hoDS/NoDS DVD Release?

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I began wondering today if the announced April start for the Depp/DS film will in any way start to get the hoDS/NoDS DVD release moving? But probably not. Considering how stubborn WB is about not moving forward until the film is getting made, nothing concrete will probably start to happen until April - or even after.  

[B.Collins]

i agree, i don't think it'll be on dvd/ or blue-ray until the film is released. than my guess they will reissue the dvd of the original series. my guess also is they will maybe do spurts or something of the show that may continue until & even after for awhle at least the film gets released on dvd & blue-ray. i'm just guessing of course.


i have no way of knowing or any proof this is what's going to go down.

[jimbo]

I think it depend if the new movie will be released in 2011 or in 2012. I don't see why WB can't release DS in late 2011. Pirates 4 is still filming as we speak and it has a May 2011 release date. I can't wait for the fully restored DS movies release on DVD. We have been waiting a very long time haven't we?

[VictoriaWintersCollins]

With filming to finally begin next april, I'm guessin Burton will opt for a 2012 release.

Wonder if he will have some of the original cast make cameo appearances in this version?

[Darren Gross]

No one seems to know - not even the man who came up with the script. When asked in an interview what the plot was, Sam Hall said that he couldn't remember anything about it. And if the plot was actually such that he couldn't even remember it, perhaps it's a blessing that it was never made...

Howdy!  Actually, I may be able to put this urban myth to rest for good...  I've discussed this with both Sam Hall and Dan Curtis previously and there was never any script nor an outline written for a proposed Barnabas-centered sequel film.  When I asked Hall about it, he couldn't recall how much thought they'd given it, and his only impression was that Curtis wanted to make sure there was a role for Kate Jackson in it, because he was impressed by her.  Curtis said that they put in the bat gag at the end credits, but never had thought beyond it.  As he described it, MGM called him, delighted with how HODS was doing at the boxoffice and said they wanted another one.  He went and had a lunch or dinner with Frid to tell him about it, and Frid said he wouldn't do it.  That lunch is where the oft quoted exchange below is supposed to have happened:

Frid, "Friends have all warned me about continuing to play Barnabas-- I'm concerned for my image."
Curtis, "What about the image of an out-of-work actor?  How about that image?"

I pushed on the point again with Curtis, "Not a rough outline, a treatment, nothing?"
Curtis, "No!  We never got there.  MGM said they wanted another one.  I asked Frid.  He refused.  That was it.  Period."

There have been rumors about this for years, but I think it's just a game of telephone, a rumor or comment stated by people back in the day, that has bounced around ever since.

Oh, I wish there had been though!

There is a story breakdown/treatment for NODS with some solid differences, but nothing with old Barny.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

That's interesting. And I certainly don't discount that's what Dan Curtis said. But back in the '80s, when Sam Hall was interviewed on the subject, according to a published transcript the exchange went like this:

"Q: Did you ever give thought to what the Jonathan Frid sequel film would deal with?
 A: We had the whole plot worked out for Jonathan when he said he wouldn't do it. I don't think he ever read it."

And that conflicts with DC's version. Though I can't say that surprises me all that much because through the years DC had often gotten his facts wrong. And one need not simply look to his latter years for evidence of that because even while the original DS was still on the air there were interviews where DC got his facts wrong. The most infamous was probably the one in which DC was certain that Sam Hall had begun writing for DS before Grayson Hall began working on the show and that it was through Sam's association with the show that Grayson got the job as Julia. However, we all know that Grayson began working on DS in June of '67 and Sam didn't begin writing for DS until November 0f '67 - and it was actually Grayson and Sam's socializing with DC after she'd begun working on the show that got Sam the job. 

As far as discussing the matter with Sam Hall goes, I wouldn't doubt that his memory of things might be a bit faulty nowadays. That happens to nearly everyone at his age. But I'm more inclined to believe the things he said back in the '80s when there wasn't as much of a time distance and things could have been much more clear in his mind.

Though, honestly, who knows what the truth really is. I seriously doubt we'll ever really know...

[B.Collins]

well said man well said. seriously "DC" got his facts wrong THAT MUCH? it's kinda funny in a way. cause you'd expect
a guy like him would be memory perfect. ya know? i mean hell if you look at one of my favorite directors/writers/ producers

 "Roger Corman" who just turned 84 this year. the same age as Frid i believe. his memory is perfect still at 84. & Frid's i think is pretty good still as well. how old is Sam Hall now anyways?

man i wish that Frid had done the sequel. i understand he didn't want his image to be just of Barnabas of course. i can't say that i blame him to be honest. as i've said in the past if you look at "Christopher Lee"if he or his son-in-law or anyone else in his family i'm sure says he's only well known as Dracula they get REAL PISSED! & have banned members
from their site cause on how some people atitudes are. or somethings like that. & i can't say that i blame them either.

cause i wouldn't want to be well known for just one role either. it does break my heart that Frid quit acting well in movies anyways. i think at some point he would have been better known for other roles as well. outside of Horror.

cause "DC" did at some point quit doing horror movies & went to Drama films. & i'm pretty sure he would have Cast Frid in a heartbeat in any of them had he still been acting in films by than. but this is just one guy's opinion. ya know?

[Gothick]

I would be surprised if at the very least Sam had not done a story/treatment for "hoDS 2" figuring from his experience with DC that at some point DC would turn to him and say, "OK, can you get the script to me for the new movie by the end of the week?"--and if he had some ideas, he'd want it covered.  As a sometime writer myself, I know that's what I would have done in his shoes.

So, we inch closer to seeing WB finally giving the green light for the feature film disc release.  The main good thing about having the release tied to the big Depp/Burton project is that it means that the suits will want it as a real release, not something they just casually toss out to online consumers in their "archival" project for which they would be unlikely to have much, if any of a real budget line. 

I'm afraid a lot of the fans here don't understand that even when Burton has delivered the completed movie with its post-production, there could be a SUBSTANTIAL wait before the studio shoehorns it into one of the hot release weekends on their calendar.  As I've mentioned before, I well recall how Firefly fans had to wait six months for the release of the feature film version when the studio decided that the release date that had been announced for months would conflict with some other megabomb release date.

The military industrial entertainment complex of the 21st century is often tiresome terrain to navigate... one of the many reasons why I don't miss television.

G.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

even when Burton has delivered the completed movie with its post-production, there could be a SUBSTANTIAL wait before the studio shoehorns it into one of the hot release weekends on their calendar.

This is very true. If, say, WB sees the film as an October, November or even December release (the three months when most studios release their big dramatic guns), and if the film is not completed in time for WB to find what they deem a suitable week in October-December 2011 where they don't already have a movie (or movies) in play and there isn't a film (or there aren't films) they fear might be major competition for the Depp/DS film, they could easily hold off releasing it in 2011. And if they really have their heart set on an October, November or December release, then its release could easily be held off until sometime in October-December 2012 even though it was completed the year before. Studios do such things all the time.

[B.Collins]

i know & it's just plain damn stupid if ya ask me. why wait a total year after a film is done? Tim  Burton doesn't have that many flops in his resume. & even those films that did flop made some good money as well. at least i think they did.

studio's are to damn picky today. just cause a film doesn't hit say $50 million bucks on the opening day or weekend they consider it a flop. ok maybe not that much money but you get my point. tv studios do it now to. most of the time.

take the show "Lone Star" for example. it's a new show that started this season. i didn't happen to watch it so bear with me i can't comment on it if it was any good or not? but they only aired 2 episodes THAN freaking cancelled it! how in the world is a tv show going to be a hit or gain an audience if they don't air at least 13 episodes? or almost up that

at the very least. they need to understand that there are a LOT of programs on tv. & people do go out & have a life. so they don't always catch this or that program. same thing with movies.  i don't go to the movies that often.

but i do once in  awhile download one. or buy it on blue-ray or dvd when it comes out. & it's not cause i refuse to see this or that film in the theatre. its' really cause i don't get out much. that's all. in short in tv & in the movie buisiness these morons need to just loosen up a little & not have such HIGH standards for their films. there's nothing wrong in

having faith in the product by any means. but they go way overboard. ya know what i mean? & i also agree on the release on the "DS" film on dvd & maybe even "Blue-Ray" from what i hear, if you download say the film

"The House of the long Shadows" from say "Amazon"  the picture quality & everything else is from what i hear freaking HORRIBLE!  they spend NO money whatsoever putting films out that way. it's a good idea to release not so well known titles to sites like "Amazon" but not remastering it at the very least is just plain stupid. & bad business. but than what do know i don't know anything about business anyways.  he he

[Darren Gross]

I would be surprised if at the very least Sam had not done a story/treatment for "hoDS 2" figuring from his experience with DC that at some point DC would turn to him and say, "OK, can you get the script to me for the new movie by the end of the week?"--and if he had some ideas, he'd want it covered.  As a sometime writer myself, I know that's what I would have done in his shoes.

Interesting.  If so, that's smart thinking, but I'm surprised with the TV show workload that he had the time.  If it was a story or treatment that would make sense though, as it could have been anything from a 3 page to 25 page document...

If Sam said it in the 80s that sounds more verifiable to me, especially if he was doing it on his own without Dan telling him, it would gel with Dan's story.  Whether it actually would have been what they ended up filming will have to remain a mystery for the ages or parallel time.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

i know & it's just plain damn stupid if ya ask me. why wait a total year after a film is done?

It might seem stupid to hold off on releasing a film - especially to the people who are highly anticipating seeing it. But from the studio's POV it's considered good marketing. Studios don't simply want their films to make money, they want them to make the most money possible - and more often than not that has to do with what a film's competition is at the box office at the time of it's release. And also, if they feel they have a prestige film that has the potential for Oscar nominations, more often than not the film will be held for the end of the year because quite frequently (and despite the ability of Academy members to screen films at home) many Academy members have the habit of overlooking films that came out earlier in the year - not to mention the buzz on those films has probably died down, while the buzz on current releases is still taking place.

Of course, normally the Academy looks down their nose at vampire/horror films in general, particularly when it comes to acting nominations. But if any vampire role could bring an acting nomination if done correctly, Barnabas must surely be one of them because he's so deeply complex.

And getting back to the competition aspect of release, let's not forget that the first installment of Twilight: Breaking Dawn is to be released on November 18, 2011. So, it really is quite likely that WB won't want the Depp/DS film anywhere near the box office while it's in release. And who knows if the Depp/DS film could even be completed with enough time to be released and be released with sufficient enough distance between it and T:BD P1's release? And to complicate matters further, the second installment of T:BD is scheduled to come out on November 16, 2012, so the release of the Depp/DS will surely be sufficiently earlier in 2012 so as to not compete directly with it.

Actually, one need look no further for a perfect example of a studio holding off on releasing films than the T:BD films because BD is in production right now, yet even the first installment won't be released until over a year from now...

[B.Collins]

one it's going to take QUITE a long time for them to film it. so i can understand why breaking dawn won't come out until november of next year. though i do find it pretty stupid that they wait another FULL year to release the 2nd half of it.

hell even "harry Potter" which took damn near an entire year & actually i think it was 14 months? to film the last film in the series. that's coming out on the 19th & the 2nd half comes out in July of next year i believe. so that is at least reasonable. & makes sense ya know? they aren't waiting a year for it. so i'm happy about that.


when it comes to releasing movies i don't think there really is a good  time a year to do it. BIG movies i mean. cause if you think about it's a win or lose situation either way.  you may release a film with lesser films. or rather  films that aren't really expected to DO BIG MONEY!  & you could get stuck with a flop cause those films do better. so in short there's really never a good time to do that. though i DO think Disney screwed uP on the last "Narnia" film when they put it out 2 years

ago. on when they released it. with all the reboots coming out that May at the same time. yet they wonder why it did't make money like the 1st one did hmm...?? 

[Phil]

If Sam said it in the 80s that sounds more verifiable to me

The one thing that makes me believe Curtis' version over Hall's is that Hall responds to "what would the plot have been for a HODS2?" with the reason they didn't do it, but never actually answers the question in that exchange.

[Willie Loomis]

the only thing i could think of is a big screen version of the 1795 storyline.  Which acutally would have been a great companion piece to HODS. 

I would loved to have seen the 1897 storyline as a movie.  shame it was never done and it wasn't done for the revival series.