Depp/Burton DARK SHADOWS Is In Production!!

[Mysterious Benefactor]

As much as I love DS 1991. I am pretty sure in 1991 they could totally have found out B was lying. And I am CERTAIN in 2012 they would definitely be able to confirm the cousin from England cover story is total bull....

In the ep of the '91 Series that is currently being featured, Sheriff Patterson actually admits that Barnabas has been at the top of his suspect list, that he'd run every check on him that he could think of in both the US and England and even had Interpol look into him, but it all came up with nothing, and in England they'd never even heard of him. However, when asked what that told him, Sheriff Patterson is adamant that nothing IS nothing.

And when you think about it, regardless of the version of DS, the Collins family has really little reason to doubt Barnabas' story. After all, he's the spitting image of the man in the portrait who's supposed to be his ancestor, and he even owns the man's cane and ring. And he's also an expert on the 18th century Collinses, as might be expected of someone who's supposed to be connected to the present day family through that generation. Elizabeth herself even remarks in more than one version that she thought she was an authority on the family history but Barnabas' knowledge of it is extraordinary. What's there really to doubt? And with overwhelming evidence like all that of his connection to them, where's the reason to investigate him? 

190 days 0 hours 3 minutes 1 second until the day the Depp/Burton Dark Shadows is released(ET)!!

[usffan]

To be fair, I think the reason why Barnabas' story of being the descendant of the original Barnabas Collins worked was because Barnabas' disappearance in 1795 was explained by Joshua et. al. with the story that he had returned to England - information Barnabas could have easily learned from Willie prior to him revealing himself to the rest of the family.  Even today, it's not easy to uncover the fate of people from 1795, so I don't think think it would be implausible that the cover story would work in 2011.  I do, however, think that in this day and age of ubiquitous digital cameras and instant news updates, that it would be virtually impossible for a vampire to hide his identity for any appreciable length of time, which is why I think it's critical for the movie to be set when it is. 

[Cousin_Barnabas]

Like MB said, there is no reason for anyone in the family to check up on his story.  He has the ring, the cane, and he looks just like his "ancestor".  He's got manners and a lot of money.  That doesn't hurt him much.  Plus, being a Collins in Collinsport generally puts one above the law, as we have seen time and time again.     Oh, the Law certainly has its suspicions and throws its weight around, but it generally avoids pressing charges against much of anyone with the Collins name... unless they happen to be accused of witchcraft. 

I like how we're all sitting around discussing the logistics of how a VAMPIRE could pull off the art of deception in the 21st century...  Because the premise of a vampire even existing in the 21st century (or any other for that matter) isn't fantastical in and of itself...  

[madscntst]

I happen to be watching a show right now called Revenge, where a young woman arrives in the Hamptons with a new identity to take revenge on the townspeople who wronged her and her father when she was a child.  The way she accomplishes this (or tries to) in the present day is through years of preparation, creating a back story for herself.  She also has a computer savvy ally who is hacking some databases.  I was thinking that Barnabas could possibly do the same thing- maybe not come to Collinwood immediately, but hide out for awhile while getting a backstory in order- probably not years, because the body count of victims would probably get too high  but they might be able to get away with something like this.

That said, I'm kind of glad the story is set when it is.  It was a simpler time, and regardless of how hard or easy it would be to check on someone, people were just a bit less cynical back then.

[michael c]

yes i agree that the 1970's was the last time a story like barnabas' could possibly pass muster.

true one could have hired a private detective to check it out(as burke did on the original series)but the average person would not have had the access or ability to investigate it themselves.

and, yes, it was a more naive time and people were less cynical. and barnabas' certainly had the 411 on the collins family so that helped to establish his credibility.

[Gothick]

It's interesting to note that on the 1990s series Forever Knight (which had some elements reminiscent of DS), there was a vampire who had a whole business that involved creating new backgrounds for vampires as they moved on and around from "lifetime" to "lifetime."  Since it was the 1990s, he had also started "fixing" various databases so that background checks would turn up the "correct" info for the person's "current" identity/persona.

A specialist familiar with techniques used by hackers could easily enough see through this kind of thing today, but if you have someone who plausibly acts like the person they are supposed to be, you're unlikely to push further.

Before Barnabas, it was interesting to see the responses of the family, and Laura herself, to the increasing pile-up of evidence that Laura Collins had died in a fire in Phoenix.  That was a really eerie, intriguing aspect of the original 1966/67 Laura storyline.

G.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Re: The Rum Diary could possibly make a profit after the international receipts and DVD sales are in.

I would think that it would. And speaking of the film, I was just reading an article about it that said the vast majority of the audience who is going to see The Rum Diary is over 50 (something like only 2% are 18 and under), and I was completely unaware until the article pointed it out that Depp's last foray into Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, only grossed $10.7 million in total in theaters here in the US. At least TRD seems to be on target to beating that. But it would certainly seem that Thompson isn't exactly a big box office draw here in the US, so it's going to be interesting to see what the international box office figures turn out to be once they start coming in. Though the thing that saved Fear and Loathing was that it was a success on DVD...

This article has it's own theory as to why TRD may not strike a cord with a large US audience: Should Johnny Depp Be a Leading Man?. And if her theory is correct, then Depp as Barnabas should have more appeal - which leads us to getting back on topic --


There's another ongoing discussion about DS and the film on the message board for ABC's The View, which I still think is an odd place for there to be a DS discussion considering it's not like anyone from the show or the film has been on The View (yet). But, hey, no matter where the show and the film gets attention, it's a good thing.  

The View / Message Boards / Dark Shadows

189 days 9 hours 44 minutes 43 seconds until the day the Depp/Burton Dark Shadows is released(ET)!!

[jimbo]

re: The Rum Diary I think the word of mouth is going to kill the movie at least in the US. However, I don't see it doing as well as The Tourist did internationally. I am surprised that TRD was seen mostly by people over 50. That is actually very interesting. I did not see the trailer for the movie so I don't know how it was marketed. Thanks for the article. I have no doubt Barnabas will have more appeal.

Dark Shadows and The View. That is great. You never do know where DS will pop up. Now with the movie I am hoping it will pop up everywhere.

Another Alice Cooper interview. http://www.gibson.com/en-us/Lifestyle/News/alice-cooper-horror-1103-2011/

[madscntst]

Thanks for the article, MB.  It's an interesting theory (that Johnny isn't successful in a traditional leading man role), and it's true that I've seen reviews for The Rum Diary that sound disappointed that there aren't "more pirates" (which is weird, because reviews for Pirates 4 complained about Johnny being a pirate again... you can't win!)  But I'm not sure I completely agree, because Public Enemies was pretty successful (nearly $100 million) and as has been mentioned recently, even The Tourist did better than the entertainment news seemed to suggest.  I think that The Rum Diary is a bit of a hard sell because Hunter S. Thompson is a bit of a hard sell.  I'm not surprised that it appeals mostly to people who are 50+, and I would add that it probably appeals more to people who were more affected by Watergate and the protests of the 60's.  Johnny tried hard to promote this film among college students by going to screenings at several colleges, so I think that the hope was that at least younger literature majors and such would be interested in the film, but I don't know how well that strategy has worked so far    I, myself, enjoyed the film but it wasn't one of my favorite Depp films- it's a good story but just doesn't really bowl me over.  But even though I'm in the right age group, I'm not particularly a fan of Thompson.

Anyway, "leading man" role or "quirky" role, it is simply not true that a Johnny Depp film guarantees box office success.  Even a recent film like Sweeney Todd barely broke $50M.  I hope (and expect) DS to do a bit better than Sweeney if only because I think the musical aspect turned off a lot of folks who would normally like a horror film like that, whereas DS doesn't have that drawback.  But I don't really expect DS to be a huge blockbuster.

See Johnny's box office tallies on this box office mojo page:
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/people/chart/?id=johnnydepp.htm

ETA- thanks for the Cooper article, jimbo.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Speaking of Cooper, here's yet more from him:

Alice Cooper Talks Johnny Depp, 'Dark Shadows'

Though for some reason the video doesn't seem to be working, so here's a link to the original site: Alice Cooper - 'Johnny Depp Is The Man Of A Thousand Faces' video

[Cousin_Barnabas]

His description of the plot is so inaccurate, but the examples of the plot's "problems" are spot-on!  That amazes me!

[Mysterious Benefactor]

It's an interesting theory (that Johnny isn't successful in a traditional leading man role), and it's true that I've seen reviews for The Rum Diary that sound disappointed that there aren't "more pirates" (which is weird, because reviews for Pirates 4 complained about Johnny being a pirate again... you can't win!)

Yeah, no kidding - you just can't please some people - and particularly when those people are critics - which is one reason why I avoid reviews of films I want to see until after I've seen them. That way I can either agree or disagree based on having seen the film for myself.

But I'm not sure I completely agree, because Public Enemies was pretty successful (nearly $100 million) and as has been mentioned recently, even The Tourist did better than the entertainment news seemed to suggest.

Exactly. And what's interesting about The Tourist is that many people still have the idea that the film was a flop because, of course, the fact that it really did make money wasn't reported as widely as the supposed fact that it bombed. Many entertainment writers, Web sites and TV shows love to jump on stories like such and such a film bombed - but when that subsequently turns out not to be true, they somehow don't have the time (when it comes to the writers and TV shows) or the room (when it comes to Web sites) to report on that.

I hope (and expect) DS to do a bit better than Sweeney if only because I think the musical aspect turned off a lot of folks who would normally like a horror film like that, whereas DS doesn't have that drawback.  But I don't really expect DS to be a huge blockbuster.

It would be nice for DS to be huge, but my thinking also jibes with yours. And I don't think any of us should be disappointed if DS turns out to be a hit film and not necessarily a $300+ million blockbuster.

189 days 8 hours 27 minutes 32 seconds until the day the Depp/Burton Dark Shadows is released(ET)!!

[Taeylor Collins]

I had forgotten about that conversation with Patterson in 1991! 

As for the movie being blockbuster....that would be fabulous! That being said, as long as it's a big enough hit to make back the money they shelled out to make it  and a sizeable return, then I would be satisfied with that. I just hope it makes enough to warrant sequels!  Again though, a blockbuster would be FABULOUS!   Hopefully it will make get a great return and add more to the collective cult following then hopefully that too would warrant sequels as well!

188 days...

[Cousin_Barnabas]

So we basically have half a year until this movie is out... and no poster.   

[Nancy]

So we basically have half a year until this movie is out... and no poster.   

which sucks.