Next up For Burton/Depp

[Mysterious Benefactor]

MB, if you happen to find where it was previously reported, I'd be interested to see that.

I've searched online, but for some reason I can't seem to locate it. Maybe I actually read it in print in a magazine - though I was sure it was online.    But for what it's worth, if I'm remembering the details of what I read correctly, William Goldstein, who wrote the novelizations of the two original Phibes films along with some other Phibes books, had come up with a story (no Seth Grahame-Smith involvement, Cousin_Barnabas ) which WB optioned. WB even already had a producer (whose name I don't recall) on the project, and together WB and the producer approached Depp/Burton, who expressed their definite interest in coming on board.

[madscntst]

I actually just did a Google search and found this article in the Chicago Tribune, by Liz Smith, from May of 2012:

Will Depp and Burton rise again with 'Dr. Phibes'?

Hmm, well, Liz Smith is certainly more reputable than a tabloid, but I still think she's mainly a columnist more so than a hard news reporter, and she was presenting this as a rumor in her article.  It does seem believable that they were pitching the idea to Burton/Depp, but even if they're interested, it seemed like less than a solid commitment as of last year.  On the other hand, the fact that there is still buzz about it a year later does seem to give it more cred.  (I honestly don't remember this rumor at all, but what can I say, my memory is terrible    )  So, thanks for pointing out that this was already mentioned last year, MB- I'm a little less skeptical now, but still will take a wait-and-see attitude for now.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Very interesting. What I read was several months back, but definitely not that far back, and definitely not from Liz Smith (she wasn't even credited as a source) - and it wasn't presented as rumor. But then, we also know how some sites can spin rumor as fact. 

Also, it's interesting that that article came up for you, but neither it nor what I read did for me. Though like I said, maybe I really did read it in print. But if I did, it would have been in something like Entertainment Weekly, Empire, or Total Film because those are pretty much the only film magazines I read with any regularity.

[Patti Feinberg]

First: Magnus, what did you think of Dr. Phibes?

Next...don't remember who posted; Johnny Depp (who I strongly enjoy) re-doing "Thin Man"....N O, k?

It's been a while since I've seen Phibes; I believe I'll Amazonit to see how much it is (cuz once the re-do gets going, the price will increase).

Patti

[Patti Feinberg]

It wouldn't let me copy; but after I put in Dr. Phibes, one of the listings was a multi-pack:
MGM Scream Legends Collections:
Abominal Dr. Phibes, Theatre of Blood, Madhouse, Witchfinder General, and more.

I've never even heard of Witchfinder, so cool for me!!

(Too bad, one of the collections I noticed has Pit & Pendulum, et al, which I want to buy at some soonish date.)

Patti

[Patti Feinberg]

Regarding the above mentioned Price/Corman pics (P&P, Raven, Masque of Red Death):

$14.00 includes shipping...I had to!!

Patti...the wimp, or, the woman who works hard & now only has time to read text-books, so I want movies.

[MagnusTrask]

First: Magnus, what did you think of Dr. Phibes?

Phibes 1 was great, a better cooler Phantom of the Opera.  Phibes 2 was silly (suddenly Phibes has magical powers, and waves his hand and reconstitutes his dead woman sidekick), but I was glad to see it anyway.

That movie set actually sounds affordable, but buying online confounds me.   Is it easy, can you just give a debit card #?   PayPal/eBay involve too much eye work and figuring out for me.

[KMR]

I had seen the first Phibes movie on TV many, many years ago. Then I saw it on DVD about a year or two ago, having forgotten most of it. I found it rather silly. But this seems like it would be something right up Burton's alley, and I think he could really have a lot of fun with it make something quite entertaining.

[dom]

I saw Phibe's at the drive-in back in the day and couldn't watch it - for me it was uninteresting - I may have seen it on a double bill with THE LEGEND OF BOGGY CREEK - which I found totally awesome. I think I was at the age where Phibes seemed too dated and corny - too Hammer-ish. I can't even imagine today why someone would want to remake it. I should check it out to see what I missed. Obviously it had some merit.

[Cousin_Barnabas]

The difference between Shadows and Phibes is that Phibes was always a dark comedy and Shadows never was.

[Uncle Roger]

I vividly remember the ad campaign that mocked the tag line for Love Story: Love Means Never Having to Say You're Ugly.

[MagnusTrask]

I only saw Phibes for the first time in 2013, and I'll defend it to the last fiber of my being, or something.   Gruesome ironic murders by a guy with no face who eats through his neck never get old.  Maybe you saw the bad sequel, dom.

[Patti Feinberg]

Magnus...glad to hear you really enjoyed it.
I've been buying through Amazon for more than a decade; yes, you can either pay by check or debit card. It's usually about $3-5 shipping, so for me getting the multi-pack movies, it's a real deal. I prefer to use Amazon v. PayPal/ebay, same for me.

dom...ask our mysterious benefactor if I can ??download??  it to a flash drive & I'll mail it to you
(cause you're d o m !!)

Patti

[KMR]

I vividly remember the ad campaign that mocked the tag line for Love Story: Love Means Never Having to Say You're Ugly.

Wasn't that "Love means never having to say you're gory"?

[KMR]

The difference between Shadows and Phibes is that Phibes was always a dark comedy and Shadows never was.

Quite true. Which does make Phibes and Burton a better match than DS and Burton.

Although, I must say that the more I make my way through the original series now (which I haven't done since it originally aired), I am quite astonished at how many little details from, and parallels with, the original series that got worked into the Burton film, and make me like it even more, in spite of the occasional spells of broad comedy.  (As an example of a parallel that I just discovered:  in the OS, when discussing Vicki's arrival at the Collins estate in 1795, one of the characters remarks about the governess' name being different from what they had been led to believe it would be before she arrived, and that the name "Victoria Winters" came into her head after her carriage overturned.  In the film, Vicki--who has apparently been expected--uses a name that she seems to have though up on the train; of course, why the discrepancy isn't noted by anyone at Collinwood remains a mystery...)