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Pitch Black

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[edit] Introduction

Pitch Black is a science fiction film released by Universal Pictures in February, 2000. It was directed by David Twohy and starred Vin Diesel, Radha Mitchell, Cole Hauser, Keith David, Claudia Black, andRhiana Griffith as survivors of a space crash. At this time, Vin Diesel was virtually an unknown, the only notable credits on his resume being Saving Private Ryan and The Iron Giant. This film introduced the character of Riddick, who would become the central character of The Chronicles of Riddick. The theatrical release, rated R, ran for 1 hour and 49 minutes; an unrated "director's cut" containing three minutes of additional footage is also available.

The film was originally produced by USA Films in 1998, but then shelved due to financial troubles until it was taken over by Universal Pictures, which released it with little fanfare during the slowest portion of the moviegoing season. It appeared in and left theaters quickly, but generated a cult following in spite of this. The cult following spread after its video release in late 2000 and then garnered additional attention when Diesel followed it up in 2001 with The Fast and the Furious, which gained him national attention.

The film was originally written by Ken and Jim Wheat, and revised by Twohy prior to shooting. The premise, Twohy later said, drew from older films such as Five Came Back and Back From Eternity, in which survivors of plane crashes found themselves dealing with unfamiliar terrain, hostile indigenous populations, and a dangerous felon in their midst. This time, the premise was transplanted onto an alien world. As with those films, the survivors are slowly picked off one by one, and forced to turn to the felon for help. Unlike those films, though, the felon doesn't end up sacrificing his own life to save a small handful of survivors, but ends up being one of the three who make it off-planet (paving the way for sequels).

Although initially its own fandom, most Pitch Black sites turned into generic Vin Diesel sites after the success of The Fast and the Furious. Many of the remaining sites were stored on Geocities and thus are no longer available for viewing.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Terminology

Below is a list of terms and their definitions that are used in this fan fiction community.

  • Audrey -- In the original shooting script, and in the novelization which was written prior to on-set changes, Jack/Jackie was not disguised as a boy but was simply a girl named Audrey. Many fanfiction writers have taken to using "Audrey" as Jack's real name in their stories.
  • The Company -- an organization that Riddick had once worked for, then repudiated, in the novelization, which had then framed and persecuted him until they succeeded in having him imprisoned on trumped-up charges. No mention of this organization occurs in the film, and it's part of a backstory that was completely abandoned when The Chronicles of Riddick was made. Many early fanfiction writers referred to it.
  • Docking Pilot -- Carolyn Fry's job description, prior to the crash.
  • Hunter-Gratzner -- The name of the ship that crashed. The only time the name is ever said is during the crash itself, when Owens (the navigation officer who dies shortly after the crash) is making a distress call. In real life, it's the name of the special effects company who designed the ship model and several other key models for the film.
  • New Mecca -- the apparent intended destination of the four Muslims among the survivors. In the film's opening monologue, Riddick refers to them and comments that they're probably on their way there; Imam and Fry later discuss it while searching for water and he says that he and his charges are on Hajj on their way there. The name would be repurposed for the sequel, becoming Imam's home town on the planet "Helion Prime," instead of the destination of a religious pilgrimage.
  • Shine Job -- a surgical procedure done on someone's eyes to give them enhanced night-vision. It obliterates their ability to see color normally but allows them to function in near-total darkness. Riddick paid to have one done to his eyes when he was sent to a prison "where they tell you you'll never see daylight again."
  • Shiv -- a handmade blade, typically made in secret and kept hidden. During the course of the film, Riddick manufactured two shivs, one out of a piece of bone and the other out of a chunk of metal.
  • Sigma 3 -- a "galaxy" mentioned in the novelization, where Riddick allegedly served as a "company ranger." No mention of this location occurs in the film, and it's part of a backstory that was completely abandoned when The Chronicles of Riddick was made. Many early fanfiction writers referred to it.
  • Skiff -- a short-range spacecraft, probably intended to ferry people between a larger ship and the surface of a planet. One is found in an abandoned settlement, and used by the survivors to escape.
  • Slam -- Prison.
  • Slam City -- The prison Riddick escapes from in a tie-in webcomic that was released along with the movie.
  • Star-Jumper -- a ship capable of long-distance interstellar travel.

[edit] Timeline

Below is a partial timeline of events that took place in this fan fiction community.

[edit] Kerfluffles

Probably the biggest explosion in this fandom occurred during the preproduction/production phase of the sequel The Chronicles of Riddick, when fans learned that the part of Jack/Jackie had been recast with a new actress, Alexa Davalos, in place of the original actress Rhiana Griffith. There was a great deal of confusion among fans for several months, because Davalos had been officially cast as someone named "Kyra," and people weren't sure whether or not Jack and Kyra were really connected. Some fans launched letter-writing campaigns and petitions but the bulk of fans were too unsure to do anything. Davalos' casting was announced in May 2003; it wasn't until October 2003, when production was already well underway, that an article from the Australian newspaper, The Newcastle Herald, was found and published on several Vin fansites that confirmed that Griffith had auditioned for the part of Kyra but been denied the role.

Fan outrage was intense; Jack was the second most-popular character in the film after Riddick, at that point. One of the key players in the kerfuffle was Ardath Rekha, who was webmistress of the fansite Art of Vin Diesel at that stage and announced that she was a bigger Rhiana fan than Vin fan, and this had killed the fandom for her. She resigned from her position as webmistress (the site has gone through several webmistresses since then and deteriorated from its once-high-profile position) and built a new site, the Rhiana Griffith Fan Club. She later spearheaded a fanfiction movement called either "TCOR-AU" or "Kyra =/= Jack," in which writers produced stories that came up with explanations for how Kyra wasn't actually Jack. Most of those can be found at the Rhiana Griffith Fan Club either in its fan fiction archives or on its message boards, but several of them have migrated out to other Vin Diesel/Riddick fan sites as well.

[edit] Influential Stories

  • Apprentice by Ardath Rekha
  • Even Lions Have Their Pride by Ardath Rekha
  • The Faithful, Three For the Money and ...And Back Again by Jules
  • A Glow in the Darkness by Stephanie Anderson
  • Interim by Susy Strom
  • Jack B. Badd by Daryn
  • Lost and Found by LadyElaine
  • One Rule: Stay in the Light by Ardath Rekha
  • A Perfect Circle and Counterparts by Evilgrrl
  • The Private and Personal Journal Cycle by RAS
  • Promises Are Forever by Kes94
  • Renascence by Susy Strom and Shazrolane
  • The Storm by Tracy Roberts
  • Ten Minutes of Terror by Virtual Void
  • The Way to New Mecca by Shazrolane
  • Your New Best Friend by Bayouskye

[edit] Fandom Members

This section needs more information.

[edit] Fandom Size

This section needs more information.

[edit] External Links

This section needs more information.

[edit] See also

[edit] Sources

Below is a partial list of articles and academic sources to help you continue to learn about this community.

This section needs more information.

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