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| by Nadine Meeker with additional writing by Bridget Petrella | ||
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| Lions Gate Entertainment's ‘The Dresden Files’— What a Wiz. | ||
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There is nothing like a fictional
private detective who narrates like Mikey Spillane with a sensitive side
and totes a mystical hockey stick to get us all going here at UPBEAT.
Here’s the thing.... we all tend to think of ourselves as hip and mondo
cool when it comes to the world of geekery... and that’s so not a
contradiction in terms. “The Dresden Files” tells the story of Harry
Dresden (Paul Blackthorne), a regular guy with an irregular life— he’s a
wizard, if ever a wiz there was [sorry, couldn't resist] a practitioner of
magic, who uses his unique abilities to solve the cases that come through
his Chicago storefront office. Harry lives in the same work for a buck
world you and I live in, but he can also operate in the world of the
supernatural, the metaphysical, the horrific, the evil and the obviously
unexplainable. Dresden cleverly unravels otherworldly schemes and crimes
and does battle with the forces of darkness, all while keeping his true
activities veiled from Lieutenant Connie Murphy (Valerie Cruz) of the
Chicago Police Department. Think you understand how the world works? Get
schooled with “The Dresden Files,” a supernatural detective series based
on the best-selling novels of Jim Butcher. The governing body that
supervises wizards is called the High Council. The Council enforces the
rules and makes certain that nobody ever knows what’s going on in the
supernatural world. In Chicago, the Council’s Warden is Morgan (Conrad
Coates). Morgan is Harry’s probation officer. Three years ago Harry used
black magic to kill his uncle Justin Morningway. The Council ruled that
Harry did it in self-defense, but Morgan suspects otherwise. He would be
only too happy to catch Harry in another transgression.
Blackthorne said that he did consult
Butcher's books for some initial inspiration on the role. "I read Storm
Front," he said. "I had this wonderful research idea of reading every book
[in the series]. And then the first script came to me, and I realized I
needed to start reading the script, because we were shooting the next
week. So I never got around to reading all the books. But I enjoyed Storm
Front." |
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Nadine Meeker, devout
generation X’er and confirmed campy TV addict, lives in Michigan with
her hubby of 17 years and their 14-year-old daughter. She left a career
in journalism when she knew more than her college instructor did but got
happily sucked back in by UPBEAT Entertainment News Syndicate.
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Star
Paul Blackthorne is well worth watching, full time. "Saving the world
is a bit of a drag sometimes, but somebody's got to do it, especially if
you're a wizard, I suppose." Whether you know him from his time on ER or
as 24's biological terrorist Stephen Saunders, actor Paul Blackthorne is
no stranger to television. While most of his film roles have been in
independent or foreign movies, Blackthorne's TV career has kept him in
high demand. As for his alter-ego, Harry Dresden, Blackthorne envisioned
him as a bit of a "hesitant good guy". "I see him as absolutely the
reluctant hero, yes. Whereas most people enjoy the idea of saving the day,
it's really rather a trouble for this fellow to do so, but of course,
given that he's imbued with such powers to do so, he feels that he should.
Yeah, he'd really rather be sitting at home, listening to a record or
sitting with a nice lady or something. Saving the world is a bit of a drag
sometimes, but somebody's got to do it, especially if you're a wizard, I
suppose."
