It's official: Dark Shadows returns as a film with Johnny Depp

[jimbo]

The sets apparently haven't been built yet as the set designer has just been hired in this new article but then again just because he was just named doesn't mean he didn't start on the set some time ago(?). His name is not indicated at the IMDb website Dark Shadows page. News is certainly scarce on this project for sure.
http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/scifimediazone/news/?a=28230

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I really liked the production design of Sleepy Hollow, one of Rick Heinrichs' past collaborations with Tim Burton, but I loved his work in The Wolfman. So, the news of Heinrichs' addition to the Depp/DS film's team already has me imagining what the film and the sets are going to look like. And if his design turns out anywhere near as great as his work in those two films did, I'll be quite happy.  
I'm getting more excited than I already was - and that's saying something because I've been really excited.  

(Hmmm - it's been almost two months since I watched the Director's Cut Blu-ray of The Wolfman (a Black Friday Sale Christmas gift to myself  ), but I seem to recall there being quite a bit about the production design in the Special Features, so more than likely Heinrichs appears. I'll definitely have to pull out the disc and check it out later tonight...)

[Mysterious Benefactor]

The article from Variety that revealed Heinrichs' signing onto the Depp/DS film: Bookings & Signings.  Not that it says anything more than that his agency has signed him on. 

And another article that could be interesting to check out on Variety's site is: 'Wolfman' a visual treat. Heinrichs is interviewed for the peice.

(And even though this is more OT than not, I have to say that if you've only seen the theatrical release version of The Wolfman, you haven't really seen the film. The Director's Cut is much, much better and fleshes out the story and characters with over 16 minutes of additional footage, much of which changes the beginning of the film. And the scene between Emily Blunt and Anthony Hopkins when their characters eye each other at the staircase - whoa! Not to mention the Special Features contains two alternate endings - one of which radically changes the ending of the film...)

[jimbo]

Thanks MB for the linked articles. The website I had linked in my previous post did not reflect its source but it was still great to see. I also liked the Wolfman article. It seems we may actually have a real house for Collinwood and the Old House (instead of CGI and/or on the stage creations) if Heinrich does location scouting as he did for Wolfman which is also time consuming.. I didn't realize that 4 months of editing was needed plus additional shooting. I hope they are still on schedule for the April shooting. It's hard to imagine that the DS movie could be released late this year but I am still hopeful. I did see Wolfman and the main thing that impressed me was the atmosphere and production design.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

It seems we may actually have a real house for Collinwood and the Old House (instead of CGI and/or on the stage creations) if Heinrich does location scouting as he did for Wolfman

I would love that to be the case.    And quite possibly Heinrichs would love it too. But it's not entirely his decision. Locations versus studio sets/CGI has a lot to do with what the director/producers want to do, what the script may require take place in certain settings and the logistics of shooting it, as well as how the budget has to be allocated.

It's hard to imagine that the DS movie could be released late this year but I am still hopeful.

While it's probably not impossible, it's also probably not likely that the Depp/DS film will come out this year. A 2012 release date seems much more likely. And considering that the world might end sometime in 2012  , let's hope Warner Bros. schedules the release before then.    But seriously, I wouldn't be at all surprised if the film isn't released until after AL:VH, which is why I wrote the post that I did the other day.  But as hard as it is to believe at the moment with so little info coming out, some day we will actually learn what Warner Bros. thinking is and when they've decided is the best time to release the film. Until then all we can do is wonder...

[jimbo]

MB I do agree with your thinking. I just hope WB is so very excited about the DS movie that it may want it released in 2011 independent of the other releases. Can Heinrichs do all of the advance location scouting and create all the sets all by April? It does sound time consuming. I am excited about Heinrich's body of work.
http://www.joblo.com/arrow/index.php?id=26107

[Sara Monster]

Following the pattern of reports that Johnny Depp is in talks to play EVERYONE & EVERYTHING in upcoming movies:

http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Robert-Downey-Jr-Bails-On-Oz-Great-And-Powerful-Johnny-Depp-Stepping-In-22724.html

One tiny mention of Dark Shadows. The other day, I also saw an article stating he was going to play Tonto in an upcoming Lone Ranger movie.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I just hope WB is so very excited about the DS movie that it may want it released in 2011 independent of the other releases.

If only it was simply a case that a studio is excited so they release a film as soon as its completed. But studios are much more concerned with getting the maximum bang for their buck than they are in rushing a film to release. They want their films to generate the biggest boxoffice possible. And to do that they have who knows how many people who slavishly research which types of films do best at which times of the year - and they'll also take into consideration the films with known upcoming release dates. Deciding when to release a film is akin to playing in a very high stakes chess game - and if a studio makes the wrong move, it can cost dearly. That's often why you'll see a film switch an already announced release date. When one studio originally announces a release date, they're not always aware that another studio's film will be coming out close to their film's announced date or even on the same date. Studio's will often play chicken with one another to see if the other will blink, so when/if a studio pulls their film from one release date in favor of another, it's often because they blinked, surrendered the date to the other studio's film, and decided to release their film when it won't have to deal with competition from the other studio's film. All of which leads us to the elephant in the room coming up this fall: The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part One. I'd almost bet that Warner' Bros. doesn't want the Depp/DS film anywhere near that film, and it comes out November 18th. I would think it would be very hard if not impossible for the Depp/DS film to come out first with sufficient enough time between it and TTS:BD-P1. And even if the Depp/DS film was to come out afterward at some point in December, TTS:BD-P1 will still be in play, especially considering that many Twihards go to see the films much more than once. And Warner Bros. will definitely want to attract some of those Twihards to the Depp/DS film - and the best way to do that is well after TTS:BD-P1 has already run its course...

Can Heinrichs do all of the advance location scouting and create all the sets all by April? It does sound time consuming

He can certainly do location scouting by then. But the sets don't necessarily all have to be completed by the start of shooting in April. Movies often start with location shooting first and then move to the studio. And even once the move to the studio is made, it's often the case that all the scenes that take place on one set are shot, then all the scenes for the next set, and so on and so forth...

[jimbo]

Thanks MB for explaining how they film scenes on the sets. Interesting stuff.
I would still like the movie to be released in 2011 only because if WB believes the DS movie to be a Christmas release date then we have to wait almost two years to see the movie. I see Frankenweenie's release date has been pushed back to October I believe 2012. Let all of the games begin. jk It's going to be an interesting call by WB to make regarding the DS movie especially if they want it to be a franchise series.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

if WB believes the DS movie to be a Christmas release date then we have to wait almost two years to see the movie.

Christmas might have been a great time to release it. But this year The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part One will still be very much in play - and next year The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part Two will still be in play (it's being released on November 12, 2012), so I'm not seeing the Depp/DS film then either.

It's going to be an interesting call by WB to make regarding the DS movie especially if they want it to be a franchise series.

A very interesting call! To me the Depp/DS film seems likes it should be a fall release, and since TTS:BD-P2 already has from November 12th onward of 2012 sewn up, I suspect Warner Bros. *may* be looking toward a September/October release date. Though if they're not thinking fall, another time when studios release their prestige/tent pole films is Late-March/April/May. I don't see it as a summer film at all. However, there is such a thing as counter strategy, meaning releasing the type of film that wouldn't ordinarily be released in the summer to try to attract the audience that wouldn't necessarily go to summer films. But that often backfires - so I really wouldn't want to see Warner Bros. do that. But, of course, it's not up to me.  

The one thing that is certain is that Summit has really been smart in picking the release dates for their two Breaking Dawn films because they no doubt have the other studios scrambling to decide when they want to release their films that otherwise might have come out in November of 2011 and 2012. Sleepy Hollow was released in November, and November also feels like it could have been the perfect time to release the Depp/DS film. But alas...

[jimbo]

Wow what a chess game this is. The 2012 announced movie release date schedule looks full already.  http://www.movieinsider.com/movies/-/2012/ and 2011 as well  http://www.movieinsider.com/movies/-/2011/

I would like to be a fly on the wall at these WB executive meetings.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

The 2012 announced movie release date schedule looks full already.

Though not much has been scheduled for September/October 2012 yet - and what has been wouldn't be competition for the Depp/DS film. Well, unless it's going to be a very different film from what we're expecting (meaning romance/horror/dark fantasy and not much comedy).

I would like to be a fly on the wall at these WB executive meetings.

I suspect many of us would like to be.  

(Hmmm - I wonder how much it would cost to hire a private detective to bug the offices? We could pool our money, and... Wait, what am I saying?! That would be illegal. Bad, bad, MB! ... BUT...  )

[jimbo]

The unethical fly. jk I am sure there are many who would do the job. I'm still hoping for a 2011 release but I do realize the arguments against that happening.
Don't understand why MTV thinks the Oz movie situation may effect the DS movie.
http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2011/01/21/robert-downey-jr-drops-oz-the-great-and-powerful-johnny-depp/

[KMR]

That MTV article is pretty weird.  I mean, the Depp/Burton DS is "finally getting into development"  How about "finally getting into production" and out of development hell!  Since an April start date has been reported pretty widely, I think the chances of Depp abandoning DS for the Oz movie are slim-to-none, with the emphasis on the latter.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I think the chances of Depp abandoning DS for the Oz movie are slim-to-none, with the emphasis on the latter.

I agree. Depp doesn't strike me as the type of person to ignore the fact that the ball has already begun rolling and people have already been hired for DS. I don't see him saying to hell with them, I'm going to go do another film instead. The MTV piece strikes me as the same sort of article that was widely posted a couple months back speculating that Depp might abandon/postpone the DS film in favor of doing Katherine Bigelow's Triple Frontier. And we all know that even though Depp said he would have loved to do that film and to work with Tom Hanks, he's committed to DS as his next film. I sometimes think some of these sites simply speculate for the sake of filling up space in their articles and without any concern as to whether or not what they're writing could or would actually happen...