Didn't Jim Pierson state on the internet radio that the trailers accurately represent the film?
Hasn't Tim Burton said in an interview that (edited by admin)
There is such a thing as being too skeptical.
Depp, Burton and Pierson will say whatever they have to say to sell the movie. Understand that if they can get good ticket sales on opening weekend, and put the film in the black, they are justified, financially, before the backlash hits. A film this size can recover its investment in a weekend. They also know there is a new audience that doesn't have the same involvement in Dark Shadows that older fans have. This parody throws the older fans under the bus and enables Depp and Burton to flip the middle finger. They are arrogant people who thrive on extreme behavior. The celebrities have just told you what they think of you. The younger fans will keep spending their money on the new product, or forget about it as they did Bewitched and The Green Hornet parodies / reboots.
Turning the new feature film into a Saturday Live Night parody of the program is not a legitimate extension of Dark Shadows. Just because it was discussed in the 2004 negotiation doesn't make it right. Dan Curtis despised that, and expressed his opinion of the reboots and negotiations in the interview on The Night Stalker / The Night Strangler DVD. This is a parody that appeals to the lowest common denominator. Many of you will laugh at the cheap jokes, but the film could have been so much better, so much more.
Personally, I've stopped listening to Jim Pierson. I don't believe a word he says. I have reason to know he mis-represents Dan Curtis's intentions. He knows who butters his bread. The less he has to do with Dark Shadows, the better.
I see David Lynch and Guillermo del Toro mentioned as possible directors for a Dark Shadows reboot. This suggests to me starting a new separate thread asking fans what they would like to see in a Dark Shadows feature film.
Richard