Collinwood in the new Depp/Burton DS film

[Angelique Wins]

I'm chiming in as a latecomer to this discussion because I don't get here as often as I should.  But I had the pleasure of being among those who, after the fest, journeyed to Newport, R.I. and visited Seaview/the Carey Mansion otherwise known as our "Collinwood."

I've read tons of responses here and I still do not understand why people would pick "no."  That's one reason (of MANY) that I didn't like the original HODS.  Come on, people, you used the WRONG HOUSE!  Collinwood is Seaview/the Carey Mansion is Collinwood. 

And what would be cool, especially for those who want the house to be "different," it WOULD be different.  You wouldn't have the same exact foyer and the same exact drawing room if they used the inside as well as the outside.  Or actually SHOW the front side of the house with the covered drive.  LOTS of folks don't know that side of the house, cause they're used to looking at the back of the house. 

No question for me.  YES.  Definitely.  USE COLLINWOOD for COLLINWOOD. 

Judy
 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

It's going to be fascinating to see how this actually plays out in reality because, as I've mentioned in a few posts, there are some very real real-world issues that go way beyond whether fans might or might not want to see Seaview used in the film in some fashion. But until then, I suppose, as MirandaD proposed, the yeh and neh contingents will simply have to agree to disagree, mostly because the results of the poll are showing that there really is no clear cut opinion here.

[MirandaD]

No question for me.  YES.  Definitely.  USE COLLINWOOD for COLLINWOOD. 

Well it seems like a no-brainer to me.. but clearly it's more controversial than I thought.  And from Shadowgram #113, July 2008, page 3, last paragraph "SG reminds fans that the planned script intends to capture the spirit and mood of the original DS..."

While it's true that the use of a different house might still capture the "spirit and mood of the original",  I can't help but think that the use of Seaview Terrace at Carey Mansion would give the production a leg up on that from the get-go.  Outside of that, if I pretend that I had never seen one single episode of DS before and somebody showed me a picture of Carey Mansion, with the exact view shown at the beginning of every episode from the old series and explained the plot, I think I might declare it as perfect casting for the role!

[Nancy]

Well, Miss Judy, I don't understand why people place so much importance on the house to begin with.  It's a house, for heaven's sake.   Iconic or whatever, it's overall value to the story is limited.  A production choice that captures the style of the house(s) involved as well as the overall tone/mood of the story concerns me far more for that is what will make or break the movie.  If the movie doesn't work, I doubt people will be saying "Gee, if only they had used the original house for the movie . . ."

I'll always try to come down on the side of keeping an open mind and not being dogmatic about what will and will not work. So there.  

Nancy

I've read tons of responses here and I still do not understand why people would pick "no."  That's one reason (of MANY) that I didn't like the original HODS.  Come on, people, you used the WRONG HOUSE!  Collinwood is Seaview/the Carey Mansion is Collinwood.  
No question for me.  YES.  Definitely.  USE COLLINWOOD for COLLINWOOD.

[Nancy]

The original Collinwood, Seaview Terrace, worked wonderfully well for the original show.  Why is it that it would not work for a new generation as well?  I'm not trying to be argumentative here, I am honestly trying to understand the opposing viewpoint because I just don't.  If what is wanted is an "all new reimagined" story with no ties to the past, why call it "Dark Shadows" at all?  Why have Barnabas Collins in it at all?  I know that with the talent of Johnny Depp, Tim Burton and John August, they could come up with a wonderful gothic tale that isn't called "Dark Shadows" and we could all enjoy it.

No one has suggested to "cut all ties" to the past.   I know one viewpoint is to allow the new DS to stand on its own and I take that to mean to allow it to breathe life into the story and the characters which are, after all, what "Dark Shadows" is.  We love and remember the show for its characters, the stories and the tone.  IMO, that's where the focus should be and where the success or failure of the project lies, doesn't it?

[borgosi]

Using Seaview would not make or break the new movie but of all of the T-shirts I've seen with "Collinwood" pictured on the front or back it is always Seaview. I've never seen a Lyndhurst "Collinwood" T-shirt. Come to think of it outside of a book about one of the movies or the new show I've never seen any house other than Seaview used as Collinwood. No buttons, no CDs, in fact the only CD that has music from the new series don't even have a picture of Collinwood.

Much like the image of Karloff as Frankenstein will always be what people think about when they think Frankenstein, the image of Seaview is what people will always think of when they think Collinwood and the Karloff film is 78 years old.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Several DS books that were printed back in the '80s featured Lyndhurst - and not just when discussing the movies. Fest flyers have used both Lyndhurst and Greystone. And both have also been featured in the Fest program books.  

[Gothick]

The fab early 1970s newspaper comics by that lovely artist whose name I can never remember used Lyndhurst as Collinwood, too.  And I'm sure I have seen Lyndhurst on DS t-shirts--probably movie themed ones.  The house has its own fan base although I'm not familiar with anyone arguing that it could somehow supplant the "real" Collinwood--people cherish it if they have positive memories of the movies.

I'm sorry Lockwood Matthews isn't better known.  It's a really fun place to visit.

G.

[borgosi]

If your talking about the Kenneth Bruce Bald comics it looks like Seaview to me.

Yes, they are House Of Dark Shadows shirts that feature Lyndhurst but that kinda goes without saying. I have a Lyndhurst shirt that I bought at Lyndhurst but I've never seen a shirt with a picture of Lyndhurst and the word Collinwood above it. I'm not saying they don't have them but I've never seen it.

Just to make a point. I have a photo of Seaview that I had made into a poster. When I took it to have it framed the lady that worked at the frame shop said "I know that house" then before I could say anything she screamed "COLLINWOOD!". We talked for over an hour about DS and the house. She hadn't seen the show in years and now wants to go see the house.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

If your talking about the Kenneth Bruce Bald comics it looks like Seaview to me.

Collinwood is actually all over the place in those comics. When they first started in March '71, it was Seaview, then it was some fantasy version of Seaview, then it was Lyndhurst, fantasy Seaview, Lyndhurst, fantasy Seaview, Lyndhurst, prophetically a house very much in the Tudor style of Greystone, Lyndhurst, and then who knows what after that because the newspapers in my area stopped printing the comics in November '71. Collinwood definitely had a HUGE identity crisis!  

[Gerard]

The fab early 1970s newspaper comics by that lovely artist whose name I can never remember used Lyndhurst as Collinwood, too. 

Actually, the newspaper serial version used both.  When Collinwood was viewed from the back, it was Seaview; when viewed from the front, it was Lyndhurst.  And then the artist tossed in a few more towers and such on his own every now and then.

Gerard

[borgosi]

I haven't looked at the book in awhile I just know they used Seaview at some point.

As for the movie being a sequel and because of that it can't be more stories about the same family in the family house, that's the unique thing about DS. Even on the TV show they retold stories and changed them in parallel time. This movie could be looked at as a sequel, it's just in a different time band.

I know, in a different time band they could live in a different house.

Lyndhurst is a cool looking house. I love it. It isn't Collinwood but it is beautiful. Graystone on the other hand, I really wasn't impressed with, not even when I went to see it. It isn't ugly but it would be better for a Dallas movie.

I hope this movie is good, I wish someone else was writing it and that's more important than what house they use, but if someone made a movie based on Dracula and put the Count in a ranch style house it just wouldn't fit, so yes, the location is very important to any story.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Graystone on the other hand, I really wasn't impressed with, not even when I went to see it. It isn't ugly but it would be better for a Dallas movie.

Well, I don't know about that. Greystone is an English Tudor, not a Ranch Style house like Southfork.    (And there aren't very many Texas style ranches in England.  )

[Gerard]

Graystone on the other hand, I really wasn't impressed with, not even when I went to see it.

I didn't care for it in '91, either.  To me it was, well, boring.  No character.  Even the model used for full shots did not impress; I was waiting for Godzilla to appear and stomp on it.

Gerard

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I'll definitely concede that perhaps, at least from the outside, Greystone is the least interesting architecturally. There are far more interesting examples of English Tudor in the world. Though the inside of Greystone has much more to offer than its outside. And then there are the grounds. And given the backstory of Collinwood in the '91 series, it was an excellent choice as a shooting location from what's available in and around LA.