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THE SITE IS 20 YEARS OLD!

PostPosted: 23 May 2018, 20:39
by Jox
“It’s amazing for me to see that a little website I started from my apartment in Calgary, Canada has continued to flourish and grow... and great to see that Dolph’s popularity is greater than ever. I MUST BREAK YOU indeed!”

- Message from Blaine,
founder of the original site, DOLPH: the definitive guide


On May 23 1998, a well-advised Canadian fellow named Blaine Wasylkiw launched the first and only full on website dedicated to Dolph Lundgren.

It was a time of slow, basic internet, which I had to connect to for a limited time at a specific library or web cafes which charged you about 1 franc (0,15€) per minute so like 60 FRF roughly $10 or 10€ an hour!

And of course one of the things I looked where informations on Dolph, his IMDB page, his upcoming movies (THE MINION, SWEEPERS, BLACKJACK, even SILENT TRIGGER and THE PEACEKEEPER which had not come out in France)... Any little page, tiny JPEG thumbnail artwork or cover was enough to give me thrills.

So very shortly after, I discovered this new site and boy did that make my day!

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There were misc scattered pages on Dolph but not an entire site, AND I was not the only one acknowledging that Dolph was highly underrated and overlooked.

And in those days, off-internet, Dolph had surely disappeared from where I was living since, you could see it coming already in the years 1993-1995, with the discreet theatrical releases of JOSHUA TREE, MEN OF WAR two years later, and PENTATHLON straight to video (the second time after SHOWDOWN). Then the final straw was with the tiny tiny release of THE SHOOTER, disastrous reviews, and then nothing until the rental release of BLACKJACK later that year of 1998, followed by THE PEACEKEEPER (and TRIGGER would be missing until the summer 2000, while THE MINION and SWEEPERS and not come out anywhere even though they were completed).

To make the story short, Blaine and I corresponded and I would email him infos I found (from the UK mag Impact notably since they broke news on new projects such as STORM CATCHER, BRIDGE OF DRAGONS etc).

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In 2002, I had started my own site DOLPH-IN: The Unknown Dolph Lundgren dedicated to the unproduced projects of Dolph, deleted scenes, alternate versions etc. That same year, I passed my master's degree with a 134 pages thesis on the films of Dolph Lundgren (which I would eventually send to his office in Spain a couple years later, thanks the director of RETROGRADE, Christopher Kulikowski)
In late 2003, it had been a while since he had updated the site and out of the blue asked me if I wanted to take it over.
So I jumped on the occasion to merge both sites and call it the ultimate guide, while Mosquito and Dawn came in to help with the forum and moderation... The new version was launched in January 2004, and as the trailers say, "it was only the beginning"...

Re: THE SITE IS 20 YEARS OLD!

PostPosted: 24 May 2018, 04:11
by Moltisanti
Congrats on 20 years! Think it has been a site I've visited darn near daily for the bulk of those years. Been a lot of ups and downs with Lundgren's career in that time but the site has always maintained a great standard in chronicling it all. Definitely more good times ahead as we get towards the end of 2018.

Re: THE SITE IS 20 YEARS OLD!

PostPosted: 24 May 2018, 06:54
by savagesketch
Agreed! Pretty sure I've been checking this site daily (many times before my own e-mail :lol: ) since 2000. I distinctly remember the old page with the production still of Andrew Scott and the blue background... It was actually here where I learned about three films that Dolph had in post-production, still yet to be released in the US... THE LAST PATROL, THE MINION, and AGENT RED. It was like unearthing a goldmine! Glad to be a part of this community!

Re: THE SITE IS 20 YEARS OLD!

PostPosted: 27 May 2018, 21:27
by bomaz
Happy B-Day :D

Re: THE SITE IS 20 YEARS OLD!

PostPosted: 05 Jun 2018, 00:17
by preacher
Congratulations and kudos for all your great work over the years Jox!
I have been a visitor since the very beginning and it is great to be a regular on a site run with such care, insight and professionalism. I don't post as much as I used to but I visit daily. The tone on the forums have also always been warm and friendly, with very few exceptions. Thank you all!

A lot has happened since the late 90's. As for me I have grown up to become a working actor and director myself. Looking back I recognize how much this place have meant as a source of inspiration. I am in no way trying to mold myself after Dolph (I am a classicly trained guy, working mostly in theatre) but the insight into big D's person; his struggles and aspirations, provided through this site, has made Dolph a true role model for me. Beyond what he once meant as a badass action guy. And Jox; you are a pretty inspirational guy yourself.
So thank you! 8)

Re: THE SITE IS 20 YEARS OLD!

PostPosted: 05 Jun 2018, 11:07
by Jox
Nice to see you and thank you so much for your words, Preacher! 8) :D

I'm happy to hear you still visit even though you don't post as much as you used to, I understand, but this is good for me to be aware of.

It's very touching to hear your experience(s) and appreciation of the tone and warm atmosphere of the forum, your becoming an actor and director yourself thanks to your being inspired by Dolph himself (my long-lasting interest in him and all the work I've have done has also always come from his personality and background beyond his action star status), being a forum member, and apparently me as well (I'm humbly blushing really). :oops:

And feel free to share some of your work in the OFF-TOPIC section if you will. ;)

Re: THE SITE IS 20 YEARS OLD!

PostPosted: 06 Jun 2018, 11:30
by harry
Congratulations.

Re: THE SITE IS 20 YEARS OLD!

PostPosted: 21 Jun 2018, 18:25
by GeneralMcFaiL
Wow. Thank you to everyone who was involved in keeping this place alive. Jox! well done.

Re: THE SITE IS 20 YEARS OLD!

PostPosted: 08 Jul 2018, 00:08
by Mosquito
Jox, thank you for still putting so much work in this after all those years! And it's great to see that the veterans are still here. ;)

Jox, you are carrying the torch for Dolph for such a long time and still with so much passion and dedication. I really hope he appreciates and values his greatest fan and promoter even remotely as much as you deserve it.

Re: THE SITE IS 20 YEARS OLD!

PostPosted: 12 Jan 2019, 19:19
by Jox
I realise it's been 15 years that I officially took over and launched the "Ultimate" version of the site!

Re: THE SITE IS 20 YEARS OLD!

PostPosted: 20 Jan 2019, 00:56
by Mosquito
Jox wrote:I realise it's been 15 years that I officially took over and launched the "Ultimate" version of the site!

Indeed - and we just have to look at the date beneath our user names. We started the forum a few days after Dolph's 46th birthday. :D

Re: THE SITE IS 20 YEARS OLD!

PostPosted: 05 Mar 2020, 21:14
by NomediumDofalie7
Hi and thank you all for accepting me on the site. I missed celebrating the 20th years of the site I just arrived this year congratulations anyway. I start to visit the site and what a wonder I discovered and to share with you news especially of Dolph Lundgren who I believe to be our Center of interest here. In reality it is his cinema that is really attractive because sometimes it really takes us into another dream world. Good luck :idea: :| :|

Re: THE SITE IS 20 YEARS OLD!

PostPosted: 09 Mar 2020, 20:33
by Mosquito
A very warm welcome to you, NomediumDofalie7!

Re: THE SITE IS 20 YEARS OLD!

PostPosted: 24 May 2023, 15:09
by Jox
Missed the 25th anniversary yesterday! 8)

Re: THE SITE IS 20 YEARS OLD!

PostPosted: 26 May 2023, 08:54
by alex.sp89
Happy Birthday ! A little late. Amazing job. Thank u for all this 25 years of activity who was involved in making this site. Keep going Jox. People are checking it like daily news. It become very casual like TV.
P.S Jox are u still planning to write another book about behind the scenes of DL movies (in particular SILT) ?