thanks
Norwood Cheek	....	special thanks
Peyton Reed	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Destination Films (presents)
• Ars Nova
• Goliath Entertainment (in association with)
• Suckapunch Films (as Suckapunch)
• Funk Factory Films
• Harbor Entertainment
• Six Point Harness

Distributors

• Apparition (2009) (USA) (theatrical)
• Pretty Pictures (2010) (France) (theatrical)
• A-Film Home Entertainment (2010) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Ab Svensk Filmindustri / Buena Vista Home Entertainment (2009) (Sweden) (all media)
• Europa Filmes (2010) (Brazil) (all media)
• FS Film Oy (2010) (Finland) (DVD)
• Film1 (2010) (Netherlands) (TV) (limited)
• Front Row Filmed Entertainment (2009) (United Arab Emirates) (all media) (Middle East)
• Front Row Filmed Entertainment (2009) (United Arab Emirates) (all media) (Middle East)
• Icon Film Distribution (2010) (UK) (all media)
• Nelonen (2012) (Finland) (TV)
• Roadshow Entertainment (2010) (Australia) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2010) (Canada) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2010) (Canada) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2010) (USA) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2010) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions (SPWA) (2009) (USA) (all media)
• Universum Film (UFA) (2010) (Germany) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Footage (visual effects)
• EICHI (visual effects)

Other Companies

• Dolby Laboratories  sound mix
• EMS Payroll  extras payroll (uncredited)
• Harbor Entertainment  executive producer
• Juniper Post  sound post-production
• Sony Pictures Stock Footage  footage
• Wax Poetics  soundtrack

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for sexuality/nudity, language, some violence and drug content

Runtime:

84 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS | SDDS

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #45443) | Canada:14A (Canadian Home Video rating) | Australia:MA | Canada:13+ (Quebec) (DVD rating) | UK:15 | Ireland:15A | Netherlands:16 | Finland:K-15 | Portugal:M/16 | Germany:16

Filming Locations:

3630 Crenshaw Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Destination Films

Trivia:

The opening scene which features an African-American actor using an effected quasi-English accent and precise diction while delivering his lines is a play on several well known actors who are featured in blaxploitation yet got their roots in William Shakespeare performances. William Marshall, star of Blacula (1972), starred in eight different productions of Othello before playing Mamuwalde/Blacula in 1972.

Goofs:

Boom mic visible: The boom microphone is visible several times on the top of the frame. Usually if a boom mic is visible in a finished film, it is either because of a mistake made by the filmmakers during shooting or (much more frequently) a mistake made by the projectionist at the movie theater - but in the case of this movie, the mic being visible is a joke meant to parody the lack of film production expertise on the sets of the original "blaxploitation" movies that this movie is referencing.

Quotes:

[Black Dynamite and his gang break into Gunsmoke's apartment and discover him in shock after seeing his penis shrunk]
Black Dynamite:Anaconda Malt Liquor gives you a little dick! Should we kill him?
Bullhorn:[Pulls out his gun and points it at Gunsmoke] Man, do you want to live? I said, do you want to go on?
[Bullhorn shoots Gunsmoke to end his misery]
Bullhorn:Man, this time, these crackers have gone too far!

Movie Connections:

References "Captain Kangaroo" (1955)

Soundtrack:

Shine

Rocky Horror, Look Out

I had the great good pleasure of experiencing the full force of Black Dynamite at a midnight showing (at the Castro...one of The Last Great Movie Palaces). I had high expectations going in (based on the YouTube trailer). They were met, exceeded, and blown the F away. I don't remember betting a gut busted so hard in ages.

BD is an absolutely perfect movie. It somehow manages to be a parody and the thing that it is parodying at the same time. You are watching this alternate universe (a fantasy of the 70s, filtered through the lens of Blaxploitation) and the characters are REAL and they believe in the fantasy. But you are also constantly reminded that you are watching a FILM, an intentionally bad one at that. All the things professional filmmakers try to avoid, they do on purpose: Boom mike hitting actor's head, obvious continuity errors, reusing the same shot to save money (exploding car flying off cliff), replacing a stunt actor in mid-sequence... The effect is delightful and hilarious.

Kudos to the crew and actors for really "getting it" and going for it. (I think the only movie I've seen recently where the actors were having so much fun was Tropic Thunder.)

Oh, and the soundtrack; Man, I need to get me some of dat.