WB ORDERS FILMING OF NEW DS PILOT

[Midnite]

Personal Demons end

No. 4  (Episode 7)
Lagos

     Lagos was a wonderful, wonderful demon, but the way his scenes ended up being shot, his hair swings in front of his face the whole time, so the audience never really gets to see him.  We had used this sort of dog makeup pattern that was all brown and tan with black spots all over the face.  The teeth were beautifully articulated to mesh together realistically, we had an amazing wig made by expert Erwin Kupitz that snapped into the fiberglass head piece with these big, curling horns on the side, and the monster had violet lenses.  It took five hours to get this man into this makeup and you never saw him!  Not being able to see him on-screen turned out to be a big disappointment for the makeup department, because the face was really interesting.  I'm happy that we have photographs and pictures to show, but it's not quite the same as having it on the screen.  Still, Lagos is one of my favorite demons.

No. 5  (Episode 11)
Gingerbread Demon

McIntosh checks Roger Morrissey as the Gingerbread demon.

     The Hansel and Gretel demon from "Gingerbread" was a departure from what our demons generally look like.  The guy who played the part, of course, was very, very tall--he was huge.  There was a lot of body work that had to be done on him, so to apply his makeup, we ended up building a sawhorse platform that allowed him to lay down in the trailer.  He was too tall to sit comfortably in the chairs for the work we had to do.  Originally in the designs, it was decided there wasn't going to be enough in the budget to create a chest prosthetic for the creature, so we were originally just doing big, humped shoulders and a face piece, but it was soon clear to me that it wouldn't be enough.  I confided to John Vulich and Michael Pack at Optic Nerve that I really didn't think it was going to work to go from this witchy, gnarled face into a smooth body, so I pushed and pushed and they eventually found a chest made for another show that actually fit the actor.  I just love working with Optic Nerve--we have such a good rapport, I can give them suggestions and they bend over backward to help.  Combining this chest with the hump, face and finger extensions, it was really one of our favorite monsters.  It was interesting to note that when you're on the set churning out monsters each week the crew becomes blase; there's a demon in full makeup wandering around the set, and nobody reacts.  But when this seven-foot tall Hansel and Gretel thing came out of the trailer, everyone posed with him.  We have Polaroids by the thousands.  Every cast and every crew member all wanted their picture taken with him.  He was really fun.

[jase]

If I may, it's been a very long time for me:

Very nice choices so far.  No one could handle a subhuman, badly Chromakey-ed William Hurt like Blair Brown.  I'm sorry, I love her.  And Martin Donovan, well, there's no comparison.  Brilliant man.  And then there's Marley Shelton, who stunk up the horrible Valentine.  Other than that, I am cautiously interested.

I have never had any patience for Smallville but any fool knows that these properties (yes, even Tarzan, etc) must be updated if they are to be re-done and ported to a contemporary audience, and that means removing Dan Curtis from a large portion of the equation so we never, ever have to witness the "cops with crosses and stakes" scene from HODS again.  Mark Verheiden has done fine work prior to Smallville and PJ Hogan is brilliant.  There is an innate, huge franchise value in Dark Shadows and always has been - it's just a matter of changing up the story, and weeding out the most tired elements (and people involved, ahem) .

The gauze and thick smoke cinematography barely flew in '91, and it will not fly now - the romance itself has to be about more than a guy sitting around the decrepit manor property and Vicki thinking, 'wow, how sexy' and not 'wow, I should call the cops.'  Barnabas can't go around killing everybody anymore while Julia says things like 'you had to' - what happened to Daphne in '91 would be unacceptable now.  He can't only fixate on Vicki because of Josette.  He can't be a complete psycho, basically, because it will not work.  It cannot be episode upon episode of Barnabas sitting in the easy chair from 1684 and drinking port while talking about how the past fascinates him, trilling lines about endless love beyond time, etc.  DCP probably wants that, but it can't fly anymore.

In short:Yes, the WB can be cancerous, but this kind of modernization is a necessary step.  You cannot leave this up to Dan Curtis.

A part of me is still very skeptical, as I'm not sure DS as a serial can ever fly again as long as A. the new guard does not understand the magic of the original, insane series and B. the old guard refuses to step back.  There has to be a happy medium.

And that's all you're getting out of me for another five years.  Or maybe until fall.

[Josette]

Look at the merchandise sales, convention attendance figures, Sci-Fi viewing figures, and you'll see that "Dark Shadows" is very much a fringe fandom.

I don't think that merchandise sales and the other items mentioned reflect the overall fandom.  I'm sure there are many who would love to watch the show but who don't actually go to conventions and buy items.  I'm quite involved here, but except for a  couple of the books I've never bought anything.

As to watching on SciFi - number one, they never really advertised it.  I'm sure many old fans have no idea it was on.  And, it was on when most would be going to work.  However much they might have loved it, they might not be that big of fans to tape it every day and add it to whatever else they have to do.

Still, once they learn that a new version will be on, I'm sure many old-time fans would want to tune in and check it out.

[Midnite]

ShadowGram (SG) announces the following breaking news for Dark Shadows (DS).

--- 2004 DARK SHADOWS PILOT IN PRODUCTION
The highly-anticipated new 1-hour DS pilot for the WB Network began filming April 2 in the Los Angeles area. This ShadowGram Online Updates List and SG print issues have detailed this project as it developed and will continue to do so.

In addition to those cast members previously announced on this List are new performers: Blair Brown (Elizabeth), Jason Shaw (Joe Haskell), Jenna Dewan (Sophia - new character), and Alexis Thorpe (Kelly Greer - new character). The performers to play Dr. Julia Hoffman and Sheriff George Patterson will be confirmed in the next week or two.

Following are selected acting credits for the new DS performers:

Blair Brown - TV: The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd, Feds, The White Oaks of Jalna. Film: Dogville, Space Cowboys, Random Hearts, Stealing Home, Continental Divide, Altered States, One Trick Pony, The Paper Chase.

Jason Shaw - TV: E! Entertainment Television correspondent (Fashion TV). Film: Save Me A Seat. Plus many television commercials and professional modeling.

Jenna Dewan - TV: Boston Public. Film: The Hot Chick, Hip Hopera: Carmen.

Alexis Thorpe - TV: Days of Our Lives, The Young and the Restless. Film: American Wedding, Rocky & Bullwinkle, The Forsaken, Pretty Cool.

[jase]

Oh, thank God.  Alexis Thorpe.  How wonderful for her, after having been mauled and stuffed into a pinata by the Botox horror that is Deidre Hall.

[Midnite]

Jason Shaw with ex-fiancee Paris Hilton:
http://www.americanphoto.co.jp/pages/celeb/K/Previews/Plans-52821.jpg


Alexis Thorpe (2001)

Alexis Thorpe (2003)


A fan page:
www.jennadewan.com

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Apparently Jason Shaw is all over the Web. Rather than post links to sites, just go here to see the results of a Google search.

Though, those of you wondering if he can follow in a certain Don Briscoe/Chris Pennock department (and, as always, you know who you are  ) might want to check this one out first:

Solis Indepth with Jason Shaw 

[Midnite]

Bio and photo of dancer Jenna Dewan:
http://www.showstopperonline.com/where/where_3.html

(Scroll to 4th entry)


Official site:
www.jennadewanonline.com

[WileyS]

I have not posted here in a long time but I am so excited about the possibility of a new Dark Shadows. I love the casting thus far and am THRILLED about Alexis Thorpe's casting...I loved her work on Days of our Lives from the start right up to her high profiled, completely tasteless write-off this past fall.

Wiley

[Mary]

after having been mauled and stuffed into a pinata by the Botox horror that is Deidre Hall.

LOL!!   

[Mary]

I don't think that merchandise sales and the other items mentioned reflect the overall fandom.  I'm sure there are many who would love to watch the show but who don't actually go to conventions and buy items.  I'm quite involved here, but except for a  couple of the books I've never bought anything.

As to watching on SciFi - number one, they never really advertised it.  I'm sure many old fans have no idea it was on.  And, it was on when most would be going to work.  However much they might have loved it, they might not be that big of fans to tape it every day and add it to whatever else they have to do.

Still, once they learn that a new version will be on, I'm sure many old-time fans would want to tune in and check it out.

I agree, I think there are many fans out there who don't go to the conventions, aren't online, and/or don't buy the merchandise.  Plus, there are still people out there (like me!) who don't have cable so were unable to watch DS on Sci Fi.  I do hope they check out the new version on the WB, though I know many were not interested in the '91 NBC version at the time.  But I'm hoping that this new version will be more of a re-imagining, and that once people see that they're not just filming the HODS script again (hopefully!  Love the movie, but we need something new.), they'll be more inclined to check it out.

[Josette]

They list Boston Public for Jenna Dewan.  I've seen all of that, so I looked up to see who she was.  She's not amongst the regulars, so I checked through all the episodes and can't find her listed as a guest performer either.

They don't list any new regulars for season 4, so I suppose that's a possibility.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

They don't list any new regulars for season 4, so I suppose that's a possibility.

Variety's Web site lists that appearance in her resume like this:

Show: Boston Public (Series (60 minutes) / FOX / 03/04)
Episode: Chapter Seventy-Seven
Role: Luwanda
Aired: 01/16/2004

And Variety's synopsis for that episode says:

Premise: Marlo starts her in-vitro fertilization process. A very rebellious female student joins the student body. An incredible student sues the school when she is forced to share her honor society presidency with a black wheelchair bound student.


Does any of that refresh your memory? 

[jennifer]

Wow new people that gives me hope that they will take it to a new place!

jennifer

[Josette]

Variety's Web site lists that appearance in her resume like this:

Show: Boston Public (Series (60 minutes) / FOX / 03/04)
Episode: Chapter Seventy-Seven
Role: Luwanda
Aired: 01/16/2004

And Variety's synopsis for that episode says:

Premise: Marlo starts her in-vitro fertilization process. A very rebellious female student joins the student body. An incredible student sues the school when she is forced to share her honor society presidency with a black wheelchair bound student.

Does any of that refresh your memory? 

Yes, I remember all of those stories, but I don't recall who Luwanda was.  I went back to the episode listing and that character isn't named, so maybe it was a bit part.  The other possibility is that she was the "rebellious female student" but I think she was in the next episode, too.


[On edit - I went back to the listings and determined the character's name for the rebellious one, and it's not Luwanda.]