Depp/Burton DARK SHADOWS Is In Production!!

[jimbo]

And then there is the Young Victoria Winters angle.

Variety discusses the 2012 tentpole movies. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118047931

[Cousin_Barnabas]

Yes, and that would seem to further validate the idea that they will tie her present situation back to her past - hopefully with a foundling home!

And thanks for that article, jimbo.  Looks like everybody is expecting a great deal from Shadows, which is funny since it is the only big May release that doesn't have any sort of official publicity yet...

[michael c]

that's what i was thinking...

given the perimeters of the character she's rather isolated from the overall storyline. it would appear that there is no need for her to film her scenes or interact with the rest of the cast.

so perhaps it just worked out better for her sequence to be filmed in canada.

[jimbo]

It seems like we all solved the latest mystery. I like that Variety seems to also think that DS is a potential new movie franchise. It would be nice to get a promo photo from the movie-anything!

[jimbo]

Christopher Lee speaks very briefly about the DS movie approximatly at the 9:12 mark.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0r1d7uE4-E

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Hmmm - so apparently Bill Malloy will play some significant part in the plot. Very interesting. And as others have said before, it's fascinating that the film is reaching back into the pre-Barn period of the original show for so many of its plot points. I've always maintained that the pre-Barn plots are just as valid and just as much DS as anything that came afterward - and apparently Burton & Co. agree.

Thanks so much for the link, jimbo.  

134 days 8 hours 27 minutes 29 seconds until the day the Depp/Burton Dark Shadows is released(ET)!!

[Taeylor Collins]

I agree MB.  I usually get a bit upset when Barnabas gets all the glory.  The early material played a big role in shaping the show and also Laura never gets respect. She is the one who keep the show from being cancelled so I like to give her props. I would just love it if she were to be mentioned in the movie or in be in potential franchises!

BTW...I have a question.  Since there could be possible sequels; would they have saved the sets?  I am thinking they probably would have them stored somewhere until they see how good the movie does?  What do you think?  Or would they just build again?

[Cousin_Barnabas]

Absolutely, MB.  The Pre-Barn episodes are my favorite.  The characters were well developed and there was just a great deal of atmosphere that was missing from some later parts of the series.  I see this movie as crystalizing (and making new) the 1966-1967 storylines.  It's so refreshing to see this material finally getting some respect.  

And it's no surprise that Malloy is important, as he was the catalyst for the first major suspense plot on the show. 

[jimbo]

I guess WB is using the EW photo as the official DS promo photo (at the very least it is an official WB photo). click on DS photo No. 13.
http://www.imdb.com/photo_galleries/2011/Warner_Preview

[Josette]

They're starting to talk about it.  The "fourth hour" of the Today Show is repeated in the early morning of the next day.  I just happened to put it on and they had a man on (I have no idea who he is) talking about movies for 2012 and Dark Shadows was one of the ones mentioned.  He mentioned that it had been a soap and vampires.  One of the women started to say "Barnaby" and he corrected it to Barnabas Collins and mentioned things like the microphones coming into view and that it was a crazy show.   He went on to mention that Johnny and Tim used to run home to watch it.  One of them said that Burton was perfect to do it.  He also mentioned Michelle.  They showed the same picture (the one from the post before this) and separate pictures of Johnny, Tim and Michelle.

[Cousin_Barnabas]

Those separate pictures weren't from production were they?  (Or were they the "behind the scenes" ones published previously?)

[Gothick]

I happened to catch the Today Show segment yesterday morning (it was the last day of a holiday visit with my elderly parents; they live in one of those "gated communities" in Fla.).  The photos they ran of Depp, Burton and Pfeiffer were just candids in the case of the 2 men (no DS content to the photos, just random snaps) and a generic, standard head shot for Pfeiffer.  As Josette reported, DS was the only movie profiled in the segment that had no preview or trailer footage available to run doing the blurb about the title.  (The other films were along the usual lines you would expect:  new Spiderman, Avengers, that "Hunger Games" thing which turns out to be from a series of Young Adult books, the Dark Knight etc.)  Kathie Lee Gifford, who was so heavily painted she resembled a Collinsport doxie of the late 18th century (her makeup job made Sukie Forbes look like a lady of subtlety and restraint), and apparently likes to pretend she is younger than she is, claimed she had no idea what DS was and didn't understand why it was being hyped so heavily.  She was the one who referred to Barnabas as "Barnaby."

It is really surprising to me just how much buzz is being generated around this project.  Either Burton has a hard-working, well-funded, extremely well-connected publicist (which seems very likely), or people in the "industry" or really intrigued as what this is going to look like.

I have always heard that a lot of people in the "industry" are DS fans--the buzz around Depp Shadows seems to bear this out.

G.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I'll never forget when Joanna Going was promoting the '91 Series on Regis and Kathie Lee and they continually referred to Barnabas as "Barnaby."    But I took it as apparent proof that the rumors were true that neither of them actually completely read their notes before doing interviews. And to her credit, Joanna Going winced a few times, but she never corrected them. Perhaps she figured the clip that was shown, which clearly identified Barnabas as "Barnabas," was correction enough.    But apparently Kathie Lee didn't even bother to pay attention to that clip, either, or else she wouldn't still be thinking Barnabas is really Barnaby.  

132 days 11 hours 42 minutes 18 seconds until the day the Depp/Burton Dark Shadows is released(ET)!!

[Gothick]

Misterioso darling,

I'm not sure that thinking, in general, is an activity that Kathie Lee spends much time upon, period.

Her voice bears a startling resemblance to that of a magpie.  Really rather remarkable.

Joanna Going always impressed me with her poise and sense of occasion.  A worthy successor to the quietly aristocratic, always superbly dignified Alex Moltke Isles.

G.

[Cousin_Barnabas]

Thanks for the info, G!  I knew that we would probably end up with some generic shots, but it was worth hoping otherwise...

And, yes, I too find it strange how much press this movie is getting with zero official publicity.  It is beyond strange.

Finally, I completely agree about Joanna.  I always loved her and thought she was the perfect new Victoria Winters/Josette.  Let's see how Heathcote fairs.