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

I always thought Dan Curtis took too much personal credit for Dark Shadows. As most producers and directors do in tv media or movies. I understand it was his dream that made Dark Shadows come to life, but he had a whole crew of writers, other directors and actors who helped come up with the verison of Dark Shadows we love.

That is why i am excited about the new movie. He isn't involved. I think Dan Curtis held back the potenital of Dark Shadows since the show went off the air. He had too much control of what he thought Dark Shadows was and wouldn't let anyone do anything new to it.

Either way thank goodness for a new movie, a new generation needs to discover the show.

Is the new Dark Shadows movie project dead? The October 10, 2008 issue (#1015) of Entertainment Weekly states on page 11 this brief side article under the caption

"LEFT BEHIND:

Two long discussed Depp projects appear kaput for now: Shantarum, based on a novel about a heroin addict's adventures in India, and the movie version of the 60's vampire soap Dark Shadows, a childhood favorite of the actor's."

I would assume the three writers of this article received some confirmation from Depp's people that the DS project is in doubt. My feeling is that the producers should stop teasing us fans and let the word out that this movie may not get off the ground-or have they?

I would never assume.    And to me, because they used the word "appear" it seemed, based on the slate of just announced films in Depp's pipeline, as if EW was merely assuming Shantarum and the DS film are backburnered "for now." Though in the case of the DS film, that would certainly appear to be quite true because, if WB wants Tim Burton to direct, they have a long wait for him to become available. I didn't see anything new or anything to get worried about when I read that last week...

Yes it is risky to assume but the EW writers would look foolish/less credible if news soon subsequently came out about developments in the DS project that contradicted its' article. But then again maybe they don't care. I just noticed at the IMDB site that the projected release date for the DS movie has been changed from 2010 to 2011. Who actually is empowered to change the movie's projected release date if anybody knows.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1077368/

I think that EW cares a little more about its credibility than a true tabloid, but not as much as a trade like Variety or Hollywood Reporter.  I think of the EW mention as a vague statement that was probably made about DS because they haven't heard anything about it lately.  They don't even quote a source on it. I really think that a lot of media are focusing so much on the recent Disney news that they forget that there are actually other studios out there planning films with Johnny.   BTW if EW spelled one of the films as "Shantarum", that is incorrect; it's Shantaram.  (This one does seem to have some production problems at the moment, but we'll see what happens with it). 

I noticed that the dates for DS and also Sin City 3 were changed to 2011, but I think that is just something IMDb often does around this time of year, when it's clear that the film won't be made by the earlier date they estimated.  I think those dates are usually just estimates unless a movie is actually filming- I often see them roll over to the next year or two if they're still in development.  It doesn't worry me too much... yet.

Madscntst I misspelled the movie's title so its not EW's error. Sorry about that.  Thanks also for the IMDb's clarification. At this pace there may not be any need for a DS movie panel at the DS Festival next year if there is nothing to report. In all seriousness, putting the DS movie into 2011 delays the DS HODS and NODS DVDs release as much.

but the EW writers would look foolish/less credible if news soon subsequently came out about developments in the DS project that contradicted its' article. But then again maybe they don't care.

I think that EW cares a little more about its credibility than a true tabloid, but not as much as a trade like Variety or Hollywood Reporter.  I think of the EW mention as a vague statement that was probably made about DS because they haven't heard anything about it lately.  They don't even quote a source on it. I really think that a lot of media are focusing so much on the recent Disney news that they forget that there are actually other studios out there planning films with Johnny.

I totally agree with madscntst. And even if WB made a major announcement about the film today, EW wouldn't look foolish/less credible because all they said was that the DS film appears to have been pushed to the background for now. If they had confirmed info that the film is indeed in trouble, they wouldn't have used words/phrases like "appears" and "for now." Words/phrases like that allow them to cover their collective ass should something develop sooner than they thought was likely at the moment they wrote what they did. And they seem to have written what they did solely based on the announcement of Depp's new deal with Disney.

In all seriousness, putting the DS movie into 2011 delays the DS HODS and NODS DVDs release as much.

And that's very unfortunate. And I hate to sound like a broken record, but whatever delays there may be would certainly seem to be attributed to WB's supposed desire for Burton to direct and the fact that he has so many commitments. Of course we as fans would like to see the Depp/DS film and the hoDS/NoDS DVD sooner rather than later, but circumstances wouldn't appear to allow any of that to be likely at this point...

It really is a shame that the two DS movies releases on DVD is seriously delayed because of the new DS movie being stuck in development and/or because of Burton's busy schedule. Is it really WB pushing for T.B. to direct the DS movie that is holding up this movie? If Depp wanted a different director for whatever reason I don't think WB would prevent this movie from being filmed. I could be wrong. The movie probably will stand a better chance for a bigger box office if both were involved in the project-look at all the marketing possibilities with Burton as its director along with JD. But I don't think it is absolutely imperative that Burton direct this movie. How much of a say does WB have in this process?  Isn't WB basically a distributor of this movie? Or is WB also providing the funding for this movie? I don't know too much about this process. But in either event I just wish the HODS and NODS were not collateral damage in the movie's delay in being filmed. Both movies should have been released years ago on DVD and fully restored.

Nothing really new or revealing, but DS was mentioned briefly in a recent interview Tim Burton did with a blogger from the LA Times.  Basically, he's asked about DS, says he's interested but has to work on Alice first, and does not offer any info on whether there is a "plan" for DS.  But I think it's a good sign that he acknowledges it-- he's not a very wordy guy      By the way, Johnny was spotted in LA on Monday, and he is clean-shaven (where his tendency is often to keep a beard and mustache if he's not filming, as he has looked most of the summer), so we speculate that he may have started filming Alice In Wonderland already or will be imminently.  I hope that film gets done quickly!

The interview:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/herocomplex/2008/10/tim-burton-talk.html

Actually, what is interesting about that interview is that Burton doesn't mention that after he does Alice In Wonderland, he's doing Frankenweenie, which is what many reports have said. All he says is that he's definitely interested in the Depp/DS film but he's starting Alice first. Not that anyone should necessarily read into that that DS might be the film he does after Alice - but if Frankenweenie isn't going to be his next film after Alice, there is a real possibility that DS could get made much sooner than most of us have thought because it's the stop animation aspect of Frankenweenie that would really tie Burton up for a very long time...

so we speculate that he may have started filming Alice In Wonderland already or will be imminently.  I hope that film gets done quickly!

Yes please let it!!

It's nice to see that Burton's LA Times interview is being linked to and/or discussed on several entertainment/news Web sites. Hopefully his comments about the Depp/DS film will dispel any mistaken notions that anyone might have come away with from EW that the film was dead...

Well I am glad I read the posting here about the la times article after reading this article http://www.shocktillyoudrop.com/news/topnews.php?id=8091 which is essentially a previous article already discussed here. I wonder why Burton did not have a clue about the status of the DS project. Surely he must know if the script has been finished and approved. Plus I am sure he talks to Depp. I would have to guess he knows exactly what stage the DS project is at but just does not want to say anything without first checking with the rest of the movie's producers.

Apparently the people at Shock Till You Drop.com haven't read the Burton interview.    But it's good to see that in the comments section someone pointed it out to them.

(It's also fascinating that Depp's supposed $56M salary for the next Pirates of the Caribbean has been debunked as a rumor. Just how many false rumors spring up about Depp every day and then spread like wildfire?!  )

The editor of that website has apparently just updated the article to include the latimes article. Unfortunately websites like bloody-disgusting.com and comingsoon.net and who knows how many other sites have not updated its articles.