Didn't see this here yet:

http://www.shocktillyoudrop.com/news/170183-excl-john-august-on-the-dark-shadows-movie-that-never-was

Asked how much of his work is represented in the final cut, August told me, "Not a lot.  Dark Shadows, when it came to me, it was before Twilight had come out and before True Blood.  They said, 'Let's make a big gothic, vampire drama.'  I pitched that and I wrote a Godfather-like saga of the Collins family and Barnabas was at the center of it all."

"I was really happy with it and it looked like it was going to happen," August continued.  "Other movies came first, other things happened first.  Twilight and True Blood came out and, suddenly, vampires were everywhere.  I understood the instinct of, 'Let's not make it a drama, let's make it a comedy,' but that wasn't the movie I set out to write.  It was frustrating, but that's the nature of screenwriting.  You're building a movie that may not end up shooting.

One similarity August noted was that his story was a period piece as well.  "It took itself seriously.  It was set in '71 too and leaned on that for a bit of the comedy, but it played itself straight and not a comedy.  I was excited to make that movie and, honestly, I think it's one of the best scripts I've written.  But I totally get why, at the time they went off to make it, they didn't make that version.  It was frustrating to see other things coming out doing what was there, like True Blood, but that's going to happen."

Any fans? A Canadian soap about a man trying to revive his dead (or simply nearly dead?) wife via a deal with the evil spirit of his ancestor (represented by a portrait, and who possesses him from time to time). There's a petulant blonde daughter in the mix, a maid with voodoo powers, and an ancestral mansion and a local drinking establishment as its two main sets....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AWO3f7PM2Y

I stumbled across this on Youtube and it's been a...I dunno, a pleasant curiosity? Looks to have more of a budget than DS, but seems to lift so much from it. Its premiere seems to coincide with Costello's departure from DS (please correct me if I'm mistaken). It's also the whitest piece of Caribbean-set drama I've ever seen. 

I don't think they're all on Youtube, but there are less than 200 total; I'm going to try to get through the nine-month run if I can.

It is interesting how some people are having really extreme reactions to the experience.

I wish I'd had any kind of extreme reaction besides the resigned shrug with which I walked away. I am glad that the best bits - the ones aimed at those "in the know" - are being well received by the series' fans. I thought the "fix" to the Maggie Evans/Vicki Winters problem was pretty neat.

And the humor really does play much better within the context of the film (except for the sight gag montages, which were too bountiful).

Very odd; this was showing up as "locked" a moment ago.

I will say that as a fan of the show I enjoyed nearly every scene for one reason or another, but the script never gels into much of a movie for me. I'll give it another look in a couple weeks and see if my feelings have shifted with my expectations. Eva Green turned out to be my favorite part.

This review posits the theory that Burton is working out personal issues about his ex, which is more subtext than I was able to find in the film: http://www.slashfilm.com/dark-shadows-review/

Edit: I misread the post I was responding to. But I don't think much of August's contribution is left in the film.

Quentin is

[spoiler]not in the film. And there is nothing after the end credits on the print I saw.[/spoiler]

Just another thumbs up from me.

True enough, but for the more or less local fans it will likely be a de facto memorial for Mr. Frid. I'd like to go just to hear some fan remembrances; I think the time slot allotted for Mr. Frid would be better served now by hearing some words of closure from folks like Nancy and Will McKinley and Joe Nass.