sometimes i sort of think i've got this thing figured out...

then we get some new piece of information, photograph or i'm reminded of something.

i had sort of forgotten about the pictures we saw a few months ago of bella as vicki escaping from some very ominous looking structure. but what is it???

windliff? angelique's place? the old house? there's no precedent in previous tellings of vicki engaged in this type of escape. i can't place it in my perceived overview of the film's plot.

lots of "workers" and "workmen" in the film but i guess the spoilers hinted as to why.

as pleased as i am to hear how well "developed" and "fleshed out" the large cast of characters will be here i'm still wondering how developed given the perimeters of a two hour film that will focus largely on barnabas.

definitely not the cameo type of appearances we got in HODS but still.

and you just KNEW that KLS would do a book tied into the film's production.

she'll definitely have something new to hawk at next year's festival. i'm certainly looking forward to it.

and if i recall she's wearing her hair in PIGTAILS of all things which she never actually wore in the series itself.

the haunting of collinwood and 1897 although connected are two totally different storylines with different casts of characters. still one doesn't really make sense without the other.

and 1897 was so colossal and unwieldy i'm not sure it could ever be worked into a two hour timeframe.

but if a sequel does end up being produced and it features quentin i think we can count depp out. he doesn't strike me as the kind of actor who'd sign up to play second banana to another male lead.

digressing a bit to the film's production costs today 'perez hilton' listed hollywood's ten figure earners...

guess who topped the list? although exact numbers were not given out let's assume depp takes home 15-20 million per movie. that alone would eat up over half the film's total budget if the 35 million dollar figure were accurate. i'll bet pfieffer is closing in on 10 mil or so as well.

so the total production costs here have got to be pretty stratospheric.

interesting question...

however there is a vast difference between a film being a huge, even colossal "hit"(which depp/burton collaborations tend to be)and fandom.

most single installment films, as opposed to series or trilogies, do not inspire highly devotional fanbases and message boards and yearly conventions no matter how "successful" they are. it's a different level of passion and commitment. and as of now this is just a single installment film. we've heard nothing to imply sequels other than fan speculation.

and even if one enjoys this film tremendously it will take an entirely different level of commitment to sit down and follow a 1200+ episode serialized program. there might not be as much crossover as we think.

so even if the board does receive a flood of new members in the film's immediate aftermath the sort of daily touchstone many of us use it as might not happen.