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Epilogue – Painted Movie Poster Art Series – Feature #9: “Blade” 20th Anniversary

Epilogue is a mixed-media series by artist Damon Kardon honoring classic horror and sci-fi films. Feature #9 celebrates 1998’s Blade, starring Wesley Snipes, released in 1998 via New Line Cinema.

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Series Overview:
Epilogue Art Series is a mixed-media series by artist Damon Kardon honouring classic horror/sci-fi films and the creative promotional art that was presented to the public at the time of their premiere dates. All films represented in this art series celebrate a milestone anniversary of the films’ release and the impact they have made on pop culture history.

Kardon has chosen specific films that influenced him over the years through their distinct tone, cinematography and direction. He is expressing his emotions felt from viewing each film through his art process, painting key images and colors that also represent the story of each film. Each poster design starts as a painting and then is manipulated in Photoshop.

As a kid who loved going to the movies (and also enjoyed the classic painted poster designs of Drew Struzan ), Damon has dreamed of bringing his art style into the world of interpretive movie posters. The term “Epilogue”, in film, represents the final scenes in which a recap or narrative of what happens to the characters is given. It can be represented in a montage, which is how Damon interprets these works he is creating.

Sneak Preview:
– Be sure to enhance your viewing/reading experience by watching the original movie trailer for Blade, released on August 21st, 1998, via New Line Cinema.


About the Painting:

Here is my pitch. Bring back Blade with an all-new reboot with Wesley Snipes taking on the mentor/inventor role once occupied by Kris Kristofferson’s “Whistler” and with Michael B. Jordon as the new Blade-in-training. I seriously think this could work! I just watched the original 1999 Blade and I seriously think it ages well. It is just so damn cool!

“Day-Walker” Wesley Snipes has some serious martial arts skills and uses them ferociously on bad-ass Stephen Dorff’s “Deacon Frost”. Written by a young David S. Goyer and directed by Stephen Norrington, Blade combined the comic book world with the techno-rave kids’ cool of the ‘90s. The opening sequence of an underground rave in a meat-packing warehouse (where it rains blood on the vampire club kids) just completely sets the tone. This was probably one of the coolest comic book adaptations to come from the ‘90s, before these movies were really taken seriously by Marvel with Spiderman and Iron Man.

You have to give a whole lot of credit to Wesley Snipes. He has such a bad-ass look with the tattoos and twin samurai blades and some of the best one-liners (“Some mutha-fuckers are always trying to ice skate uphill”). His martial arts training combined with his stone-faced delivery makes for some sweet vampire ninja action! Also director Stephen Norrington brought a passion and such creativity to this movie, I wonder why he is not out there today directing some of the biggest action/sci-fi movies today.

Feature #9: “Blade”:
– Check out Damon’s creative process by scrolling through the photos below.

“Blade” – Original Poster Art from 1998:

The Series & Future Artwork:

– Coming up in Feature #10… “Jurassic Park”
– Feature #8… “Halloween” 40th Anniversary
– Feature #7… “They Live” 30th Anniversary
– Feature #6… “Return of the Jedi” 35th Anniversary
– Feature #5… “Vertigo” 60th Anniversary
– Feature #4… “The Dark Knight” 10th Anniversary
– Feature #3… “2001: A Space Odyssey” 50th Anniversary
– Feature #2… “Rosemary’s Baby” 50th Anniversary
– Feature #1… “Christine” 35th Anniversary

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