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*Wesley Snipes couldn’t be more enthusiastic about “Black Panther,” telling Slate that “Excited is definitely not the word,” said the star of the “Blade” trilogy.
“Overcome, overjoyed, clutch the pearls, I am ecstatic about it.”
As noted by Page Six, Snipes, one of the biggest action stars of the ’90s, knows what doors the film will open for African-Americans throughout Hollywood.
“I know what it’s going to do, the impact it’s going to have, not only on the minds of the community but on the industry and the minds of those who are now the new gatekeepers,” he said. “When they see the money, that’s a wrap. It’s a wrap. It’s inevitable that it opens up new opportunities, it’s like dropping a load of seed in the mud. It’s going to grow. It’s going to grow.”
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The excitement and critical praise surrounding the film confirms that there is an audience for African-American films, something Hollywood had no idea of when “Blade” came out in 1998, Snipes said.
“I remember, one of the executives of the studio at the time, in the screening, commented after they did the focus group, and they got back the numbers, and they saw how the numbers was so high, and there was so much appeal for the character and the world, he commented, ‘I don’t understand why people like this,’ ” Snipes said.
“Blade” grossed $131 million worldwide, and it’s sequel bagged $155 million.
“There were others who thought that black people or black talent in film doesn’t sell internationally, doesn’t sell foreign, doesn’t sell in Japan,” he continued. “ ‘Blade’ comes out, and it blows up in Japan, despite the fact that the lead is a black guy. These were testaments to the lack of cultural awareness, intelligence about the world itself, the global landscape, and the appeal that African-American culture has around the world.”
“Black Panther” is in theaters now.
