I hope I don't sound like a broken record, but I think it's wise to take any of the various tidbits that have been scattered here and there, including those from Sam Sarkar, that myproductionweekly woman, etc., with a grain of salt and realize that everything is very tentative until a firm production schedule is announced (and sometimes even after!) I don't have any problem with Sam Sarkar's earlier statements- I feel he was trying to express optimism for the project, and at the very least I think it shows that he is very confident in how things are going. If the "imminent" announcement never happened, it is probably due mainly to what we all already heard- that Tim's involvement with Alice In Wonderland, and maybe the script, were taking longer than expected. The actual timing is just something that has to be juggled, particularly at this point with regard to Tim (and I honestly don't know where Frankenweenie fits into all of this, but I just hope it won't interfere at all). I also don't have any problem with whoever gave some information to myproductionweekly. *If* the project had been ready to go this summer, they would have wanted to start getting prepared for that, and that might include sending notices to industry publications. Remember again that the information there was not intended for the public- I think of it as a good sign for planning, but also realizing that many times the planning is a bit tentative in the early stages.
While I'm disappointed that DS doesn't seem ready to go this year, overall, everything seems to look very good for this film. Richard Zanuck, Sam Sarkar, and Johnny have been extremely enthusiastic, and have always had (cautiously) optimistic things to say about the film's progress. When I compare this with the ups and downs and at least 3 false starts with regard to Shantaram, as well as The Rum Diary, which finally got made after several false starts, DS seems to be very smooth sailing so far (knock wood!) This is a good thing!! Johnny's statements the other day are all very informative and very telling, and they represent to me the most accurate information that we've yet been given. At this point, from Johnny's statements, I believe that the film will 1) be done next year, 2) with Tim, 3) it's his lifelong dream, 4) that and Pirates 4 are the main priorities on his horizon right now, with The Lone Ranger and Rex Mundi obviously in a more primitive state of development (And Sin City 3 and The Man Who Killed Don Quixote possibly not happening at all). This is all welcome news to my ears!
Remember that Johnny will be on Letterman tomorrow, and while the chances that DS will be mentioned are small, it is another chance to possibly hear something more. At the very least, maybe he'll tell Dave what he is planning to do with the second half of this year
Miranda, Johnny does have a lot of clout and respect in Hollywood these days, and I feel very confident that he is producing and starring, given that. It doesn't make anything guaranteed- in our current economy, the industry as a whole isn't in very strong shape, but I think that this particular project looks as strong as can be without it having already been made. As for the vampire craze, not only do I think you make a good point that DS may be too late to cash in on the craze, but I also have a little fear that there may be some backlash from too many vampire projects in the works (not only True Blood and the Twilight franchise, but I've heard there is a new franchise called The Vampire Diaries, and I have also heard that there will be an American remake of last year's wonderful film Let The Right One In). As you say, though, hopefully vampires will never go out of style, especially if it's a quality story!
Cathy