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

[Taeylor Collins]

GOOD LORD!  I am already having a bad day.  I hope he puts off the Pirate movie at least.  That is gonna take a lot of  time!!  <<Needs a glass of wine!

[Miss_Winthrop]

Taeylor, I'll join you in that glass of wine...Is there a possibility since there doesn't seem to be a way for Depp to take on the role of Barnabas that he's going to be just involved in the production through his company and not necessarily starring in it? I've been thinking of possible replacements for Depp and a few come to mind.  One name has come up frequently in my mind when I think of acting ability and appearance and that is Christian Slater.   

[madscntst]

Miss Winthrop, it is very possible that Johnny might only produce DS, and not star in it.  He has a number of other productions in the pipeline that he does not plan to star in, so his company is certainly taking on other projects.  It's just that when DS was first announced, it was so heavily implied that he would be Barnabas, and we know that he always wanted to BE Barnabas when he was a kid, that I would be terribly disappointed if I found out that he wouldn't be in it.

That said, if it was a matter of him having too much on his plate to star in it himself, I would much rather the project go forward with someone else, than not go forward at all!  Christian Slater actually sounds like a great choice! 

Now that I've had a chance to absorb yesterdays' news a little (it was pretty shocking at first!) it may not be as mind-blowing as I first thought.  The Mad Hatter, we already knew about, and that will film this fall.  Pirates 4, we already suspected would happen, and actually, no time frame has been given for it, so it may just be that Disney wanted to admit that they're interested in doing another one, but it doesn't necessarily mean it'll be in production any time soon.  In fact, if the story involves the hint at the end of the trilogy where they're
[spoiler]looking for the Fountain Of Youth[/spoiler], all the better to pick up the story 10 or 15 years from now. 

The Lone Ranger is the real monkeywrench, and subsequent news stories have now been corrected to confirm that Johnny would play Tonto, not the title character.  This is slightly better news to us fans (seems a little more interesting than the "masked hero" role), but frankly, many of us are baffled by this news.  But again, there has been no real timeframe given, so this could well be a project that might be BEHIND DS in the pipeline.  Remember, DS has had a year's head start in being officially announced.  So I'm still crossing my fingers.

[jimbo]

I agree with you Madscntst that we should not panic (my word) yet for the reasons you mentioned. That being said I have a feeling that the project will not move forward without Depp as Barnabas. Burton will not direct it without Depp. I have to assume that the script is finished and hopefully it has or it will be approved by all concerned parties. It would be great to know if Depp is still going to play Barnabas but getting information on that question from this side of the house is very unlikely. I also remain optimistic that the DS project will be getting off the ground soon.

[madscntst]

One other point, that I just brought up to the Depp community I belong to, is that the news yesterday comes from a Disney showcase.  A lot of folks were very upset that there was no news given about DS (or Shantaram or Rex Mundi, which are some of his other upcoming projects).  But these are not Disney films, so there would be no reason for the Disney showcase to mention them.   So the lack of mention of DS certainly doesn't mean anything bad about DS's progress, but simply just that Disney is not going to promote the competition    So, I'm still trying to be very optimistic...

Cathy

[jimbo]

Another DS movie reference indicating that Depp has been casted as Barnabas although that is probably an assumption on the writer's part.

Sadly, Johnny Depp To Play Three More Silly Characters

[jimbo]

DS movie reference.

http://www.etonline.com/news/2008/09/65966/

[Taeylor Collins]

I hope Johnny plays Barnabas.  I am sorry to whoever suggested Christian Slater~~~A WORLD OF NO!!  IMO!  He just doesn't have the Barnabas factor.  Just my opinion though.  I guess this subject is better discussed in cast ideas.  I am just kind of bummed right now.  However, maybe the script isn't finished and in the process of rewrites.  I remember Malcolm Marmorstein (original show writer)  said in one of his interviews one of his teachers said that REWRITES were ABOVE all what makes a good writer.  I want the script to be perfect so I suppose I can wait longer. 

Johnny's looks are holding up well. If Cross can play Barney at 40 and JF was 42 or 43 so, I guess Johnny can in his late 40's!  It still baffles my mind to think he is in his middle 40's! The man has held up well!

[GooberCollins]

In all honesty, I like Johnny Depp as an actor, but there are actors who I think could do just as well in the role. Learning that he's not going to be our Barnabas wouldn't trigger a significant reaction from me.

[Taeylor Collins]

I find the fact that he is a fan VERY appealing.  I cannot help it.  However, I respect your opinion! I just haven't seen any other actor of our generation (at this moment in time) who is as great of a character actor as Johnny is.  That is why I want him.  Those two reasons.  Every character he has played has always been so completely different!! It is a feat to behold!

[Zahir]

If for any reason Johnny Depp cannot play Barnabas, my vote (if I get one) is for Jonathan Rhys Myers of The Tudors...

[Taeylor Collins]

Possibly but this is getting us off topic.  We should move our suggestions to the cast idea thread.  I am not being hateful we just don't want the admins having to do more work than necessary!

[Zahir]

Something I was thinking about--we the audience/fans know some things about the forthcoming movie.  We know who is writing the screenplay (the first draft, anyway).  We know Johnny Depp and Tim Burton are attached (for now--and odds seem pretty good that'll remain the state of affairs).

Based on that, methinks some predictions are in order.  Seeing which in any are right--or wrong--will be kinda fun!

1a.  Barnabas' story with Josette and his becoming a vampire will be told/hinted at in flashbacks.
OR
1b.  Victoria Winters virtually begins the story in the past, with her flashbacks telling the story of the future.
Recall this is the same writer--John August--who adapted "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", which included a brand new back story for Willy Wonka.  This used flashbacks, and since DS deals with two time periods, this seems like a pretty safe bet.  More, he explored unanswered (and to some extent unasked) questions which might lend itself to turning Victoria's time travel on its head.

2.  Helena Bonham Carter will have a role--probably Liz, Julia and/or Naomi, although Angelique is not out of the question.
This one seems pretty obvious.  Ever since "Planet of the Apes" Tim Burton has used Bonham Carter in each of his films.  Nor am I objecting!  She is an excellent actor!  I suspect for variety's sake she might prefer to play Liz--since she's recently done the pining-in-love fellow conspirator in "Sweeney Todd" and the evil sexy witch in "Harry Potter" recently (plus she'll play Bellatrix at least two or three times more).

3.  Whoever plays Josette/Maggie/Victoria, it will be an actress with whom Burton has not worked prior to now.
This is just based on past history.  Burton doesn't seem to re-use ingenues much.  To me, it also seems he tends to cast young women with a kind of feline waifish quality--including Winona Ryder (unusually, twice), Natalie Portman, Christina Ricci, etc.  But that is difficult to pin down.  Frankly I'm not even sure "feline waifish" is the right term to use.

4.  Some very good character actors will litter the ensemble.
Pretty much SOP for Burton films, especially with anything even remotely gothic like "Edward Scissorhands" and "Sleepy Hollow".  If Martin Landau and/or Christopher Lee are still around and active, I suspect Burton will use one or both.

5.  More actors from the "Harry Potter" film series will be used.
I cannot be the first one to have thought this, can I?  We already've seen Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall, Michael Gambon.  This actually brings up some startling possibilities if you think about it--Emma Watson as Carolyn or Josette, Jason Isaacs as Roger, Rupert Grint as Willie, etc.  We'll see.  But this does not apply to either Kenneth Branaugh or Emma Thompson, for obvious reasons involving Burton's fiancee. 

6.  Danny Elfman will write the music.
Well, yeah.  Almost certainly.

7.  David Collins is gonna be one very creepy little kid.  Oh yeah.  I think he'll creep Barnabas out some.
Just a hunch, based on the way Burton approaches children and the dynamics of the story.

8.  Collinwood will look like no other estate in this or any other world.
Honestly, this is just a guess based on just how stylistic Burton might decide to go.  I'm personally imagining something like a cross between the Addams Family mansion and Castle Dracula, but redecorated by Martha Stewart.  That is Collinwood, natch.  The Old House might easily resemble something out of "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari."

9.  At some point Barnabas will rise out of his coffin in one move, a la "Nosferatu."
Wishful thinking on my part, really, but perfectly possible.   

[madscntst]

Some interesting speculations and predictions, Zahir!  I think you are dead on (pardon the pun!) about just about everything.  Regarding Helena Bonham Carter, I really like her too, and I assume that she will be involved if Tim directs.  But for some reason, I am hoping she won't be a lead, or a love interest, just because it might be fun to see her in a kookier supporting role.  Also, even though I know they're just acting, there seems to be something a little weirdly incestuous about pairing Johnny and Helena as a romantic couple.  I like that the pairings so far have *not* been that (she was a minor character, and happily married, if poor, in Charlie, she was the "other woman" in Corpse Bride, and it was what I saw as a one-way attraction in Sweeney Todd).

Christopher Lee was originally going to be in Sweeney Todd-- he was even shown in a promo ad that was in Variety on the first day of filming.  He was going to be the "gentleman ghost" and sing part of the Ballad, but the idea was scrapped before it got to be filmed. He was disappointed, but on a blog that I think his son wrote, expressed no hard feelings about it.  So, assuming he maintains his health and the filming isn't *too* far in the future, I could definitely see him in a role, and it would be so fitting!   And I would dearly love for Martin Landau and Johnny to be able to work together again, and Martin has some experience with coffins, too!  Well, I don't want to go too far into casting ideas on this thread, but one issue to consider is what the storyline is going to be about, in the first place!  And therefore, what characters will be in the film.  I'm so curious!!

Regarding Danny Elfman, yes, he's done every film with Tim except for Ed Wood and Sweeney Todd (and the latter was only because the music was already composed, and doing orchestration and whatnot is not usually Elfman's strong suit).  However, if he is involved, and maybe some of you who know more about the rights to the series music can chime in, here, I dearly hope that some of Cobert's original music can be integrated into the film. It is such familiar music that it would be a shame not to use it in some way.

As for the coffins, I feel that Johnny is going to have a blast with that.  He'll probably love to wear fangs, as well!  Also, Tim and Johnny have always joked about how Tim loves to squirt Johnny with lots of blood, and I'm sure there will be lots of opportunity for that.  Which will beg the question, what kind of a rating would they shoot for?  For Sweeney Todd, they knew from the beginning that it would be an R, and Tim had no intention of trying to sanitize the gore to get a lower rating.  But for DS, I wonder if they will try to shoot for the wider audience that a PG-13 would allow.  They certainly *could* make it an R-rated movie, but they don't necessarily *have* to.  It'll be interesting to see their decision.  I'm not sure I have a preference- I don't mind gore at all, and I don't like for a film to be squeaky clean, but I am also a huge fan of Hitchcock and know that a lot can be accomplished by implying what isn't shown.

[GooberCollins]

Burton's only done two R-rated films, correct? I personally think that those two were some of his best (I've seen all of Burton's films, save Planet of the Apes and the two Batman films, and, in my opinion, Ed Wood is the best, followed by Edward Scissorhands, then Sweeney Todd), but the R-rating was absolutely necessary for Sweeney Todd, and the strong profanity in Ed Wood helped develop Landau's portrayal of Lugosi, so it was probably necessary there, too. However, IMHO, a new Dark Shadows could easily be done with a PG-13 rating.

Anyone think that maybe the reason we haven't heard too much from Warner Bros. is that they're a little nervous? Sex and the City did fairly well at the box office, but The X-Files: I Want to Believe did pretty poorly, and I've heard rumors that a Friends movie was in planning, but got squished. Maybe they're worried that if a recent hit like The X-Files does so poorly at the box office, a film based on a show that debuted in 1966 (and is now basically a cult show) would do even worse.