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

[jimbo]

I do think however, that it would be nice if Jim can share some information at this year's Festival if he is able to. For example, if he knows when the movie may start shooting, I don't believe that in itself is like revealing a big government secret. Any information that Jim can share with us at the Dark Shadows Festival will be greatly appreciated by all. Hopefully, the DS movie panel will be an interesting one.

[madscntst]

Wow, it's almost bedtime, but I see that there has been a very interesting discussion going on this afternoon and evening.  Of course, I have to chime in!   

I think that Nancy hits the nail on the head when she says that it's pretty typical for information dispersal about a film to be kept at a minimum while a project is still in development.  This is not unique to Dark Shadows- we Depp fans go through the same frustration with every project   And the folks involved in developing a film are just not concerned with keeping the public informed about every step.  Believe me, I would love to know every step as it's happening!  But it just doesn't happen.  Well, they don't know what I do in my job day to day, either!

As for Pierson, Kennedy, or DCP, all I can say is that in the past, Tim Burton and Johnny Depp, separately or together, have both been very interested in staying as true as possible to the subject matter, and both are willing to do a lot of research.  Even when there has been no formal obligation to the original source (Stephen Sondheim for Sweeney Todd, or the estates of J.M. Barrie for Finding Neverland or Roald Dahl for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory... Tim wasn't involved in Finding Neverland but it was a similar situation for Johnny and the directors and producers of that film) they have been very interested in getting feedback and approval from these sources.  I would guess that they'd consider someone like Pierson a gold mine.  The only thing that's too bad is that they don't realize what expertise WE would be able to give them, too!     But I hope that they've gotten all the input they can from DS experts, because it will only help preserve the spirit of the show and its good name!

Cathy

[jimbo]

FYI This is what John August had to say (not complete) at his website today in reference to next week's Comic Con. www.johnaugust.com

"None of my projects are directly featured this year, though Jordan Mechner will be on a panel about his Prince of Persia graphic novel — a prequel to the movie — and Tim Burton will inevitably get questions about our next two movies."

What is the other one?

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Isn't August supposed to write Frankenweenie? I forget already...

As for the Depp/DS film not being directly featured, that doesn't come as a surprise because there's nothing to directly feature. 

[madscntst]

He must be referring to Frankenweenie:

John August's IMDb page

(Oops sorry MB, crossposted!  Usually I get a warning that someone else posted while I was composing, but I dunno, I didn't see your post!)

[jimbo]

Thank you MB and Madscntst. Must be old age creeping up on me. I had already forgotten about Frankenweenie even though we discussed that movie here. It will be interesting to hear what Tim has to say.

[madscntst]

This is just a tabloid article, and there is no DS content.  But it does show Johnny's dedication to all things vampiric!   

Johnny Depp Likes Vampires!

As to whether he likes Twilight, I don't know whether *he* does, but there was a paparazzi shot a couple of months ago spotting his daughter with one of the Twilight books 

[MirandaD]

Thanks jimbo, for the update on John August's site.  Comic Con is the weekend after next, so maybe we will hear something after all!

[jimbo]

Madscntst I am sure Johnny has some of the Dark Shadows books that were sent to him. Thanks for posting that article. It's really going to be interesting on how Johnny interprets the Barnabas character.

MirandD it seems now that there is a good possibility we will learn something about where Tim stands on Alice and possibly we may know when DS may shoot and maybe we won't. lol Time will tell but I am hopeful.

[jimbo]

This interview with Tim Burton leaves the impression that he is nowhere near completing his Alice movie.

http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2009/07/17/exclusive-tim-burton-to-present-semi-trailer-for-alice-in-wonderland-at-comic-con/

[MirandaD]

jimbo, many thanks for bringing the Tim Burton interview on over!  You're right.. it doesn't look good for DS with all the problems it appears AIW is presenting, technologically.  We just might have to wait longer than we had hoped to for DS to start filming.. I've been waiting many years for a good film version of DS (after HODS and NODS of course).  I guess I can wait a couple of years longer!

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I think we can say it's more than an impression - Burton comes right and says, "There’s not a lot of footage to show."    And given previous reports, including that the Depp/DS film has been pushed to next year because of Burton's extended involvement with AIW, that doesn't come as a surprise. Thankfully for Burton, though, he has plenty of time to get the film ready for its scheduled release in March 2010. But for our sake let's just hope it doesn't take quite that long because that would mean we'd still have more than seven months before the Depp/DS film could begin...

[jimbo]

Which also gives the Pirates 4 production team seven more months to get its act together. Its producers have indicated that they plan on shooting Pirates in 2010. The advantage the DS movie has over Pirates at this moment is that it appears that its script is complete. But is there a guarantee that Dark Shadows will be Depp's next shooting movie? We only know that the next Tim Burton/Johnny Depp movie project will be Dark Shadows. I could see Dark Shadows possibly being further delayed by other projects.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

In the movie business there's no such thing as a guarantee. All indications at this present juncture seem to point to the DS film as Depp's next project. But realistically, unforeseen things can and do happen. I mean, just a few months back things looked like the DS film was a go for late summer, but then Burton's extended involvement with AIW delayed things...

[jimbo]

I guess to be fair and objective I am posting this article who's writer is opposed to the Dark Shadows remake film. I obviously do not agree with him.

http://thenorthernlight.canadaeast.com/whatson/article/734756