Local movie producer giving away tickets to see 'Black Panther'

Dylan Kussman

How do you motivate people to see a movie?

You give away tickets.

A local movie producer and an entrepreneur say that's their plan for "Black Panther" because of their profound belief in its historical importance.

"Black Panther" is the first Marvel Comics movie with a black director featuring a black superhero. The last comic-based studio movie with a black hero as the lead character was "Blade" in 1998.

Chattanooga-based actor and producer Dylan Kussman, who has acted with such Hollywood heavyweights as Denzel Washington and Tom Cruise, asked Vincent Ivan Phipps, owner of Communication VIP, to collaborate with him on the "Black Panther Define A Hero Challenge" to get people to the theater.

"This is an important moment in cinema history," says Kussman. "It's the first major Marvel studio release that stars African-American actors directed by an African-American director. The screenplay was written by two African-American writers. And it just so fortunately happens to fall in the middle of Black History Month 2018."

Kussman and Phipps invite all Chattanooga high school students to take the "Black Panther Define A Hero Challenge" by submitting a one-page essay or a one-minute video of their definition of a hero. Students should include their full name, year and high school. Entries must be emailed by Tuesday to BlackPanther@CommunicationVIP.com.

Kussman says no late entries will be accepted.

"It's not just a good black film; it's a great story with great acting," says Phipps. "The fact that it's 80 percent African-American-positive, no drugs, no thugs This is like black Superman."

Winners of the challenge get free tickets to the Saturday screening of "Black Panther" at 6:45 p.m. at the AMC Chattanooga 18 in East Ridge. The ticket winners will be announced Thursday.

Phipps and Kussman are so excited about the challenge that they've already purchased the entire fourth row of movie seats for students.

Phipps and Kussman visited area high schools this past week to personally encourage youth to submit entries.

"We want kids to see it and be inspired," says Kussman, who has been working in the movie industry as a professional actor, writer and director for 35 years. He has no direct involvement in this film but says with Hollywood's history of movies in which black actors are reduced to supporting roles, "Black Panther" is a decision the movie industry got right and it should be celebrated.

The story originated in 1966 when two white Marvel Comics writers, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, introduced T'Challa, king of Wakanda, in an issue of "Fantastic Four." They named the character Black Panther in the height of the Black Panther movement.

The movie is about a young king, T'Challa, who returns home to the African nation of Wakanda after the death of his father. As he takes his rightful place as king, an old enemy appears and forces T'Challa into a battle that threatens the fate of the Wakanda people and the world. T'Challa must rally his allies and release the full power of Black Panther to defeat the enemy and secure the well-being of his people.

Phipps says he wants youths to recognize that a hero can come in all forms, and he wants them to see the beauty and pride of African-American culture.

"Marvel and Disney have dominated the box office probably over the last 15 years with all of their 'Spider-Man,' 'Avengers' and 'Captain America' [movies]," says Phipps, "They've just been kicking butt, but they've never had a black lead character and a black director."

Chadwick Boseman, who plays the title role, portrayed Jackie Robinson in "42," which was partially filmed in Chattanooga, as well as James Brown in "Get on Up" and Thurgood Marshall in "Marshall."

Ryan Coogler directed and co-wrote the screenplay for "Black Panther" with Joe Robert Cole. 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 "Creed," the seventh spinoff film in the Rocky saga.

Contact Yolanda Putman at yputman@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6431.