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

[borgosi]

I'd like to know what kind of movie it is and who is playing whom, that's all. Most times I can get the type of movie from the poster but the sooner I know what kind of movie this will be the better.

[Lydia]

borgosi, does that mean that if you don't think you'll like the movie, you won't go to see it?  I don't think I'll like it, because I'm not a horror fan, but I'll go anyway.  At the very least, I'll be able to tell my friends, “It was nothing like the Dark Shadows I know and love,” and at the very most, to my huge surprise I'll love it.  And for that reason, I'm not paying too much attention to the talk about it, because none of the talk will change the fact that I'm going to see it.

[Nancy]

I'm not paying much attention to talk about a movie that hasnt even been made yet, let alone decide whether or not I will see it.  I'm very curious about it so I'll be there in the flesh and freckles when the thing finally makes the screens.

I'm not so opinionated as to what I will like and won't like anymore.  I was that way about a few films, went with friends after being talked into going, and wound up being pleasantly surprised.  I was prepared to not like "Avatar" and I wound up seeing it twice I was that gobsmacked by it.

Nancy

[Taeylor Collins]

I will be there no matter if I think it looks good or not. For me, it's about supporting DS.  As I have said before though I honestly don't see myself not liking it because there hasn't been a version of DS, as of yet, that I haven't liked. I agree MB, I don't mind knowing certain plots but the major ones are a NO NO!

About spoilers, I wasn't thinking of the HODS trailer and of course I wasn't born yet to see the Hoopla that surrounded it.  I do think that the Internet has in some ways caused viewers to dwindle.  I may be wrong.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

About spoilers, I wasn't thinking of the HODS trailer and of course I wasn't born yet to see the Hoopla that surrounded it.

One particular hoDS trailer gives much too much away - even more than the various magazines did - and that's saying something! But the blame for all that falls squarely on MGM because if they hadn't provided the stills and a nearly complete synopsis of the script, the magazines wouldn't have been able to spoil things to the extent that they did. One can only hope that Warner Bros. will be far more discreet in what they choose to share and to hold back with the Depp/DS film. Though if Burton has anything to say about it, I believe they will. I mean, what would be the point of confidentiality agreements if the studio is going to ruin everything?

I do think that the Internet has in some ways caused viewers to dwindle.  I may be wrong.

Do you mean that what we've learned so far about the film has caused some people to choose not to see it?

[Taeylor Collins]

No MB.  I am talking more about television.  I honestly don't know if movies are as spoiled as much as some television shows because I haven't read them for movies before, besides a synopsis.

I remember when Charmed was on I used to read scripts before the eps even aired until I went to Spoilers Anonymous and got help,  before the start of Season 6.   Some of the scripts ended up a bit different but nothing major. By the 7TH year they did withold what they thought may be the series finale's final minutes and then finally in the 8Th season (after they were picked up for a final year) they did keep the last two episodes under wraps. If I ran a show I would want to do like Lost did and keep practically all I could from getting out to the public.

About HODS, I am sure I know which trailer you are talking about. They even included in the infamous hanging in the original trailer. If it had stayed in the script and I was cutting a trailer, I would definitely have kept the hanging scene out, Carolyn obviously getting staked and a vampire Stokes.  "Come see how the vampires do it" still gets me. Seems pretty risque for the 70's!

Did I mention  I am loving Eva Green?   And by the way, has Michelle OFFICALLY been confirmed?

[borgosi]

Lydia - Big box office tells Hollywood that we liked the movie and that we want more like it. If I don't like it or don't think I will like it, the only way for me to tell Hollywood that is not to go.

I don't believe supporting a bad movie is supporting Dark Shadows.

I'm not saying the movie is bad, only that, as with any movie, I'll watch the trailers, read reviews, and then and only then I will decide if I want to see it based on if it looks like it will be good or not. I've never gone to see movies that I didn't think I would like.

[Nancy]

Using that same logic, supporting a movie based on a TV series would also tell Hollywood there is an interest in seeing more product that is based on that particular TV series.  If you don't how the movie was made, that's something that can be expressed in direct communication with the production company/studios involved. 

Lydia - Big box office tells Hollywood that we liked the movie and that we want more like it. If I don't like it or don't think I will like it, the only way for me to tell Hollywood that is not to go.

[Miss_Winthrop]

As a rule, I usually to to movies based on who is in it and subject matter.  Went to see Julie and Julia based on my liking  Meryl Streep and Julia Child.  I'm not sure I would have seen it if Streep wasn't in it.  I'll go to see Dark Shadows based on Depp and Frid being in it and it is Dark Shadows.  I'm prepared to take my chances.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

And I've discovered over the years that reviews don't necessarily mean anything. I've loved movies that have been panned - and I've disliked movies that have been praised. And when it comes to box office, reviews would certainly seem to mean really little to many people. If they did, someone like, say, Adam Sandler wouldn't even have a career because his movies are routinely panned by the vast majority of critics, yet they make gobs of money.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Eva Green made the right decision.

What seems a bit odd, though, is that there have been several reports lately that she has read for a role in the Total Recall remake, and it also begins shooting in May. Why cite her commitment to DS as the reason for dropping out of a film that begins shooting in April only to read for another role in a film that begins shooting in May, concurrently with DS?

[Nancy]

The overall production schedule may have been behind her decision.  Sometimes a shooting schedule enables an actor to work on two films simultaneously and sometimes the schedule doesn't mesh.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

True. Though at first glance the logistics would seem almost as bad because the film she dropped out of, Arbitrage is shooting in the US and Total recall is shooting in Canada, where the Depp/DS film is shooting in Great Britain. Though we don't know how big a role Angelique plays in the plot, so it could even be possible that she could shoot all her scenes for DS and then shoot Total Recall. or vice versa.

Green has read for the role of Melina - and even though I've seen Total Recall, I don't actually remember how big a part that is. Though from the descriptions it seems like it could be small. So it may actually be easy for Green to fit it in while also doing DS. Well, that is IF she even gets it...


Changing reels slightly, who knows what's up with the IMDb and Helena Bonham Carter? First she was listed for Julia, then she was listed as rumored for Julia, then she was again listed for Julia - but now her name has completely disappeared from the cast.  


Also, we can now officially add another 3D bomb to the list: Mars Needs Moms...

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I see on IMDb that Samantha Fazackerley has been added to film's Visual Effects department as the vfx assistant coordinator. And while that in and of itself may not be all that interesting (well, except to her friends and family  ), what *may* be interesting is that her position on her previous (and only other) film (on which she worked Visual Effects) was as "vfx 3D assistant coordinator" - but you'll note that "3D" is missing from her position on the Depp/DS film. Perhaps that's significant. Or it could mean absolutely nothing.

Also speaking of IMDb, remember when I thought we'd solved the mystery of why that casting noticed I'd posted a link to said Columbia Pictures because I'd discovered three production companies had been added to the list of production companies for the film on IMDb? Well, consider it a mystery again, or at least potentially a goof up on someone's part because all three (Columbia Pictures, Relativity Media, and Village Roadshow Pictures) have been removed.

You gotta love the IMDb. The listing for the film seems to be removing more than it's adding lately.  

[borgosi]

I think I need to say that my decision on if I'm going to a movie is based on all of those things together plus some.

It's rare that I go to any movie on opening night. I don't like seeing any movie, except maybe Rocky Horror Picture Show, with a large crowd. If I go I want to see and hear the movie, I don't want to hear kids or cell phones or what you're doing after the movie. No matter what anyone else says about it, if I like what lifelong fans say about it I'll go. If it looks like Scary Movie meets DS, no one will get me to go. The last movie I went to just based on who was in it starred Boris Karloff, when he makes another movie I'll do it again. I won't go see a movie just because I like the book, TV series, or any other source.  I rarely go to movies any more. Not because I don't like movies but because ushers don't do their jobs anymore.

That said I can't think of a team that I believe could make a better DS movie than Burton and Depp but lately I really haven't like any of their movies. I hope they knock this one out of the park but I'll only go see it if I believe they did.