Black Panther film shows ongoing momentum

ALBANY — With its record-breaking opening and continuing box office momentum, Disney and Marvel’s “Black Panther” film has taken the nation, and the world, by storm.

In Albany, a preview party organized by the Albany Business League sold 400 tickets in advance and nearly filled two of the local AMC Theaters’ viewing studios. The film, based on a Marvel comics superhero who helps save and restore a fictional African nation, also features an actor with close ties to Lee County.

Adedapo Victor Olaniyan is a graduate of Lee County High School whose interest in acting was birthed while a member of Lee’s Palladium Drama Club.

“Lee County High School has one of the best theater arts programs around,” Olaniyan said during a recent interview.

The actor, who was born in Nigeria, moved to Lee County when he was 10 years old. After graduation he moved to Atlanta to attend college and pursue his acting career.

“I was looking for a way to get into the industry full-time, and my college drama teacher introduced me to an agent in Atlanta,” Olaniyan said.

So far, his role as an extra in a pivotal scene in the “Black Panther” movie has been his biggest break.

“One thing I really like about the movie is that most of the actors chosen for roles in the film have direct ties to Africa,” Olaniyan said. “I worked with people from Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda, Kenya. … The cast showed a lot of diversity, and the costumes and props were very authentic.”

Olaniyan spoke of the huge lip plate seen in one of the tribal leaders in the film.

“It was real and significant in African tribal culture,” he said.

Olaniyan said working on the film introduced him to many aspects of African culture that he was not familiar with and allowed him to learn from other actors whose backgrounds were diverse.

“Wakanda was based on what the nation of Africa might look like in a futurist time,” he said. “Costume designers and production managers drew from real tribes and cultures to represent the various people that formed the nation of Wakanda.”

Ruth Carter and Hannah Beachler, the film’s production designers, used African traditions in current fashion trends and textiles to create the film’s costumes.

Another example of how the costume designers integrated African culture into the film is in the gold rings worn around the necks of some of the females in the film. These gold neck rings come from the Ndebele tribe of South Africa. According to tradition, only married women may wear the rings, even though they’ve become a recent fashion trend.

“Wakanda is a kingdom made up of several different tribes, each with their own style,” Olaniyan said. “One of the tribes in the film wore heavy blankets similar to those worn by South African farmers in a region where the winters are very cold. These cloaks can be seen in the film worn by a tribe of remote warriors who ride on rhinos.”

Olanyian plays one of the guardsmen that protects the king and the tribesmen in Wakanda. He said working alongside celebrities like Angela Bassett and Chadwick Boseman was an experience of a lifetime.

“What I discovered is that even the big celebrities are pretty easy-going and treat you well on the set,” Olaniyan said.

A box office sensation

Olaniyan said he attributes much of the “Black Panther” success to good marketing, advance publicity, premier events and, mostly, a story whose time had come.

According to Box Office Mojo, a company that tracks, publishes and regularly updates box office revenue reports, “Black Panther” delivered the fifth-largest opening of all time. Disney initially reported an estimated $201.7 million gross over the film’s three-day opening and expected to surpass $235 million for the four-day President’s Day weekend debut.

When all accounts were added up, though, “Black Panther” had the largest February opening weekend in history at $202,003,951 topping the previous record holder “Deadpool’s” $132,434,639. The film also was cited by Box Office Mojo as having the largest winter season opening, the largest President’s Day weekend opening and the largest first Monday box office sales at $40,151,729.

“Black Panther” places second only to “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” for the highest four-day gross of all time. The movie also placed second only to “The Avengers” on several charts, including the second-highest opening for a comic book adaptation, for a superhero movie and for a film produced by the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Statistics show that within its first few days, the film outgrossed lifetime domestic totals for “Doctor Strange,” “Captain America: The First Avenger,” “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” “The Incredible Hulk” and “Thor: The Dark World.”

Since its spectacular opening, the “Black Panther” momentum has continued. According to Box Office Mojo’s latest numbers, which were updated on Monday, the domestic gross for Black Panther now sits at $411,711,738.

A powerful story

Olaniyan attributes the success of the film to its powerful story.

“This movie represents a lot for the black community; it’s everything for the black community, and the fact that it’s one of the biggest openings of all time makes me feel good that I was a part of making history,” the young actor said.

Marvel Comics’ “Black Panther” was originally conceived in 1966 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby,as a way to offer black readers a character with which to identify. The comic hero, whose name is T’Challa, is the likely heir to the throne of Wakanda, a fictional African nation. While vying for the throne, T’Challa must battle an evil antagonist who discovers a rare and secret substance which, for centuries, has given the people of Wakanda strength, endurance and brain power.

The substance is called Vibranium. The film tends to bounce back and forth from current scenes in the United States to the futuristic high-tech world of Wakanda and yet the entire project is deeply rooted in African history.

Olaniyan said there are actually two villains in the story: the white men who killed the Black Panther’s father in a civil war and “Kill Monger,” who is out to steal the Vibranium.

“The plot is powerful. It is full of action and underlying messages about freedom, empowerment and justice,” Olaniyan said. “The film also sends out a strong message to stand up for what you believe in.”

Olaniyan said the film demonstrates a powerful sense of community, of tribes working together for the greater good. In the film, the one tribe that dares to try to fight for the throne ends up fighting with T’Challa as he comes against the evil villain who stole the Vibranium.

Premier events

The Albany Business League hosted a private VIP screening party on opening night at the AMC Albany 16 Theater. Albany Business League Director Sherrell Byrd said 400 screening party tickets were sold in advance and more premier party attendees showed up the night of the event.

Will Davis, the Albany Business League vice chairman, said event attendees filled two showing rooms. Another large group from Americus hosted its own private screening, bringing in well over 100 participants.

Alvita Swain, executive director of the Strive2Thrive program in Albany, said she was eager to see the movie and came to the premier decked out in a colorful African outfit with matching head scarf.

It likely was no accident that the film, which defied nearly all previous stereotypes of black actors, was released to coincide with Black History Month.

What’s next for ‘Black Panther’ stars

Olaniyan said he is not at liberty to discuss a new major film project he has recently been cast in. He will, however, say that he believes his work in “Black Panther” will mark a major pivotal point in his career.

“I learned a lot and met so many people who will remain friends and colleagues,” Olaniyan said.

He described the cast and production crews on the film as one big family. Producer Ryan Coogler’s first feature film, “Fruitvale Station,” won the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award for U.S. dramatic film at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. He also co-wrote and directed the seventh film in the Rocky film saga, “Creed.” All three films star Michael B Jordan, who plays Killmonger in “Black Panther.” Forest Whitaker, who plays Zuri, produced “Fruitvale Station.”

The Hollywood Reporter announced that several of the “Black Panther” cast members will appear in the May release of the “Avengers: Infinity War” and a yet-to-be-named Avengers film expected to be released in 2019.

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