WB ORDERS FILMING OF NEW DS PILOT

It's kinda strange... when that casting started trickling out I was a little blase about it, but now that filming is upon us and everything, I'm sooooooooo excited about the whole thing.  Seriously, when I heard today's news, I was grinning from ear to ear.

Suddenly the project really seems to have so much going for it - it's shaping up to be such an exciting time

I love Jane Seymour (have since the first moment I laid eyes on her in Somewhere in Time (I completely identified with Christopher Reeves' character  )). She could make a great Liz. But is she old enough to play Martin Donovan's older sister (presuming Liz is older)?
(Though...a younger sister holding the purse strings and controlling the family could make for some great sibling conflict.)

I really liked AllMyShadows' idea of Frances Fisher as Julia. But now that Alec Newman has been cast as Barn, at 51 she's probably too old to play opposite him.    But I'm sure they'll come up with someone equally as interesting for the role.

As for Joe, I haven't got a clue who might fit the bill...
[spoiler]Wonder if he'll be killed off as quickly as he was in the '91 series - and then possibly the actor will be recast as a Chris Jennings type, as was the plan with Michael T. Weiss?[/spoiler]

Thank you for agreeing with me about Jane Seymour!  I thought she was old enough since I knew she was already in her early 40's when she had her twins several years ago, but I checked her age on the IMDB to make sure, and according to her birthdate listed there, February 15, 1951, she is indeed old enough at 53!  Cool!  (Although rather crushing to think of her being in her 50's now -- ack!!  I always wanted to be her.  Sigh.  LOL!)

Frances Fisher would be a perfect Julia!  (Well, unless someone's found a way to clone Grayson Hall!  LOL!)  Yeah, too bad she's a little too old for Alec Newman, though. 

The only actor who comes to mind for me right now for Joe (your spoiler too!) is Brian Presley who used to be Jack on "Port Charles."  Although that name won't mean much to most people, probably, since PC had such low ratings, unfortunately.  But then, I'd never heard of any of the actors they've already cast so far before either!  LOL!

Mary
(extremely crushed to be in my 40's now -- LOL!)

Here are some links for those of you unfamiliar with Blair Brown:

Canadians.ca - Blair Brown

Interview With Blair Brown
(Love how this one starts: "Once again Tony Award-winning actor Blair Brown finds herself communicating with the spirit world.")

Blair Brown Picture Page
(My, my, Liz - check out those R rated pics! (age verification required))

Blair Brown - TV Tome
(Oh, so boring in comparison!  )

Books on tape narrated by Blair Brown

Celebrities @ Hollywood.com-Featuring Blair Brown

CABARET welcomes Blair Brown...

Blair Brown needs to watch more TV
(Contains possibly the best line of all: "She can walk on a set, do nothing and take control.")

Blair Brown?!  Well, uh, yeah, she is a very good choice actually, but I just wasted, like, a half-hour carefully wording my Jane Seymour post!  LOL!

Mary

I checked her age on the IMDB to make sure, and according to her birthdate listed there, February 15, 1951, she is indeed old enough at 53!

Really? I had no idea.

The only actor who comes to mind for me right now for Joe (your spoiler too!) is Brian Presley who used to be Jack on "Port Charles."  Although that name won't mean much to most people, probably, since PC had such low ratings

I know who he is (I watched PC). He's an excellent young actor - and has the two Daytime Emmy noms to prove it (don't remember if he ever won one, though).

A Tony Award winning actress?

As I said from the start, that casting director is no slouch.

Well, Blair Brown certainly should be on the ball on this one...she's had experience with vampires before!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0289697/combined

As I said from the start, that casting director is no slouch.

I was saying something very similar just the other day with regard to Alec Newman's casting.    And the more news we get of the casting, the more impressed I am...

Blair Brown is an excellent choice to portray Elizabeth Collins Stoddard.  This was actually the one part that I was most concerned about.  They've selected a winner.  Three great actresses, Joan Bennett, Jean Simmons and now Blair Brown.

Gerard

Blair Brown?!  Well, uh, yeah, she is a very good choice actually, but I just wasted, like, a half-hour carefully wording my Jane Seymour post!  LOL!

I would never say any of us {wastes} our posts here. lol
Thanks for that post anyway. I see you gave it a great deal of thought and time. Thanks.

I must say I'm getting very miffed at Variety. Not only haven't they reported Alec Newman's casting, but all of the people mentioned in this Reuters item were reported in Variety this evening with the exception of Blair Brown. Grrr... (Though Reuters has never mentioned Alec Newman either.  )

It's endlessly fascinating (well, to me, anyway) what the news services choose to report regarding the WB DS casting. For instance, the Sci-Fi news wire reported Marley Shelton's casting as Vicki and hasn't mentioned anything until today's item about Blair Brown. OK, yes, Vicki and Liz are important characters, and some of the actors who've been cast aren't household names. BUT, one might assume that they would have reported Alec Newman's casting as Barn, well, because Barn is possibly the most important DS role (at least in the eyes of most media types), and, well, Alec Newman starred in two of Sci-Fi's own miniseries (Dune & Children Of Dune). But no...

MB (who is possibly easily captivated by otherwise useless details  )

Blair Brown as Liz?  Okay, now I am officially excited!  Really hoping this doesn't fall through...

Given the names attached to this project, who else is thinking it's almost for sure that the new Dark Shadows will make in on the air this fall?

BTW, is it definite that the Dr. Julia Hoffman character will appear on the new show?  Sorry if I missed confirmation elsewhere on the forums of this.

It's endlessly fascinating (well, to me, anyway) what the news services choose to report regarding the WB DS casting.

Yes this DS casting is getting very frustrating. Take Shadowgram for example. The electronic newsletter had/has not initially announced  Milicevic and now Brown's casting news.(At least I have not received it as of this writing) Is Dan Curtis Productions no longer providing breaking news to Shadowgram on a regular basis? Does not seem to fair to Shadowgram to see other news entities getting the first scoop. Seems strange to me.

Well, to be fair to SG, unlike the news services, reporting news is not Marcy's job - it's a hobby. She has a "real life" (yes, such a thing does exist - even for me  ) outside of DS, and working on SG takes a back seat to that life, as it should.

When she has more news, I'm sure she'll release it as soon as her time allows...

No you took my posting out of context. I find your response to be highy offensive and uncalled for. The point of my posting raised an issue if Dan Curtis Productions was or was not providing information to Shadowgram on a timely basis. God knows how hard Marcy works on producing Shadowgram and I thank her immensly for her time and efforts.