Collinwood in the new Depp/Burton DS film

[Nancy]

I hope you are not right though you may be.  It's a little scary if some folks are really that close-minded.

nancy

You're right and that could be good or bad. It fans of any of the other DS movies or shows don't buy the location it will put a bad taste in their mouth from the start. First impressions are very important. The wrong poster or trailer can keep people out of a theater. If the people don't buy the location it will be real hard for the movie to recover from it.  The movie isn't being made for the TV shows original fans but if they go see it and give it bad word of mouth it could affect it's box office.

[borgosi]

Well word of mouth always affects box office. That's where a "sleeper hit" comes from. It can also happen to a movie that's expected to be a hit. If two new movies come out one weekend and you can only go see one of them are you going to go to the one that all your friends like or the one they all say sucks.

I think alot of DS fans are going to turn out for this movie if it gets made. It they don't like it they will tell people. Many will walk into the theater thinking that DS should not be remade, why can't they leave the classics alone? Then they'll see a house that looks nothing like Collinwood?

I don't think that's being closed minded. The fact is whenever you remake, or whatever you care to call it, a classic there are iconic things that are expected that people look for. With DS one of them is the waves washing over the rocks in the credits, one is Collinwood. For me if the new movie opened with the waves then Seaview I'd be ready for just about anything. I'd be at Collinwood, it would be on a big screen, and it would be hard to bring me down after that. It may be silly but if you put a smile on my face in the first 10 mins. it gonna be hard to get it off.

[borgosi]

I forgot something. The music has to be right. They could update but the music should at least feel like Bob Cobert's score.

[Nancy]

Well word of mouth always affects box office. That's where a "sleeper hit" comes from. It can also happen to a movie that's expected to be a hit. If two new movies come out one weekend and you can only go see one of them are you going to go to the one that all your friends like or the one they all say sucks.

True and if DS fandom were as large as, say, Star Trek, word of mouth would make a difference.  But the fandom is not anywhere nearly that large and the word of mouth strength would be minimal  People who are Johnny Depp fans and into vampire stories are going to be what makes or breaks this film.  It would be wonderful if we, as a fandom, really had that kind of power but we do not.

I think alot of DS fans are going to turn out for this movie if it gets made. It they don't like it they will tell people. Many will walk into the theater thinking that DS should not be remade, why can't they leave the classics alone? Then they'll see a house that looks nothing like Collinwood?

Well, the fans who walk into the theater thinking the film should not be remade to begin with already have a prejudice and it's not likely they will like anything about the film.  

I don't think that's being closed minded. The fact is whenever you remake, or whatever you care to call it, a classic there are iconic things that are expected that people look for.

I disagree.  If a movie is being remade, I don't expect much to be the same except for the basic story and the characters. But that's just my expectation.  I have gone to the theater and seen the same play done by different production companies and I don't have a problem with seeing " different" even though I have favored a certain production.  

The original can never be redone to match what it was.  The very fact the film is being re-done by new people puts the viewer on notice that some things will be different.  If I were so opposed to anything being different, I simply would not go see the new film.

With DS one of them is the waves washing over the rocks in the credits, one is Collinwood. For me if the new movie opened with the waves then Seaview I'd be ready for just about anything. I'd be at Collinwood, it would be on a big screen, and it would be hard to bring me down after that. It may be silly but if you put a smile on my face in the first 10 mins. it gonna be hard to get it off.

If I felt that way, I'd just stay home.  If the film isn't even going to get a chance I would not spend $10 to go see it. I'd spend it on the DS DVDs I didn't have or something else I knew I already liked.  

[KMR]

The reason it would be wrong to me, I don't think I get upset, is that IMHO it would be like going to a Star Trek movie and they have a ship that looks like it should be in 2001, or Alien. The Enterprise is the part of Star Trek makes each new movie a Star Trek movie. They have brought in 4 or 5 different crews and it's accepted be fans because they have the same kinds of ships. They're updated but you can still see the original in them.

With Star Trek, the movies were a continuation of the original series. They used the original cast in their original roles, so it made perfect sense to have an Enterprise that resembled the original; it was in the same storyline continuity, so the new Enterprise was an evolution of the starship design from several years earlier. The later series were continuations of the original storyline, not remakes.

The Dark Shadows movie is in all likelihood going to exist in its own time, its own universe--a new story based on the concepts that originated in the 1966 series and were reworked in NODS and the 1991 series. The house is just another character, and like all of the other characters it will be "played" by a new "cast" member. I'm sure Tim Burton and his production designer will be very careful to put together a production that has internal coherence; I have a feeling that Seaview has a good chance of not fitting into that design.

I have an extremely hard time imagining that the absence of Seaview will have any measurable impact on the boxoffice performance of the new Dark Shadows. The number of fans of the original series is miniscule in comparison to the millions of people who are the potential audience of the new movie. Out of the movie's audience, the portion of the original series' fan base that would be upset at seeing a "new" Collinwood is practically infinitesimal.

[Selby_D._Pearson]

The number of fans of the original series is miniscule in comparison to the millions of people who are the potential audience of the new movie. Out of the movie's audience, the portion of the original series' fan base that would be upset at seeing a "new" Collinwood is practically infinitesimal.

Then, is the purpose of giving the original DS cast members cameos in this film merely to give them a job and NOT to give the "minuscule" number of fans of the original DS a thrill in seeing familiar faces in a new Dark Shadows film? If the millions of people who are the potential audience wouldn't recognize Jonathan Frid or Lara Parker, why bother to spend the money flying them to England for a few seconds on the screen?

SDP

[Gerard]

I guess I really don't mind what they use for Collinwood, but if there ain't no afghan sitting on the sofa in the drawing room, I ain't going to go see the movie.  There are some things that are non-negotiable!

Gerard

[Nancy]

The idea of cameos didn't even happen with the Dan Curtis-influenced 1991 series or the WB DS pilot so obviously it wasn't considered terribly important to the success of either project.  

Johnny Depp has been known to want to work with actors he has admired and put them into his film.  Christopher Lee is an example in "Sleepy Hollow" and Vincent Price was given a role in "Edward Scissorhands."

Who is being given a cameo in this upcoming project?

nancy

[Gerard]

Who is being given a cameo in this upcoming project?

The pen!

[tragic bat]

I picked no.  Hopefully Burton and co. can use their own artistic production to depict collinwood/collinsport and all of it's characters, just like was done for the films, the 1991 and 2004 series; it has always been different.  Seaview and the interior sets are very iconic, but they were a symptom of the budget, and were limiting; I'm sure depp/burton would feel ridiculous shooting in an exact carbon copy of the original DS world, and would rather not spend a lot of time trying to blend in things like seaview into their London set.  And frankly, things like special insertions/cameo's that don't neccessarily serve the plot often end up on the cutting room floor anyway once it becomes time to pick a film length.

[Nancy]

Ah. This is good news indeed!

The pen!

[Taeylor Collins]

Maybe I am not in the minority considering "NO" is winning so far!    

[michael c]

The pen!

yes and i hope collinsport inn waitress "susie" is being cast with great care...a small but multifaceted role.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Who is being given a cameo in this upcoming project?

The pen!

If only! 

if there ain't no afghan sitting on the sofa in the drawing room, I ain't going to go see the movie.  There are some things that are non-negotiable!

Back in July, with regards to the pen and the afghan, I jokingly said in the "i looked for the pen" topic on the CT '09 II board that

Perhaps we should spearhead a letter writing campaign now by blanketing WB, Tim Burton Productions, Depp's Infinitum Nihil, and Graham King's GK Films with demands for their inclusion...

But now that others have seconded that idea, maybe it's not the joke I initially thought it was after all. 

yes and i hope collinsport inn waitress "susie" is being cast with great care...a small but multifaceted role.

And Susie would come cheap because she never speaks - and no lines equals less pay. What more could Warner Brothers ask for in a cameo? 

[Janet the Wicked]

I have an extremely hard time imagining that the absence of Seaview will have any measurable impact on the boxoffice performance of the new Dark Shadows. The number of fans of the original series is miniscule in comparison to the millions of people who are the potential audience of the new movie. Out of the movie's audience, the portion of the original series' fan base that would be upset at seeing a "new" Collinwood is practically infinitesimal.

Agreed. I think most people who will go to see this picture will be fans of vampires, horror movies, Johnny Depp, and Tim Burton. My sister, for example, watched DS when she was a kid, but hasn't seen it since. When I told her Depp was planning to play Barnabas, she exclaimed, "Oh, my god!!" Whether or not they use Seaview is of no importance to her. No doubt Tim Burton will come up with some far out sets for this film.