It's a shot of them in character.

It seems odd to me that people would think Cobert's music was "wild".  It sounds very much like the music in Hammer films.  It's very much in keeping with the style of the genre at the time. 

Really? I think Cobert's later atonal and percussion stuff for Dark Shadows is wild as anything... All those mad bongo drums and wailing theramins are pretty unconventional even by today's standards.

It's unfortunate that the first glimpse of Johnny as Barnabas isn't a proper studio portrait, but that's the risk any production runs by trying to keep something under wraps - you can issue an advance picture and control the image, or try and hold off, hoping that no one sneaks a peek. These are fleeting pap shots, and I don't think anyone with perspective - especially those on the production - would suggest that they are an ideal representation or show the character or visuals at their best.

People will make snap judgements, but these shots are no more defining visuals for this production than a studio kid's candids of Frid walking along West 53rd Street were. They're an intriguing early glimpse. Nothing more, nothing less.

I think it needs to be pointed out that "Dark Passages" is NOT Kathryn Leigh Scott's first work of fiction, "Murder In Prime Time" was. I think it came out in 2006. I seen this mistake made by more than one writer.

That's not really the writer's fault - the press release and publicity materials for Dark Passages all promote it as Kathryn's first novel. For whatever reason, that's how she's decided to present the book, so it's not really a failure to check facts.

I think the most interesting aspect of the synopsis is that for the first time, Barnabas is going to be the audience identification character - it really sounds like the story will be told from his point of view, which has the potential to be fascinating. No version of Dark Shadows until now has really explored the idea of Barnabas as a man adrift in a strange, unfamiliar world. That should give things a really interesting new spin, even for those of us who already know the characters and situations inside out.

I listened to that Drivetime interview from BBC Radio 2 back when it was available, and no offense to Stuart because he was merely quoting another source, but that source got it wrong-- what Sheen actually said was, "I am maybe doing a film with Tim Burton this summer."  I clearly heard the word "maybe" and so I didn't mention it.

I've really been hoping he'd be in the movie!

Thanks for the clarification, Midnite – I've corrected that on the blog. Pity he's not going to be in the film. I think he'd have been great casting. My other choice for Roger would be John Slattery from Mad Men, though perhaps he'd look a little old opposite Michelle P.

It'll be interesting to see if the film does end up being specifically set in the 60s or 70s... For a long time, I've thought it would be great to do a Dark Shadows revival with a sorta retro look. The early present day episodes of the show could often easily be set in the 1940s or 50s, based on the visuals, so it could just have an old-fashioned style and look. Not a literal 60s or 70s setting, but more a general sense of Collinsport being a bit behind the times and a place the rest of the world has left behind. I think that would be potentially very charming and in the long run date the film far less than something rooted to the here and now.