Depp/Burton DARK SHADOWS Is In Production!!

[Cousin_Barnabas]

This is an article everyone should read:

http://www.hollywoodnews.com/2012/03/04/warner-bros-hides-tim-burtons-dark-shadows/

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I couldn't agree more with much of what that article says. In fact, sometimes when the marketing of a film already gets oversaturated 6 or more months before it opens, it gets to the point as the opening comes near that you don't even want to see the film because you're so sick of hearing about it. There was a lot to be said of the old way of marketing films where trailers and TV ads never appeared until a few weeks before a film opened in your area. It built up anticipation exactly when it was necessary - and when the opening came you were still really excited to see a film. And though I'd definitely like to see a trailer before March 30th, who knows, maybe Warner Brothers does plan to wait until Wrath of the Titans to release one. I suppose we'll see...

Thanks for the link, Cousin_Barnabas. 

67 days 6 hours 22 minutes 28 seconds until the day the Depp/Burton Dark Shadows is released(ET)!!

[Cousin_Barnabas]

Of course, MB.  It was too good not to share!

Well, there was a time when DS fans wouldn't have ever thought of uploading scans of photos from a new PomPress book because they respected copyright... so something tells me she's not exactly happy that they're transversing the Internet.

And they are!  I cannot believe how many sites have picked them up and are running them.  I have seen efforts by some of our friends at this Forum to inform these sites that this material was taken without permission, but I don't think it will do much good...  Not until KLS orders a cease and desist to the offending websites.  And, by that time, such an effort would be in vain since most people who want to see them will have seen them. 

I think this event will prove to be a real turn-off for KLS.  I can't imagine releasing a book and then having a huge chunk of its selling factor obliterated. 

[Taeylor Collins]

Love the article thanks so much!!!

[ClaudeNorth]

Here's a nice little article that puts a positive spin on the studio's promotional strategy:
[see Reply #2445 for the link  --admin]

[PennyDreadful]

Yikes, didn't realize those new photos were from KLS' book and that she didn't want them posted.  Not knowing this, I already "shared" one of the pics on Facebook (they are all over the place now).  I will take it down asap. 

Speaking of those pics, is it my imagination or does David Selby have sideburns?  If so, that is fantastic!

[Cousin_Barnabas]

Penny, I think that has become the case all over the Internet.  So, I am sure it's nothing to worry about.  But, it's good to know that there are folks out there who are doing the right thing when they find out!

[Gothick]

Maybe I'm wrong, but I really doubt that KLS will lose a "huge chunk" of sales because of those scans being posted on the Web/s.  If anything, I would think the scans will make more people aware of and curious about the book than would ever have heard of it otherwise.

In this day and age, having content on the Web doesn't keep consumers from buying your product.  She should view it as part of getting the book promoted.  Lots of people browse books in bookshops without ever going to the cash register and making a purchase.  Having a couple of images available online is really no different than having copies of the book out on a table for customers to examine.  OK, so in an extreme case an individual may print that photo out and put it in their personal scrapbook (or more likely add it to an online file of DS memorabilia), but I bet that the person who would do that would also want a copy of the physical book for their collection.  Particularly if they're a DS fan in the first place, as we're being told there are so many new photos from the golden days published in this volume.

Just my take on it.  Of course I do feel sorry for her anguish, but I think in some ways she is out of touch with how the Internet works vis-a-vis commerce.

G.

[michael c]

interesting point...

there is something tactile about a book that no online image can effectively reproduce. the book itself has value to a collector. to say nothing of trying to reproduce the text online.

DS fans like to have the "stuff". the books and cds and comics. they're collectible in their own right. and we are a rather undeserved fanbase in terms of product. mpi certainly hasn't improved those circumstances(unless they're still trying to hawk the 1997 christmas ornament or those stupid plates).

i've seen the pictures and i'll probably buy the book anyways.

[Cousin_Barnabas]

Maybe I'm wrong, but I really doubt that KLS will lose a "huge chunk" of sales because of those scans being posted on the Web/s. 

While she may not lose a "huge chunk of sales", she is going to lose a huge chunk of initial interest from fans of the new film who would buy this for the "behind the scenes" photographs.  With this book, KLS had the opportunity to go beyond the "DS fan" and enter new territory - buyers who are fans of Depp, Burton and the new film.  Those people may be interested in the history and the accounts of the new film, but many of them would seem to want it just to get their hands on those pictures.  (Some of the posters at IMDB are proof of this.) 

In the pre-copyright-free-for-all days, books like this would sell because someone would say that there are "cool" behind the scenes photos, and then people would order the book to see those pictures.  I know that I was going to place an order for the book on Monday.  But now, having seen the pictures - quite inadvertently actually, I am going to put it off.  My initial interest was lost when I saw these pictures posted, not once, but a dozen times over.  I can read the accounts later.  I can see the newly discovered original series photos later.  There's nothing pressing about either.  What would have made me buy this book right away was the fact that there were behind the scenes photos from the new film, images I would like to have seen as soon as possible.  I have now seen those photos.  And while I'd much rather see them in the printed book, the whole surprise element is over.   

In this type of industry, every purchase makes a difference - especially the early ones.  And there are going to be a lot of people who were only interested in her book so they could catch a glimpse of those behind the scenes photos.  Like I said, I still want the book, but having seen these photos in dozens of articles has killed a lot of my initial interest - and that is the sad reality of the Internet age.

What's worse is that a great many of the articles don't even mention that these images are from her book.  So that is definitely not helping KLS in anyway. 

But I am digressing.  Imagine if they charged for a sneak preview of the DS trailer.  I'd probably pay a buck to see it before the general public...  But I don't want to give them any ideas.   

[Mysterious Benefactor]

It's pretty much a given that fans like us are most likely going to buy the book. And I seriously doubt KLS is worried about any of us seeing the three film-related photos online and because of that deciding not to eventually buy the book, especially when she knows that we're also interested in the other types of photos in the book. What I suspect is her fear is what I mentioned earlier: the Depp fan or the person who might only be interested in the film-related photos who will gratefully get copies of the photos online and say to themselves that finding them online saved them $25 that they might have otherwise paid had they first come across them while browsing the book in a bookstore. She fears she may be losing some of those spur of the moment/impulse sales from the non-DS public. Otherwise I don't see why she would have requested the photos be taken down from that DS group on Facebook  - and particularly why some of the Web sites now featuring the photos are finding themselves being notified that the photos were put online without PomPress' permission. Though whether the latter will result in even one of the sites taking the photos down is probably doubtful. Well, unless the situations progress beyond the mere notification phase. And who knows if PomPress wants to go that route or simply suck it up and accept some lost sales?

And as to the matter of KLS and PomPress possibly seeing the appearance of the photos on various Web sites as some sort of promotional tool, I suspect that's not the case in any way because, as Cousin_Barnabas pointed out, most of the sites aren't even aware that they're from her book, much less pointing that out. In fact, several of the sites I've come across are under the mistaken impression that, as was the case with all the previous photos that have shown up online, the three latest photos were released online directly by Warner Brothers to promote the film.

66 days 23 hours 24 minutes 15 seconds until the day the Depp/Burton Dark Shadows is released(ET)!!

[Gothick]

Wow.  Those sites aren't crediting that the scans came from KLS' book?

People really are beyond me...

G.

[Cousin_Barnabas]

No.  A lot have just picked them up and are just posting them with a synopsis or mentions of the previous photos. 

In fact the most egregious entry says...

The first few come from  scans of Empire magazine, the others from… they’re not telling. Looks like some kind of commemorative booklet or similar.

And this site include the full images of the Vanity Fair photos to boot, though it says they are from Empire!  Nothing will stop some people, not even a lack of cited sources. 

But on the note of the Vanity Fair pictures, I have to say I am a little wowed with Angelique's outfit.  For those who have seen the full photo, I'm sure you know what I mean...  That is risqué no matter what decade she's in...  Is that actually something from the '70s?

[madscntst]

Seeing this from the Depp fan side of things, I personally do not feel that KLS would be losing any sales from them/us.  Truth be told, I don't think most Depp fans even know about the book.  I certainly don't see it being posted about or discussed very much.  But if they *do* learn about the book, I'll bet as Gothick would that more fans would want to get the book to have a copy of those photos than would otherwise buy the book.  Many Depp fans, especially those of us of a certain age, like to collect books and magazines that have cool Depp content.  (True, some younger fans may not be as willing to buy what they can get for free, as they are more apt to have the internet mindset, but even there, there tends to be a huge temptation to own things like this). 

The problem, of course, is the lack of giving proper credit to KLS or the book.  From what I have seen, folks are just enjoying the photos without knowing or caring where they are from.  I made mention of the book when I posted on the Depp forum that I belong to, but I didn't see it being discussed on the Johnny Depp Zone, for instance.  That's a shame, because they would potentially be a new group of buyers, if they knew about the book.  Perhaps someone will come up with that information in the future, and some will decide to purchase the book.

There will always be folks like Cousin Barnabas, who after seeing the photos, may decide to hold off in making a purchase.  But I think that there are other fans, who will see the photos as a selling point.  I must confess that I myself, while I was planning to purchase the book, had not really gotten around to doing so, and I wasn't really paying attention to when it'd be released.  But after the photos I placed my order (albeit with Amazon, where I will get it later but cheaper  )  In fact, there are book publishers that will allow a preview to be viewed on Amazon, because sometimes seeing a preview may *help* sales.  At worst, as Gothick says, it's really no different than being in a book store or a library.  But again, the proper credit is key, and I wish that could be rectified.

[madscntst]

In fact, as I think about it, maybe what KLS should've done would be to publicize the book by voluntarily showing a very small low resolution photo, perhaps with a Pomegranate Press watermark, of one or more of those photos, on one of those comic book sites, or even Entertainment Weekly.  This would really get the info out there that her book would contain images from the new movie, and at the same time she would have a platform to announce that there were newly found photos from the OS as well.  In other words, get the word out there to the more mainstream audience who might not know about the book because they aren't visiting DS boards.  And if folks only had a tiny photo to look at, they could decide whether they'd want to get the book to be able to look at the "real thing."  Just my $.02.