Depp/Burton DARK SHADOWS Is In Production!!

Re:Twitter I did not know that its search engine had an "all" drop down selection feature-I was wondering why there were so few DS postings each day.

I've been using the "All" on the drop down menu (as well as the "All Tweets" link which pops up occasionally in place of the drop down menu - who knows why? - but that's a different discussion ) all along and still all the DS tweets on any given day don't necessarily show up. But from now on I'll try what the Twitter Help Center suggests and we'll see what happens...

238 days 9 hours 21 minutes 44 seconds until the day the Depp/Burton Dark Shadows is released(ET)!!

Oops - I also meant to say that -

If WB would only release some official photos...............

- unfortunately for those of us dying to see official photos, WB and/or Burton & Co. will be releasing them on their timetable, not because we're dying to see something.    And, of course, there are two ways to look at the fact that nothing official has come out so far to quell all the Internet fuss. The pessimist would say nothing has come out because the way Depp looks in the paparazzi photos is exactly the way he's going to look in the film.    But the optimist would say that nothing has come out because WB and/or Burton & Co. aren't worried at all about what's currently being said because they know that on film Depp won't look like the paparazzi photos and they're so confident that people will be eating their words once something official does come out that they're going to be to sticking to the original timetable worked out by the marketing department regardless of what's being said.    In fact, they may even be having a good laugh over much of what's being said.

As to where's the truth? Well, it may be somewhere in the middle. And only time will tell...

238 days 8 hours 56 minutes 12 seconds until the day the Depp/Burton Dark Shadows is released(ET)!!

After getting over my initial shock at his appearance, my heart is still beating a little erratically. As I'm calming down, I'm now  thinking that this is possibly a pr stunt to ramp up speculation and interest in the forthcoming movie.   This look is definitely not one that I could fall in love with which is how I felt about the original Barnabas.  Plus, Victoria is dressed all wrong.  She needs to be wearing a trench coat with collar turned up.  Perhaps JD and BH are just trying out various scenes in costume and makeup to get the feel for the characters in certain situations.  Perhaps BC's outlandish look is being used as a motivator of sorts (why I can't imagine) to help the actors get into their characters better. I'm still feeling a little sick about this whole look for him. Since I've hit bottom, I suppose I have no where to go but up.

For what it is worth, a lot of people over on the "Monster Kids" classic horror film fans forum are saying the same thing about these photos--that WB should expedite the release of official pub photos to allay the "viral" reaction on the Internet to the notion that Depp's performance and appearance as Barnabas Collins will be "a tribute to Michael Jackson."  (You gotta admit, that would certainly be a unique spin on the character!)

In general however, that group of film buffs isn't optimistic about the whole DS project.  The fact that Burton's films still perform so well at the box office doesn't keep them from regarding him as creatively tapped out and washed up.

G.

I purposely avoided posting for a couple of days until things settled down a little    (Plus, I was just returning from a trip so I've been busy anyway).  Well, I'm not in love with what I've seen so far, except for the costuming which I personally think is pretty cool.  But I actually think that most of the comments I've seen around the web have been along the lines of my own thinking, which is that these are unofficial photos taken out of context, and we have no idea how this will translate to the film itself, so let's wait and see before worrying too much.  Like some here, I am heartened by the tweet from Breznican, and also from a poster on my Depp forum who claims to have seen a small photo and says the makeup wasn't nearly as "intense" in that photo (I can't guarantee the veracity of the latter person but have no real reason to doubt him).  Either way, I am reminding myself that this is a *vampire* who's walking out in the *sun*, so it's not quite a normal environment for the guy.  I am thinking that either this is one point in Barnabas' treatment that makes him look this way, and/or he will look much different on film with the proper lighting.  But I'm afraid that this is a very late stage of the filming, so they are not just trying out looks at this point.

At any rate, this is just my own guess but I wouldn't expect them to rush out official photos just based on the reactions of the last few days.  I don't think Tim or Johnny care much about the media's first impressions and will probably just continue to do their own thing (don't get me wrong, I still would love to see official photos and hope they do surface soon!)  The first glimpses of both Sweeney Todd and Alice's Mad Hatter brought fairly negative reactions, too, and in both cases, especially Alice, it took awhile before they released any official photos.  And Johnny very famously stood up for his Captain Jack look when the suits had all gotten nervous, so he is definitely one to stand by what he feels is right for the role. 

I think that in general, Johnny is a well loved actor, but MB is absolutely correct that there is a small but very vocal minority that loves to make fun of everything he does, especially when he works with Tim.  The oddball looks are the easy targets, but even in conventional roles there will be people who complain that he looks too bland or that this character looks or sounds too much like that character (never mind that it's his *face* and his *voice*! You never hear these complaints about people like Tom Cruise or George Clooney who pretty much look and sound the same in every role-- somehow for Johnny some people always expect more).  I've learned to just disregard these kinds of remarks but I can see how they would be disturbing if you're not used to seeing them. 

I forgot to mention, for what it's worth, that the World Premiere of The Rum Diary has been announced to take place on Oct. 13 at the LA County Museum of Art.  Johnny is expected to attend, and there will probably be press conferences and interviews going on at this time.  Though of course the emphasis will be on The Rum Diary, since DS filming will be done (I think), he may be more inclined to talk a little more about it, and I wonder if since he's a producer of both films, he may talk about both films in that context at all, too.  Just a thought, so stay tuned for about a month from now!

Actually, there was intense uproar and leaping-to-conclusions when a tiny clip of shooting from Interview With The Vampire showed Tom Cruise as this hideous creature who resembled a zombie.  But...context is everything.

I didn't think there would be a poll on this issue. I may have worded the questions differently.
http://www.nola.com/movies/index.ssf/2011/09/poll_should_dark_shadows_fans.html

A completed poll for what it is worth: http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/debbiedowner/news/?a=46445

I saw an article about the Johnny Depp photos linked from my msn.com newspage this morning. I guess I'm really not surprised at all. It looks like the character will be in keeping with his performances as Willy Wonka and the Mad Hatter  -  in movies I was curious about because I love the books, but decided I really wasn't interested in seeing the more I read and saw about them. I liked Johnny Depp in "The Ninth Gate," and he seemed fine in "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," although I didn't care much for the movie. Other than having an interesting visual sense, there hasn't been much else that has interested me in Tim Burton. He didn't seem like the right choice for "Dark Shadows" material, Mr. Depp didn't seem right to me as Barnabas Collins, and the writer of this movie seems entirely miscast to deal with the scope, characterizations, or tone of "Dark Shadows". I understand that this will be a new interpretation that may appeal to a new audience, but I'll personally hold a distance from the movie and not allow it to affect my admiration for the original show.

Johnny Depp In 'Dark Shadows' Pics: Creepy, Weird, Or Both?

Finally a blogger who's sensible enough to say: "let us not judge Dark Shadows on a mere set picture snapped by paparazzi - Depp, who next appears in The Rum Diary, said that his new take on Barnabas Collins wouldn't diverge greatly from the orginal."


And on Twitter it's nice to see tweets that have nothing to do with the paparazzi photos:

PlinkLondon Plink London
Nxt week we're off to @PinewoodStudios to interview sculptor Bruce Gordon! He's worked on Batman Begins, Troy and Dark Shadows! Tweet ur qs!
15 hours ago

Ff_JMills Jack Mills
Drilled on the set of #JohnnyDepp new film #DarkShadows this week! And got a free mug! Result! Lol yfrog.com/klmajdzj
7 hours ago

His profile says he's a full-time firefighter, so I presume that means there was a fire drill and not that he used the power tool.  

238 days 0 hours 2 minutes 17 seconds until the day the Depp/Burton Dark Shadows is released(ET)!!

I put one of the photos through a few filters and it seems they can adjust the makup to whatever hue they prefer. I think the movie will be filtered to death ala Sweeny and I hope it is. That's what I want to see. It looks like they are actually going for a very Frid look. The dark makeup on the sides appears to be an attempt to give him that shallow Frid-ness we know so well. The main thing causing the Jackson comparisons is the skin plus hat, glasses and hair. Fortunately, Barnabas isn't likely to parade around the entire movie wearing shades, a hat and a long green coat. Barnabas will probably go through several transformations and looks. This is a big budget movie and he doesn't have to stick to a uniform the way he did on tv. I'm getting more and more intrigued. I like Tim Burton's visual sensibility very much and I'm glad they seem to be doing some very audacious things while staying tradional. I can barely watch DS '91 now it's so visualy conservative and boring to look at.

When I first heard about this movie I was very excited about it. Then I became worried and so many cast members talking about how funny the script is, not this.

Now I'm over it. I don't care. I may see it, I may not. I have the original show and have no plans to get rid of it. This is just more proof that Hollywood is completely out of ideas. Johnny Depp and Tim Burton's egos and bigger than their Iqs if they think they can make a better Dark Shadows than Dan Curtis. If they don't think that why would they re-make? Planet Of The Apes, Alice, and Wonka were all very bad so why should I expect any different with this. When I look at IMDB I see that I haven't really liked anything they've done in years.

There's a better chance this will be bad then good. Maybe it will be good, maybe not. I just don't care anymore.

I seriously doubt that Barnabas will show up at Collinwood and introduce himself to Liz looking like Michael Jackson. Let's see the film before we judge.

We say we want to see a another DS, yet many complained about the NBC version, the WB pilot, and now this.
Do we want a new DS or don't we?

Maybe if Burton cast 86 year old Frid & Joan Bennett's skeleton as Barnabas & Liz it would make people happy?

I almost fell out of my chair when I read that last bit, David!  


KTeeartist K-Tee
Just been asked to work on Tim Burtons new film Dark Shadows!! Jobs are like buses!!
3 hours ago

Her profile lists her as an up and coming artist in the London area who paints about real life and who also works on big budget movies, so I wonder what she'll be doing?


DG_Creatives DickGeorgeCreatives
#ff is @Clothesonfilm-great articles! Waiting for a prop or 2 of ours to be mentioned on there! #watchthisspace for #darkshadows!
1 hour ago

Clothesonfilm Clothes on Film
@DG_Creatives Thanks! If you have any costume info for Dark Shadows, do send it my way...
59 minutes ago

237 days 12 hours 9 minutes 12 seconds until the day the Depp/Burton Dark Shadows is released(ET)!!