Depp/Burton DARK SHADOWS Is In Production!!

[ProfStokes]

The most prominent line from the interview:  "The trailer is a fair representation of the film."

Agreed.  I was surprised by how much of the content the trailer actually covered.  You get a sample of what were, IMO, among the best and the worst jokes in the film.

Some of the dialogue, particularly interactions among the family members, was funny.  There's a montage of sight gags that was kind of cute. 

Personally, I liked the "We don't have horses..." and "They tried to stone me..." bits.  There was one other really memorable line (from Roger) that made me laugh; maybe we'll get to see it in the next trailer.  The scene with Barnabas and Mrs. Johnson (more where that came from) straddled the border of cheesy and cute, but it works for me.  The scene with the television is a typical fish-out-of-water time-travel gag, but I kind of liked it.  The "plant your lips on my posterior" line works in the context of the scene, but it's just not something that I can imagine coming out of Barnabas's mouth.

I've bemoaned the Barnabas/Angelique/tongue scene elsewhere.  It struck me as way over-the-top and was something I would have expected from an Austin Powers movie.  It certainly didn't feel appropriate to "Dark Shadows" the series as we know it, but it even felt like it clashed with the rest of the humor within this particular movie.  I had hoped the scene would be cut or at least scaled back, but if it's in the trailer, I guess there's little chance of that happening now.

MB, I enjoyed Sherlock's and Warren's cartoons in TWODS and they usually gave me a good laugh as well but I wouldn't want them to form the basis for a film or TV series entitled "Dark Shadows."   I have no problems with parody and having fun with the source material if it's done as a side thing in a 'zine or even as a humorous backup strip in a comic book, but not as "Dark Shadows the movie." 

Penny, it's like you're reading my mind; some of your recent posts express the very same concerns I'm having.  You present yourself very eloquently.  Generally speaking, I think most fans have the ability to find humor in any favorite television/book/film series.  It's a way of negotiating the property's shortcomings and bonding with other fans.  I definitely think it's possible to parody "Dark Shadows" successfully and to enjoy humorous takes on the show (the Collinsport Players and the Cheep Productions videos wouldn't exist otherwise).  However, I would not choose to use one of these parodies as an introduction to the series for a naive viewer.  I think a parody works best when one is already familiar with the source material and able to understand the subtext of the jokes.  Some of the jokes in the movie really do seem like something out of a fan video or Fest skit.

Gerard, I'm heartened by your experiences with your friends wanting to know more about DS after seeing the trailer.  I hadn't believed that would happen.  Maybe we will get some new fans for the more serious side of DS after all.

ProfStokes

[Nancy]

Neither can I.

The "plant your lips on my posterior" line works in the context of the scene, but it's just not something that I can imagine coming out of Barnabas's mouth.

[Nancy]

I don't understand why fans throw around the word "betrayal" like that.  Rationality is seldom rewarded, I guess.  And the movie could not have been done without the wholehearted support of the Curtis estate.  Intellectual property is meant to be purchased and used.  If this movie turns out to royally suck, nothing bad happens to the original or the revival.  It's just another movie that sucks.

If I were to use the word "betrayal" and a movie in the same sentence, I would apply it to "House of Dark Shadows" which certainly went against what we all came to know and love.  It killed off most of the Collins family and made Barnabas into a super hateful monster, which he wasn't on the series.  That movie was so very different.  Is this new DS movie somehow worse because it has more humor in it?  Might be a parody?

saying I was betraying the original.

[Nancy]

I've not seen this scene in the context of the movie - you have - and I would have to agree with you on this point.  Definitely seems a little odd.

I've bemoaned the Barnabas/Angelique/tongue scene elsewhere.  It struck me as way over-the-top and was something I would have expected from an Austin Powers movie.

[Nancy]

And that's why we love you, MB.

I love the panties scene.    But if you've read some of the stuff I've posted on the Caption This! and Complete This Phrase / Fill In The Blank(s) boards, then you know I'm depraved. 

[Phil]

If I were to use the word "betrayal" and a movie in the same sentence, I would apply it to "House of Dark Shadows" which certainly went against what we all came to know and love.  It killed off most of the Collins family and made Barnabas into a super hateful monster, which he wasn't on the series.  That movie was so very different.  Is this new DS movie somehow worse because it has more humor in it?

These sentiments are very close to what I wrote yesterday (article might not be for everyone; apologies if that's the case):

http://badassdigest.com/2012/03/18/dark-shadows-pale-imitations/

[madscntst]

Thanks Phil- I have only had a chance to skim it briefly here at work, but it's a good read and I have saved the link to read again later.  I love the HODS/NODS posters, as well.  Taeylor, thanks for the mention of your FB page.  I belong to/am lurking on two- one hates the lovers/excusers of the trailer, and one hates the haters, and frankly I'm a little fed up with both camps    I just want to hear people's opinions without feeling like they're trying to force my own- I want to make up my own mind in my own way!

By the way, a bit off topic and there is probably a separate thread for this, but I just got a notice from Amazon saying that my Return To Collinwood will ship a little sooner after all- good news!

[petofi]

Nice article, Phil.
 
Personally, I (and I will try not to use the words "us" or "we" when referring to just my own opinion) don't feel in the slightest bit betrayed.  I was drawn to TOS in 1966 (my first exposure was the Dr. Guthrie period), and have loved every minute of it.  The only time I have felt disappointed by an incarnation of DS is when it was cancelled or failed to catch on. As a creative person, I have always understood that storytelling is open to change, just as our lives must be.  DS is an amalgam of classic stories, created by DC and others out of the very sense of novelty and change that Burton and Depp are known for in many of their film treatments. 

Dan Curtis had said that Barnabas Collins was originally intended to be "a Dracula" with nothing but evil to motivate his (intended) brief stay on DS.  That original vision was changed ("betrayed?") to accommodate JF's popular interpretation of the role.  Creative visions are changed all the time.  Fans have expressed their very different visions of the show in fanfic, videos, mash-ups, and even musical compositions!

 I agree that change can be upsetting, off-putting and even scary. It can also be exhilarating and liberating.  I choose to live in the latter vein as much as I can, and even if I were upset with the changes that the Depp/Burton film will bring (I'm not), I realize that I don't have the power to "control" these things, nor would I want to.  As an entertainment, Dark Shadows belongs in my heart (and it will always stay there for me), as a creative entity, it belongs to the Estate of Dan Curtis (that's his living, breathing daughters, not just some corporate monolith) and anyone they choose to allow to interpret it. That's fair, folks.  Even though it doesn't always feel that way.

It's great for me that TOS ( and I find it amazing that we can call it that because of other reboots brought on by its enduring qualities), the phenomenon that drew me in to this lifetime interest in all things dramatic, gothic, and historical (and sometimes even hysterical, lol), will always be there no matter what.  By the way,  whatever else you or I may think of him, Jim Pierson is in no small way responsible for the availability of that original franchise to all of us.  And I have to admit, he's got my dream job (except for the criticisms he has to catch)- he spends a good deal of time immersed in the business of DS! Thanks for the hard work Jim! (and, no, I don't know him or have any financial arrangement with him, lol)

One of the creative impulses is an address of the question, "what if . . ?"  It opens the mind and heart to the possibilities waiting both in the imagination and the World At Large.  Dan Curtis asked this when he awoke from his Dream and began to set in motion the meetings, etc. that would make DS a reality(in the production sense).  Burton and Depp have addressed a different "what if..?", different, but no less novel and creative than the first, asked way back in '66. 

I have been involved in the theatre (yes, I spell it that funny way) for 30 years now, and though I didn't like or appreciate every one of the scores of productions I have seen or been involved with, I have always respected the honest efforts of those who were intrepid enough to "put on a show."  Maybe it's a professional obligation for me, but I try to keep an open mind.

Just my two cents- I respect everyone's opinion here, and I am always heartened by the overwhelmingly civil discourse that goes on on this board, as opposed to some other venues. "We" should all be proud of that accomplishment, no matter what our views.

Petofi

[Nancy]

Petofi, what a wonderful post! Thank you!

[Midnite]

There was a notice I saw just now saying that they are going to make Pierson's segment available as a downloadable or streamable podcast on the site, http://www.cultradioagogo.com.

Cult Radio A-Go-Go's DS segment and interview with Pierson is now available for download at http://www.sendspace.com/file/b62i3n

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Thanks, madscntst, for the info about Amazon and KLS' book.    As per usual I'm behind on checking my e-mail and I didn't see that yet.

And yes, that is a thoughtful and thought provoking post, petofi. 

And, Phil, I support much of what you've said - particularly when it comes to hoDS. Though one thing that you didn't cover that's a real pet peeve with many here on the forum is the apparent fact that DC's favorite tenet when it came to his work was "If it worked once, it will work again and again and again and..." And I firmly believe that if he was still with us and he had been given free rein by Warner Brothers to have made a DS film instead of Burton/Depp, it would have ended up in many ways as being the umpteenth reworking of both hoDS and DC's version of Dracula - and much more so than anything that Burton/Depp may have done with their version of DS, that it something I and many others would never have wanted to see. It's pretty bad when things had already gotten to the point where one could quote back the dialogue the first time watching a "new" DC version of DS because one had already heard it because it had been lifted word for word - not to mention the scenes had been restaged camera shot for camera shot from what DC had already done elsewhere. All of that makes for no suspense whatsoever because one knows exactly what's coming next.

It may very well turn out that I won't like the new film after I've seen it. But one of the reasons I won't like it will not be because it's the umpteenth retread of hoDS. And the fact that it won't be is already one of the major things that is making me more open and receptive to what the Burton/Depp DS film might turn out to be.

52 days 10 hours 9 minutes 18 seconds until the day the Depp/Burton Dark Shadows is released(ET)!!

[jimbo]

Writer Smith had some more to say about the movie. http://www.shocktillyoudrop.com/news/166303-seth-grahame-smith-on-dark-shadows-trailer-reaction

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Thanks for the link, jimbo. 

Interesting that Graham-Smith says the test screening went over great. I wonder if that's the official result or simply his own general impression because, as per ProfStokes' observations, it appeared that much of the audience was into it?

52 days 7 hours 43 minutes 41 seconds until the day the Depp/Burton Dark Shadows is released(ET)!!

[arashi]

@Borgosi - Yes actually, I read AL:VH and thought it was a really fun read, I'm looking forward to the movie very much. My 15 year old niece wanted nothing to do with Pride and Prejudice, even though her mother and I are big fans, but devoured Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.

I'm not sure I understand where the link comes in for colorized movies and "Cliff Notes" but I'm game to answer. Colorized movies - no, I prefer to watch the black and white. But I understand there are people out there that think black and white is somehow inferior, so it's colorized in an attempt to get them to watch it. I know that myself, at 11, and watching the 91 series, didn't want anything to do with the episodes from the original series my Mom tried to show me because it was in black and white and old. (I guess it was only film that affected me so, because I was already a big fan of gothic literature and Big Band music then). Thankfully I grew out of that notion by my early teens. Cliff Notes - I have never read nor utilized so I don't have much of an opinion on those.

[borgosi]

arashi - It's my opinion that the link is that idea of changing a classic or even history to get someone to read or watch it that otherwise wouldn't. If a book inspires someone to write a new book because they loved the original and they want to give it their spin, that great. If they want write a story about a fictional person and to give it a touch of history they place that person at some historic even, that's cool.

I have a problem with someone changing a work of art, and writing it act, that was created by someone else and taking a co-writing credit with the original artist. I have a problem with someone re-writing history. Most people don't care until it effects something or someone they care about.

I'm not a fan of Pride and Prejudice, I've never read it but if Pride and Prejudice and Zombie out sold the original and 25 years from now you could no long buy the original that would really upset me. I don't think I'll be around in 25 years but you get the point. What if they colorized DS and sells were so good when the new fans they stopped selling the original? Could be that it would never happen but you never know. Stranger that's have happened.