It's official: Dark Shadows returns as a film with Johnny Depp

[LOOKE300]

If depp is such a big fan why dose he keep making every other film more inportant then ds when will he delay another film to make ds? So far only ds is delayed. ds seems to be at the bottom in inportance to depp.

[madscntst]

 I told myself I wouldn't be brought into these types of arguments again.  But the claim that DS is the only film that's been delayed is totally false.  The Rum Diary was on-again, off-again, for nearly a decade before it was finally filmed last spring.  Shantaram was about to start production three separate times, and is now in indefinite "turnaround".  I have a feeling it'll never get made.  Johnny may not even be attached to it anymore; I don't know.   A few years ago (before the DS announcement), he was also supposed to do another movie, Rex Mundi, fairly soon, and we haven't heard any updates on that film in ages.  At least we hear somewhat regular mentions of DS's status.  Even if it's not what you and I would like to hear, it's a heck of a lot better than many other In Development projects that Johnny has in the pipeline that seem to me MUCH further from the possibility of being done any time soon.

[Nancy]

Agreed.  One can be a fan of DS and still not allow his or her world spin around it or rush headlong into a project before the production has been fully mapped out.   I'm not privy to what other projects Depp is having developed or what his commitments are. 

It still boils down to one getting it or not getting it. The same old claims and arguments will go on no matter what.

I told myself I wouldn't be brought into these types of arguments again.  But the claim that DS is the only film that's been delayed is totally false. 

[KMR]

Was King actually referring to this Christmas for its release if the movie was filmed this September? I have to assume he meant Christmas 2011 although I don't know what to believe anymore.

Jimbo, you're right to assume that the reference is to Christmas 2011. At this point, it is not at all possible to have the movie out this Christmas. HODS and NODS had very quick production/postproduction schedules, with the time from start of filming to premiere being somewhere around 5 months. But for a project of the scale of the new DS, and with the personnel involved, even if they were to start filming next Monday there is no way in h-e-double-toothpicks that anything would be ready in time for a Christmas release this year.

But I'd be very happy to have HODS and NODS (the restored version, please!) under my Christmas tree THIS year!!! 

[jimbo]

Thanks KMR for your informative post. I was just trying to get into King's head (I know that could be dangerous to get into anybody's head) when he said this..."film's going to be in production, as I say, September of this year. We were hoping for a Christmas release date, who knows." For a minute I thought he believed it could be released that same year but as you mentioned that would be physically impossible. Let's hope for a fall 2011 release date for the movie. Yes having HODS and the restored NODS released this year on DVD would make just a wonderful Christmas gift.

[Taeylor Collins]

Alice set to hit the Billion mark. I think this serves as good news.  I truly trust Johnny and Tim and think we are in for a blockbuster!

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i653c072dd63127c843933703067c74d6

[jimbo]

WB has placed the Holmes sequel as its Christmas 2011 movie release:
 http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118019931.html?categoryid=13&cs=1

Taetlor that would be real great if DS grossed a billion dollars

[Cousin_Barnabas]

I wouldn't put too much stock in that.  I can't tell you how many holiday releases have been pushed back to the next holiday in the past few years. 

[Miss_Winthrop]

Please no 'funny'.  Keep the film serious, moody, brooding, etc. etc. etc.  And last of all, please release the film while I'm still young enough to enjoy it ! 

[Mary]

An American Werewolf in London was both hilarious and scary-as-all-get-out and it's one of my top favoirite movies of all time, so I don't see why the DS movie couldn't be the same way.

[PennyDreadful]

An American Werewolf in London was both hilarious and scary-as-all-get-out and it's one of my top favoirite movies of all time, so I don't see why the DS movie couldn't be the same way.

 It wouldn't work in the sense that we are dealing with a different style of horror with AWIL.  While that film contains elements of classic horror, it is decidedly a modern horror film and thus the comedic elements work in its favor.  With AWIL, John Landis takes "modern, regular guys," drops them into a more-or-less classic horror world where there are affected by what happens there, and then puts them back in the "real" regular world to deal with the circumstances (one as a werewolf and the other as a restless ghost).  The results are both frightening and comedic.  You can have an eerie werewolf attack on the foggy moors, but then you can also have the "nudge nudge wink wink" of "Blue Moon" playing in the background during a werewolf transformation, or wacky David Naughton running naked through Hyde Park.  The tongue-in-cheek aspects of that film work because there is a self-awareness there. I feel that if such elements were incorporated into DS, the mood would be utterly ruined.  DS is derived from Gothic horror and romance.  With DS, we're in that foggy, doomed village all the way through.  There is no "funny contrast with real, modern world" here because we are fully invested in the reality of the DS world.  There is no "Credence" playing in the background when Chris Jennings turns into some unholy beast.  Surely, there are funny characters (Carl, Pansy, etc.) and witty dialogue (Roger, Quentin etc.) in DS, and they provide a wonderful contrast to the predominant mood of the series.  With DS, these characters/situations exist WITHIN a fantasy world and are not intended as post-modern acknowledgments or comments on the genre.  There is no specific awareness of horror movies or Boris Karloff in DS.  The characters' knowledge (if any) of such things comes primarily from folklore and legend.  Humor in the DS world, IMO, should be derived from specific character personalities and good writing for the more witty characters. It should NOT be "wow, this situation is so ridiculous that it's funny and scary at the same time."  Know what I mean?

~Penny Dreadful~

[Mysterious Benefactor]

On that same note, I finally did get around to rewatching Burton and Depp's Sleepy Hollow, and the humor in it worked and didn't take away from the Gothic horror elements because it was derived from the characters themselves and not imposed upon them - and most importantly, it didn't take the audience out the film's Gothic setting, which I totally agree with PennyDreadful is absolutely essential in the DS universe. So, IF the Depp/DS film were to incorporate that sort of humor, it could actually work and be perfectly acceptable in the DS universe. But humor that takes the audience out of the Gothic setting, or worse, makes fun of the characters and/or situations (i.e. fill a room with flies and pretend they're not there), would not work.

[Taeylor Collins]

Very good assessment of the situation MB!  I could be wrong but I can't see Burton nor Depp doing that with flies.  

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I only said that because that's the remark Burton made on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross. And I would certainly hope he wouldn't do it either.    Though he also said that DS has some of the worst camera moves you've ever seen. And while I'd agree that there are certainly more than a few camera shots where mistakes were made (it would be impossible to miss them  ), for the most part, I think the directors came up with great camera work. So, hopefully he was just goofing around and not hinting about the sorts of things he has in mind...

[Gothick]

Mistress Penny, I really wish Tim Burton would hire you as a Creative Consultant on the DS movie set.

Although then we might really get a look at Helena Bonham Carter's claws and fangs... given how superior your own womanly attributes are in every department...

Cordially,

Cousin Gothick of Cadogan Square