Black Dynamite - Production

Production

"It’s just a little too badass. That’s the tone of the movie. Our humor comes from the fact that the movie is just a little too badass."

White originally thought of the idea for Black Dynamite around April 2006, while listening to James Brown's "Super Bad". White had also held blaxploitation movie parties where he picked up the "funny inconsistencies" in the films. White rented costumes, photographed himself and showed it to Sanders who was attracted to the idea. The same blue costume on White's photograph was used in the final scene of the film.

The original trailer was recorded even before the film went into production in order to raise money. It incorporated scenes from old blaxploitation movies with old voice overs from Adolph Caesar. The trailer was shot on Super 8 mm film for around $500 and contained numerous cultural references that placed the film in the 1970's, such as referring to the star of the film as a Baltimore Colts running back (the Colts moved to Indianapolis in 1984) and marveling at Black Dynamite's "five thousand dollar car" and "hundred dollar suit". White and Sanders showed it to Jon Steingart, who told them "Oh my God. Okay, we can raise the money for this."

Once financing was secured, writing the script took about three weeks. During the writing process, Minns's almost "encyclopedic knowledge" of blaxploitation helped them produce the script more quickly.