Bear in mind that as an unabashed Depp fan, I'm going to be biased!  But I got to see an advance screening of the film 2 weeks ago, and have just returned from the theater where I saw it again.  I loved the film.  It is daring, unique, and haunting.  The end will stay with you for a long time.

I will say, though, that the film is a very different beast than the stage versions I've seen.  The characters are much more internalized.  Johnny broods and simmers, and he rarely bellows like Hearn did, but when he does... watch out.  Helena's singing is quite weak, and I was concerned about her after hearing some of the sound clips, but her singing voice works surprisingly well in the context of the film, in my opinion.  If you're a real fan of the stage show, you are bound to miss certain things- a few songs have been cut and several have been trimmed.  A lot of the stagey, slapstick humor is gone.  However, if you think about it, I think the slapstick aspect, which works so wonderfully on stage, would seem out of place on film.  Here, you are kept in the moment, and as strange as the singing, the blood, and even some of the CGI effects of the sets are unrealistic, the film *feels* very real.  About the physically intimidating presence- I have had this conversation with folks who are familiar with George Hearn or Len Cariou.  Some feel that someone who had been slaving in a prison with harsh conditions for 15 years would be burly.  Maybe.  But it seems to me that a man who has a very sharp razor in his hands doesn't NEED to be that physically strong.  And despite Johnny's lean frame, he CAN look pretty darn intimidating when he wants to.

At any rate, I understand your qualms, and I realize that this film may not be to everyone's liking.  But for myself, I'm thrilled that they rose to this huge challenge, and I'm thrilled with the way it turned out.

And yeah, I can start to see a glimmer of Barnabas in Johnny's eyes as he portrays Sweeney Todd.  Oh, please, let this happen soon!!

I don't know enough about the business to really know what the impact of this will be, but I have to think it's bad news all around.  Last time Shantaram was delayed, it gave Johnny an opportunity to do Sweeney Todd.  This time, though, he's not going to be able to work on other projects, because of the writer's strike.  So unless I am understanding this wrong, this is going to push back Dark Shadows, too.  Well, I only hope that the writer's strike can be resolved soon.

As for Tim Burton, well, I love him and I love his collaborations with Johnny, but I guess I'm in the camp that feels that Tim doesn't necessarily have to be involved with this one.

Cathy

Just a small tidbit-- Johnny Depp will be on the cover of the next issue of Entertainment Weekly (the Nov. 9 issue) and there is a nice interview.  Johnny mostly speaks about Sweeney Todd, but at the end, there is a brief mention of DS:

And what about talk that you'd like to do a Dark Shadows feature, from Dan Curtis' old occult soap-opera TV series?
If that comes to fruition, that's a dream come true, man. Barnabas Collins — when I was a kid I wanted to be Barnabas.

Why him? Why a vampire?
I think a lot of kids did. He was super-mysterious, with that really weird hairdo and the wolf's-head cane. Good stuff.

See the whole interview on the Entertainment Weekly site:
http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20155516_20155530_20156283,00.html
(the mention is on page 5)

Oh, according to Box Office Mojo, The Libertine's widest release was 819 theaters- a little more than I thought.  It wasn't out for long, though- a little over a month.  Info here:

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/people/chart/?id=johnnydepp.htm

(Click The Libertine)

Johnny is certainly enjoying a lot of box office success lately (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and all 3 Pirates movies were HUGE), and one would hope that he will continue to draw in the crowds.  But remember, in most of Johnny's 20+ year acting career, most of his films have not been big hits.  Last year's The Libertine, which, granted, was an "art film" that was tough to market, didn't even reach $5 million domestically.  So he's still not *guaranteed* a huge box office, and by the time Dark Shadows may come out a few years from now, who knows which stars may be in favor by then.  It will be interesting to see how Sweeney Todd does in a few months; it could be a huge hit or a huge flop, but I admire the risk, anyway.

FYI, here is a list of Johnny's films and their box office grosses, from Box Office Mojo:
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/people/chart/?id=johnnydepp.htm

Maybe I'm the only one who actually liked the Adam storyline   (though I agree that it did go on too long).  I rather liked how the character changed over time, especially after Nicholas started manipulating him.  I was glad enough when it ended, but I never felt as bored as with some other storylines (Leviathans, and the pre-1840 episodes).

As for people just giving themselves permission to go into other people's houses, I wonder if it was just that in the 60's, there was less cynicism about crime, and in small towns where everyone knew each other, they could get away with just acting like they belonged there without anyone really questioning it (much).

Cathy

FYI This article might give us an indication on how Tim Burton might film a new DS movie-blood and more blood but who really knows for sure.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/08272007/gossip/pagesix/a_bloody_mess.htm

As a Depp fan who's been following the news about both DS and Sweeney Todd closely, I'd like to clarify about the above NY Post article.    It was quoting a very dubious recent article in the UK Daily Mail, which has since turned out to be totally false.  There has been no indication that anyone is unhappy with the film Sweeney Todd or wanted these cuts to be made.  From many past interviews with Burton, the film was always going to be rated R.  The subject matter is dark- not only because of the blood but because of the dark events that occurred in the backstory.  I am sure there is going to be a fair amount of blood, but I am envisioning something similar to Sleepy Hollow, which was also rated R and which has a lot of blood but not so much that it took over the movie.  Here is an article from yesterday from Variety, which paints a much more favorable picture of Sweeney Todd and the confidence Dreamworks and Paramount seem to have in it:

http://www.variety.com/VR1117970978.html

All this said, other than Depp's involvement in both films, we don't yet know how Dark Shadows will shape up.  I know folks have speculated that Burton may be called upon to direct, and I think that's possible but really not a given.  Of course, another director might be even more gory!  So we'll just have to wait and see! 

Cathy