Depp/Burton DARK SHADOWS Is In Production!!

[Cousin_Barnabas]

That is all.   

[ClaudeNorth]

I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE this photo and the accompanying character descriptions.  Maybe I'm being overly optimistic, but I think the new DS movie could turn out to be Burton's masterpiece.

[borgosi]

I can see a little of Seaview in the outside of the house but none of it in the inside. I was last there Memorial Day week.

"Barnabas" looks better here than in the unoffical photos but IMHO the group looks like a caricature of the original cast photo they tried to copy.

As for them movie. We'll see. I may or may not see it at a theater, won't know until I see a trailer. I will see it at some point, good or bad.

I'm not excited about this anymore. I'll always have the original and it will always be the best "Dark Shadows". If this turns out to be a classic that's cool, if it turns out to be a box office bomb that's ok to.

[madscntst]

Trying to catch up on several pages of discussion so I apologize if I'm repeating anything.

First, blastr.com gives some more background info on this photo-- as several people have suggested, the similarity to the cast photos from the original series is totally intentional.  Also, the photo was apparently taken the day before filming started.

http://blastr.com/2011/09/1st-official-dark-shadows.php

While it's possible that the timing is in reaction to the response from last week's paparazzi photos, I tend to doubt that's the case.  As someone mentioned, magazines usually prepare features like this weeks in advance.  Even if Johnny's production company or WB tried to pressure Entertainment Weekly into publishing official photos more quickly, Entertainment Weekly has not always catered to Johnny or Tim in the past, and I just don't think they would bend to the film industry like this- they have a magazine to publish and I just can't see them catering to every film's needs or wants.  I believe that I and others mentioned that for Tim's movies, the first official photos tend to leak out toward the end of filming, or slightly after filming ends, so this is right within that general time frame.  I do suppose it's possible that the photo release could've been moved up a little bit, but not much.  (Edited to add- another point I just thought of is that in the past, when the official photo(s) did surface from one of Burton's films (or even other films, for that matter), they are often not in conjunction with a magazine feature but just distributed directly to comingsoon.net or a similar site.  So they could've done that if they had wanted to).

About Johnny's ears, I agree, having studied the man's face quite extensively over the years   that his ears don't usually stick out that much.  I do recall Johnny discussing his Ichabod Crane character for Sleepy Hollow-- initially, he wanted to look like the character described in the original story, with ears that stuck out, a long nose, and long, gangly fingers.  He was pushing for prosthetics but Tim nixed the idea at the time.  I kind of see this look as a kinder, gentler version of that, such that Barnabas would still be handsome but maybe a little gangly.  

I do hope that a high resolution version of this photo will surface soon.  Knowing the Depp community, they will be combing all sources feverishly to find one.  

In general, I am beyond thrilled at the look of this, and I can't wait to see more!

Cathy

[borgosi]

The room reminds me more of Lyndhurst than Seaview.

[Cousin_Barnabas]

I am soooooooooooooooo excited now!

[Sara Monster]

  Why must they do that to the Willie character??!

[madscntst]

Another thought (I've been thinking about this photo all day!)  Maybe I will change my mind with the high res photo, or with other photos as they surface, but it occurred to me that Johnny's look reminds me of Roddy MacDowall (sp?).  Johnny befriended Roddy before the latter's death, so it wouldn't be TOO far out to wonder if there might be some connection; plus, Roddy was very popular in the 70's and did a lot of horror.  Okay, it's probably just my imagination    

Michelle Pfeiffer is also tickling my brain- I realize that she looks just like Kate Vernon who played Ellen Tigh on Battlestar Galactica.  I love her expression and feel that she's going to give a very meaty performance as Liz.  I hope so!  

The only things I'm not crazy about are Bella Heathcote's white tights and peter pan collar, which IMHO make her look a little *too* young, and Helena's hair, which I agree is just a tad too bright.  I do love the hairstyle, though, and I love how her expression seems to channel Grayson while still looking very much like Helena's own persona, if that makes any sense.

[madscntst]

Why must they do that to the Willie character??!

Do you mean his appearance, or the character description (or both?)  At first, my reaction was to hope that they won't turn him into too much of a buffoon.  But at least in terms of his appearance, as I thought about it, I realized that first of all, that's what Jackie Earle Haley looks like, anyway, so of course the character is going to look a little off-kilter.  The hairstyle is pretty much what a lot of men were wearing in the 70's- parted on the side and a bit long, with the long sideburns.  He looks a little like a seedier version of Tony Orlando    I still hope he won't be a buffoon, but I'm okay with my first impression of his look.

[Janet the Wicked]

it occurred to me that Johnny's look reminds me of Roddy MacDowall (sp?).  Johnny befriended Roddy before the latter's death, so it wouldn't be TOO far out to wonder if there might be some connection; plus, Roddy was very popular in the 70's and did a lot of horror.  Okay, it's probably just my imagination    

The only things I'm not crazy about are Bella Heathcote's white tights and peter pan collar, which IMHO make her look a little *too* young, and Helena's hair, which I agree is just a tad too bright.

You have no compunction about the "thing" that is Willie???
I do not see any resemblance to Roddy McDowall what so ever, no not at all to his portrayal as the little shit nephew in Speilburg's Night Gallery episode.

[Sara Monster]

Do you mean his appearance, or the character description (or both?)

Oh, I wasn't even bold enough to read the character descriptions at first, but now I would say both. It's like they took the revival version of Willie & aged him.

Everyone ELSE looks good. Besides Johnny Depp looking like a kid dressed up for Halloween.

[jimbo]

A zoomed in Barnabas: http://perezhilton.com/2011-09-22-johnny-depp-cast-dark-shadows-first-look-cast-promo

Is the writer of the EW article the same guy who first tweeted that he had seen JD as BC in pics and that the pazz pics were misleading?

[borgosi]

This is just my opinion but I believe that if it's closed minded to dislike or put down a movie someone has never seen, it should also be closed minded to like or promote a movie someone has never seen. Both are examples of acting on something based on little or no information. Both are jumping to conclusions. Both are wrong. In my opinion.

[tragic bat]

Wow!  My first thought on the photo was shock at the three blond girls in the background.  I'm still not completely sure which one is Bella Heathcote, if she is actually in the photograph, apparently she looks extremely similar to Carolyn (perhaps an intentional plot point?)  To me, they also look the same age (i.e. both 14), when you'd think that wouldn't be the case.  Maybe one of them is the ghost of Sara?  Anyway, it's clear who Angelique is, and I think Eva Green looks great.  I expected Johnny Lee Miller to look younger, and I'm unsure if that's just what he looks like now or if he was aged to play Roger?  I think I prefer the 2004 Willie out of all the ones we've seen since the original series.  Barnabas looks great.  A lot to take in, but I don't dislike it.  

[Gothick]

Golly.  It definitely looks as if BarnaDepp sports Fu Manchu fingernails from Miss Thing's closeup of this photograph.  Whoa.

Does anyone know if the mag is actually going to publish this photo?  And if so, which issue?  I don't have time to trawl through the site and the tweets etc. to try and figure it all out. 

It's really extraordinary that they BEGAN the shoot by re-creating or re-staging that iconic 1967 cast photo.  Almost seems like an act of Invocation.  A seance, perhaps?

Now please let Warners announce a firm release date for the hoDS/NoDS/WB pilot box set...

G.