i doubt last weeks pix were a publicity stunt.

i'll bet either depp was made up the way he was because for that particular scene/period in the movie barnabas is unable to appear during the day/in the sun without being heavily covered up(as has been suggested early in dr.hoffman's treatments)or, as others have suggested, the film is being shot/lit/diffused in a way that will make it much less severe onscreen.

a few more thoughts now that i've had time to digest this...

it's more blonds than i necessarily would have wanted. as has been mentioned vicki and liz could have been more classically brunette but i'll get used to it. at the very least liz needs an updo. the hairdos are not spot on 1972. personally i like julia's flaming red coif. it's definitely channeling grayson's HODS look. it certainly sets her apart from the sea of blonds.

angelique in PANTS is a major departure. she looks very "professional" but then again we've already heard she's "big in collinsport". a lady executrix, perhaps? vicki's frock is a bit schoolgirlish but she is of course the prim and proper governess as always. david looks very "omenish". roger looks very much the pompous a**. i like liz's dress but again the loose blond curls are too 2011 LA. at 48 depp makes a pretty old "eleven year old". is willie still to function as barnabas' servant? i haven't been able to decipher that from the information given. he looks to be more "comic relief" a'la 1991 than the original premise of the character. i'm just pleased that mrs.johnson is on the canvas even if she's very minor. she's an elemental part of the collinwood atmosphere.

i like it!

bella heathcote...or at least someone impersonating her...has a page on facebook that put up one of the paparazzi photos of her and depp in costume with the comment "are you getting excited?".

since heathcote likely signed the same confidentiality agreement as everyone else this makes me think an impostor is running the page. that and the pictures posted there are just pix of bella at publicity events that anyone has access to.

i'm still not really sure what all the fuss is about. this is tim burton and johnny depp. and he is playing a vampire after all.

we've always known that this was going to be far out. this isn't 1991. this isn't ben cross. they're not going for generic soap opera sexiness.

i'm not really sure what "franchise" we're supposed to be protecting either. an old soap opera? some comic books? a few audiodramas?

DS is important to "us". we take it seriously. we care about it. but to the general public, if it's remembered at all, the word "campy" is what seems to get thrown around the most so this is par for the course. they remember the chromekey, bats on strings and blatant teleprompter readings. or they remember wigs, miniskirts and muttonchop sideburns.

for them it's lighthearted fun. they're not emotionally invested in barnabas and josette. so it seems like that's what the filmmakers are going for. lighthearted fun with a bit of scariness and drama. we're not getting our soap opera back. i think it's going to be fun and i'm looking forward to it.

and again, i'm sure this makes sense within the context of the film. as has been suggested barnabas is probably protecting himself from the sun. indoors or at night he doesn't wear sunglasses, gloves and a hat so i'm sure he looks much less strange for most of the film.

i'm not sure why everyone is so surprised...this is tim burton after all.

actually it doesn't bother me. sans hat and sunglasses i'm sure it's a more 'normal' look. i see the frid haircut peeking out. as others have suggested i'll bet it's some sort of early attempt at barnabas during the daylight.

heathcote looks pretty but sort of bland. i was sort of hoping for more drama for vic.

these are absolutely gorgeous.

interesting point...

but really the same could be said of ALL of the other characters on the original series after barnabas became the focal point. they all functioned as his supporting cast and none of them...even very prominent charcaters like julia and angelique...had storylines of their own. whatever they were doing barnabas factored into in a major way. arguable the only other character that came onto the series after barnabas took over that could function as a standalone character with their own storyline was quentin and he's not in the film.

my point was that KLS simply neglected to mention...and in effect is negating...the character that she herself did not play. since most of the publicity surrounding the project refers to heathcote as having been cast as victoria winters is a rather deliberate and glaring omission.

i don't know who jennifer lawrence is but i find the information about anne hathaway to be a bit suspect...

it seems that hathaway is more of an "above the title" leading lady at this point than the type of actress who has to "audition" for supporting roles.