Depp/Burton DARK SHADOWS Is In Production!!

[Mysterious Benefactor]

in which case, postproduction is going to take a REALLY long time

Post production will take a really long time because we've been led to believe it will go well into next year.  

As for the photos, my reaction to them wasn't anywhere as negative as some have been. Maybe that's because my first thought was that we have absolutely no idea how the scene places within the film - it could be some bizarre dream for all we know. But even if it is a real situation, we still know nothing about it. I mean, even beyond the makeup, Barnabas is wearing a hat, sunglasses and gloves - who's to say that in the film the cover for him not being able to go out in daylight isn't that he has some sort of rare skin disease - and if so, this scene could be some intermediate stage in a Dr. Hoffman's attempted cure in which he goes out in the sun for the first time but still needs to protect himself? Sure, the makeup makes him look bizarre - but within the film everyone would understand that and be quite happy for him.

As for my second thought, it was very similar to what others have said. Even though the makeup is exaggerated (to say the least), that in no way means that's the way it reads on camera. Not even getting into what may be done digitally with CGI, there could be any number of real time camera tricks going on depending on what filters cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel is using. Trust me, I'm one of those people who watches every last second of the extras on DVDs/Blu-rays, and it's often amazing and even shocking to see what the makeup requirements are in some films (particularly horror and sci-fi films) for the desired look to come across correctly on camera. And truthfully, though certainly not quite as exaggerated, one need look no further than the '91 Series and some of the "real" photos of Ben Cross when he was in vamp makeup to see how different he looked in real life as opposed to how the makeup appeared on camera. If any of those photos had leaked as the first images of Barn from that series, I hesitate to think what people might have been saying...

And one last point: Chloe Moretz has said that Depp looks "weird," yet when asked about Depp's look for the film at Comic-Con, all Lara Parker would say was that he looks "incredibly handsome." And a way to possibly reconcile that obvious disparity is that Chloe was talking about how Depp really looks, meaning with the makeup, but Lara was talking about what he looks like on camera. If not, Lara certainly made herself look completely foolish if she was describing what we're seeing in these photos as looking "incredibly handsome."

239 days 12 hours 15 minutes 12 seconds until the day the Depp/Burton Dark Shadows is released(ET)!!

[Nancy]

Exactly.  I do wish those unnerved by the photos would stop and think about the fact they have no idea where these images fit in the context of the film or if the makup job will actually look like that on film.  I could see it being a part of a scene where Julia takes Barnabas outside providing him with as much protection from the sun (just to be sure) as possible such as a hat, gloves, sunglasses, etc.  

Nancy

As for the photos, my reaction to them wasn't anywhere as negative as some have been. Maybe that's because my first thought was that we have absolutely no idea how the scene places within the film - it could be some bizarre dream for all we know. But even if it is a real situation, we still know nothing about it. I mean, even beyond the makeup, Barnabas is wearing a hat, sunglasses and gloves - who's to say that in the film the cover for him not being able to go out in daylight isn't that he has some sort of rare skin disease - and if so, this scene could be some intermediate stage in a Dr. Hoffman's attempted cure in which he goes out in the sun for the first time but still needs to protect himself? Sure, the makeup makes him look bizarre - but within the film everyone would understand that and be quite happy for him.

[Zahir]

Gotta point out the photos were taken in broad daylight.  Methinks it likely we're seeing a photo taken from a time when they are filming "day for night" i.e. a filter or digital processing will turn the daylight into nighttime.  Film lighting is expensive and scheduling is tight.  Once the processing takes place, methinks we can assume Depp will look different.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

This was retweeted by Seth Grahame-Smith:

Breznican Anthony Breznican
by sethgs
I've seen Johnny Depp as Barnabas Collins in Dark Shadows, and those paparazzi shots don't look much like what we'll see onscreen.
12 hours ago


I love the fact that Dark Shadows News on Twitter has added the hat to its Barnabas thumbnail!    


Plus:

Thomas McDonell: Young Hollywood 2011 Portfolio


And two more photos:

Bella Heathcote goes for a stroll.

Tim Burton and Johnny Depp consult between takes.
(Gotta say I'm lovin' the cape.)

239 days 8 hours 42 minutes 32 seconds until the day the Depp/Burton Dark Shadows is released(ET)!!

[Gothick]

Somebody mentioned Depp wearing a Barnabas ring, but I don't see it here.  The fabric on the coat seems odd to me.  I'm more curious than ever to see an actual publicity photo of Depp as Barnabas Collins.

I wonder what Michael of Brooklyn will think of Vicki's Laura Ashley couture which is an odd choice with the jacket and boots.  But we are supposed to be looking at 1972...

Interesting how little Thomas mentions werewolves since I have heard no reference to them otherwise in this film... presumably he was just thinking about what he has read about the original series (or maybe he also has seen some episodes?).

G.

[PennyDreadful]

People have been emailing me links to the pics and ridiculing Depp's "Michael Jackson fixation."  I'm keeping an open mind and will wait until we see actual publicity photos.  I'm happy to see the cane and the Inverness cape.   

[borgosi]

It could be a joke. It could be that the makeup will look different on film, Karloff was gray/green not blue as Frankenstein. That was a black and white film as far as I know this will be in color. That's just a guess.

If they are going to use CGI to do his face his face should be either green or blue and it wouldn't have the shading, there would be no need for it. It could, would most likely have little balls stuck to it so they could line things up for his expressions. I don't believe they are using CGI for his face.

I captured the photo and changed the color, I made it black and white, I did everything I could to it and he never looked very good.

I'm hoping that there's a costume party at the house and he goes as a "vampire". But he's in the wrong place for that.

These photos could give the movie very bad buzz, I hope they take control of this and release a real Barnabas photo. And maybe somewhat explain these photos.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

BTW, according to Yahoo Movies, Anthony Breznican, of the retweet by Seth Grahame-Smith, is a film writer for both Entertainment Weekly and USA Today, and he's seen footage of the Depp/DS film (lucky him), hence his tweet to say what we see in the paparazzi shots doesn't look much like what we'll see onscreen.

239 days 6 hours 26 minutes 45 seconds until the day the Depp/Burton Dark Shadows is released(ET)!!

[Gothick]

Another one.  This one has two photos I don't recall seeing elsewhere of Depp going to his mark:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2037239/Dark-Shadows-Johnny-Depp-strolls-leading-lady-Bella-Heathcote-vamps-up.html

It looks as if CGI might have been involved in how Depp appeared in Willy Wonka.  I have no idea what array of technical gizmos were deployed in Alice.  Haven't seen either film.

G.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Thanks for the link, Gothick.  


Changing reels, A Chloe Moretz interview:

TIFF Dialogue: Chloe Moretz on the Controversial 'Hick' and Upcoming 'Hugo,' 'Dark Shadows' and 'Kick-Ass 2'

"the fun of Sleepy Hollow with the scariness of Sleepy Hollow. I’d definitely say it’s a lot like Sleepy Hollow"

Sounds good to me. I love Sleepy Hollow. And if DS combines the horror and humor like Sleepy Hollow does, that the best news I've heard.  

239 days 6 hours 10 minutes 9 seconds until the day the Depp/Burton Dark Shadows is released(ET)!!

[borgosi]

A picture is worth a thousand words and we've seen several pictures so one guy saying he will look different from the pictures doesn't mean much.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Another photo I haven't seen elsewhere: Dark Shadows: Set Photos

239 days 5 hours 50 minutes 50 seconds until the day the Depp/Burton Dark Shadows is released(ET)!!

[Mysterious Benefactor]

A picture is worth a thousand words and we've seen several pictures so one guy saying he will look different from the pictures doesn't mean much.

I disagree. We've seen paparazzi photos, not official photos - and we have not seen processed footage from the film. And for the various reasons stated in this topic of how film footage can be manipulated, particularly with the use of filters, film footage not only can but quite often does look vastly different from photos of the exact same scene. When it comes to photos versus film, seeing the former does not necessarily reflect at all what one will see when it comes to the latter.

239 days 5 hours 38 minutes 7 seconds until the day the Depp/Burton Dark Shadows is released(ET)!!

[jimbo]

I am confused. Breznican has already seen how Depp will appear on screen even though the movie is not in post production and/or the special effects haven't been done for this scene?
In any event let's hope there isn't more negative buzz on this film.

The Hollywood Reporter as examined some of the tweets at the issue at hand. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/fans-compare-johnny-depp-dark-235618

[Mysterious Benefactor]

These days post production doesn't necessarily mean post shooting, meaning work doesn't wait to begin until after shooting has completely wrapped. These days, with the advent of digital equipment, some scenes can often be edited together merely days after they're shot and then sent for post processing. Half or even more of the film could already be edited together for all we know. But, of course, some scenes will need much more tweaking in post production than others will. Some are probably so complicated that they will probably takes months of post production to complete. And that's why post production will probably last as long as we've been led to believe it will. But that being said, there could be many scenes that are already as complete as they need to be - or prety close to it - and that's probably the type of footage Breznican has seen...

239 days 4 hours 14 minutes 58 seconds until the day the Depp/Burton Dark Shadows is released(ET)!!