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

a friend and fellow Depp fan with a good eye thought that it might've been inspired by this old photo taken by photographer Henny Garfunkel in around '90 or '91

A VERY good eye!

Good thing mustaches weren't in style in the late 18th century.   

Though we don't necessarily know that that's the era for Depp's Barn's origin. We don't really know anything yet.

That is very true.  After doing some thinking about it though, I can't imagine there being too much wiggle room with the placement of the 'origin' story.  Changing the time period significantly would require changes in the story.  And, unless the movie is taking place during the time when Barnabas was cursed, I can't imagine Burton wanting to mess with it too much.  It's sort of a neat and compact package the way it is, and for a backstory, that's just what's needed.  Plus, I don't think they want to alienate the already avid fanbase by messing with something that has been a constant in every Dark Shadows project to date.  Barnabas and Josette work in any time period, but the Post-Colonial setting is really, simply put, just romantic.      

Because it is such a romantic period, I'd honestly be surprised if Barn's origin goes too far afield from what we've seen in previous versions of DS. The '91 series moved it back five years to 1790 - but that was a fairly insignificant change - and it was primarily just so that it took place 200 years before the present day setting. But so far as fearing changes might alienate the established DS fanbase, I have to wonder if that would be a top concern because we aren't really the primary audience the film will be targeted at. It will be targeted at creating a whole new fanbase for DS - one whose main exposure to DS will be the film and not any previous versions. They'll hope we'll like the film - but we alone aren't a significant enough group to either make or break the film at the box office.

The other picture of Barnabas was not in the printed Shadowgram. I guess we will be seeing a lot more paintings of Depp as Barnabas which is a very good thing.

That is true, MB.  But you know how vocal some of us fans can get when things don't go our way!     Let's hope that Warner and Burton don't have to feel our wrath.   

Another MTV "interview" posted today with Tim Burton-it seems like it could have been taken some weeks ago-I did not see a date of the interview. The interviewer was suppose to ask Tim if Jonathan Frid was going to appear in the new film as a cameo but I think he messed it up and Tim did not directly respond to that issue but did talk about Jonathan. I can't imagine who that James was in the video. jk

http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2009/09/02/with-dark-shadows-tim-burtons-challenge-is-to-capture-that-weird-tone-of-the-show/

Whoever James is, he does seem to get around. 

That is pretty amazing. jk

Another Tim Burton interview posted today again apparently undated where Tim had this to say about the DS movie:

How are things coming along with "Dark Shadows"?
I haven't really started that at all. I still have to finish "Alice." So that's a big job ahead of me. It's way too early. [Laughs] Probably in a year's time.

http://southflorida.metromix.com/movies/article/q-and-a-tim/1438302/content

Ok I hate to be a whiner here, but would someone explain to me why TB is making such a big deal about "Alice" when I believe it is in post production? I guess I'm just anxious to see him actually have something worth-while to say other than this..."Well I haven't really started working on that yet..."

I hear you very well VictoriaWinters1991. Alice, if I am not mistaken has been in post production since December, 2008 when they finished shooting the movie. TB is either in way over his head with the 3D live animation or whatever special effects he is adding or he is merely boasting his greatness. Is TB  telling us the truth? Surely by now he has mastered the technique he is applying and you would think that TB gave DS some thought. If the interview took place recently which we have to assume is the case, TB is figuring that he won't have to even think about DS until next September even though Alice will be released in March, 2010.

Well, not that we want to think of it in that sort of time frame, but IF the 4th Pirates film does indeed shoot before DS, Burton's remark could just about jibe with when DS might be in production. Though one might think that Burton would at least be thinking about DS before then. However, I suspect that his remark wasn't necessarily meant to be taken completely literally - he probably phrased it that way because he feels so weighed down under the pressure of working to get AiW exactly the way he wants it. We all tend to exaggerate when we feel under pressure.    And as for the technical aspects of AiW's post production, it seems from several reports that the process Burton is using for the film is far more complicated than anyone initially thought it would be, and that's why things are taking so long.

Okay, I have tried many times to explain my understanding of Johnny's and Tim's current and upcoming commitments.  I hate to always play the role of defender, because I'm as anxious as anyone to see this film get made.  But I don't know how to answer when people say that Tim doesn't care, or that Tim won't pay any attention to DS.  Tim has been working on Alice In Wonderland for a long time, and he was committed to it long before he agreed to do DS.  He got all of the filming done on time.  The release date was announced before the film had barely started filming-- they KNEW it was going to take a long time in post-production, and planned accordingly.  They are using (to my knowledge) a new form of animation.  They shot in 2D and they are going to convert it to 3D with some other kind of technology.  They used green screens for the filming, and Tim has rarely used green screens in the past.  All these things have been mentioned in interviews.  To say that Tim is "over his head" seems unfair-- to me, it seems to me like he knows full well the amount of commitment it is taking to complete this film in a way that he will be satisfied with, and he has no intention of dividing his attention and going halfway on either project.  Personally, I would rather have it this way.  He is going to give his all for the production of Alice, so that he can then give his all to DS.  Meanwhile, DS hasn't really been dangling in the wind- they have shaped up a script that sounds like it's nearly finished (Johnny's interviews have described it as "very, very close", which gives me the impression they may still be tweaking a bit).  They are probably doing lots of things behind the scenes, despite Tim's remarks.)  Given the current state of the film industry, which doesn't sound that great due to the economy, it's pretty good news that they still plan to get started in a year (or less).

Victoria, I hear ya, but see, this is why them talking about a film project in its early stages is a double-edged sword.  If the journalists don't ask, then we have no idea what's happening.  If they do ask but there's not much to tell, then we are unimpressed with the status report    Me, I'm just glad that the film is popping up in the dialogue!  And remember that Tim is an understated guy-- if he even says a little bit about how he's thinking about the tone and the feel of DS, then I'll bet he's giving it a lot more thought than he is admitting  

it seems to me like he knows full well the amount of commitment it is taking to complete this film in a way that he will be satisfied with, and he has no intention of dividing his attention and going halfway on either project.  Personally, I would rather have it this way.  He is going to give his all for the production of Alice, so that he can then give his all to DS.

Exactly.

Meanwhile, DS hasn't really been dangling in the wind- they have shaped up a script that sounds like it's nearly finished (Johnny's interviews have described it as "very, very close", which gives me the impression they may still be tweaking a bit).  They are probably doing lots of things behind the scenes, despite Tim's remarks.)

True. Just because Burton has his plate full right now with AiW doesn't mean that others involved in the production aren't thinking about and working on various things. We know for one that John August has certainly been working on the script - and we also know that he's had meetings with Depp and Burton over the script. So obviously right there we know that Burton has indeed given thought to the film. I doubt he sat quietly with his hands folded and stared off into space while August and Depp discussed things.  

I think it would be very naive of us to believe that Tim Burton has not given any thought to the Dark Shadows movie. Of course he has. TB is just being protective of the project as he should be although it would be nice if he could throw us a bone here and there. I am very confident that the DS movie is further along that he is letting on. I think Tim cares greatly about DS and is very excited to direct his dream project as well. TB is doing this new technology for the first time on the Alice movie.  Obviously I did not mean to imply that the man is incompetent. He is under immense pressure to get the movie completed as soon as possible and learning the new technology at the same time. He admits on not having even seen the Caterpillar yet. TB may be in over his head through no fault of his own in the context of his unfamiliarity with the new technology process; has to make critical decisions every single minute and has to deal with the time pressures all at the same time. He has stated in interviews that he had no idea it would take this long and would need every minute of his time to get the movie finished on time. I am sure he will make a great Alice movie.