Aw, that was great to see again.  I confess that I was no longer watching the show during its last year- I had started junior high school and it didn't let out until 4:05.  But thanks to the Sci Fi channel (excuse me, SyFy), and VHS recordings from there, I was able to finally see those eps and relive the rest of the series several times over 

Cathy

This is just a tabloid article, and there is no DS content.  But it does show Johnny's dedication to all things vampiric!   

Johnny Depp Likes Vampires!

As to whether he likes Twilight, I don't know whether *he* does, but there was a paparazzi shot a couple of months ago spotting his daughter with one of the Twilight books 

Wow, it's almost bedtime, but I see that there has been a very interesting discussion going on this afternoon and evening.  Of course, I have to chime in!   

I think that Nancy hits the nail on the head when she says that it's pretty typical for information dispersal about a film to be kept at a minimum while a project is still in development.  This is not unique to Dark Shadows- we Depp fans go through the same frustration with every project   And the folks involved in developing a film are just not concerned with keeping the public informed about every step.  Believe me, I would love to know every step as it's happening!  But it just doesn't happen.  Well, they don't know what I do in my job day to day, either!

As for Pierson, Kennedy, or DCP, all I can say is that in the past, Tim Burton and Johnny Depp, separately or together, have both been very interested in staying as true as possible to the subject matter, and both are willing to do a lot of research.  Even when there has been no formal obligation to the original source (Stephen Sondheim for Sweeney Todd, or the estates of J.M. Barrie for Finding Neverland or Roald Dahl for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory... Tim wasn't involved in Finding Neverland but it was a similar situation for Johnny and the directors and producers of that film) they have been very interested in getting feedback and approval from these sources.  I would guess that they'd consider someone like Pierson a gold mine.  The only thing that's too bad is that they don't realize what expertise WE would be able to give them, too!     But I hope that they've gotten all the input they can from DS experts, because it will only help preserve the spirit of the show and its good name!

Cathy

Exactly David, I think that Personality Parade is basically just a gossip column, and I have caught many mistakes/fabrications by them in the past.  Still, giving JF a cameo is just the sort of thing that Johnny and Tim would probably love to do, but only if they can get something suitable into the script (and if JF were to agree to it, of course!).  (Eagle Hill Cemetary caretaker??  Another cousin from England??)  I'll be hoping!

I'm pretty sure this is just a recycling of other interview(s) from the last couple of weeks. Nothing new.  Also, she doesn't seem to have DS quite right    But for what it's worth, from the Examiner.com:

Johnny Depp says Tim Burton's vampiric 'Dark Shadows' 'is happening'

That is odd that Johnny doesn't watch his own films. 

Yeah, for such an attractive guy, he has some insecurities, and he's long been known for sneaking out of premieres so he doesn't have to watch himself (he will attend them but usually doesn't stay for the film itself).  In one case, I think he was either talking about Benny & Joon or What's Eating Gilbert Grape (I forget which, but they were both from around the same time ~ '93) that he looked up at the screen and all he could see was his "enormous nose" (at least he thought so-- he's crazy, of course!), and he felt sick.  Weird, but since I myself couldn't stand hearing the sound of my own voice for a long time, I can kind of understand the feeling.

I thought the interview was very sweet, if maybe not the best he's done.  As MB says, he's kind of quiet and doesn't really feel comfortable being interviewed, so this is about the best we can ever expect.  I would've preferred a little less time talking about the island and the yacht (really, do I need to be reminded of how jealous I am of this lifestyle?  ) and more about his future plans, but what can ya do? 

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

I didn't see the news until this morning.  All the Depp fans seem very excited about this, but I am disappointed that it won't be done this year    Still, I think that Johnny's enthusiasm speaks volumes.  Earlier yesterday evening, there was another article from the press conferences where he'd been asked about The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (the ill-fated film he started with Terry Gilliam in 2000, which became the subject of the documentary Lost In La Mancha), and you could just tell he's no longer interested in doing it.  But he seems genuinely thrilled about DS.  So... we wait a little longer, but my fingers remain crossed!