For the Dark Shadows fans

[Lee]

There is an article in September's More magazine (which I subscribe to) that caught my eye:

http://www.more.com/maybe-barnabas-was-worth-it

I recognized Kathryn Leigh Scott right away. She played, I'd would say, my favorite character on Dark Shadows, Josette DuPres. I always thought that she was so pretty & she really hasn't changed much over the years. And she's right about Barnabas, too.

There is also a link to a Stevie article at the bottom which may have already been posted here; I'm not sure.

Lee :)

[vivfox]

I loved Dark Shadows. I watched the series from beginning to end in 1995-96 when it was played on the SciFi channel and it stood the test of time.

[Jondalar]

They are making a Dark Shadows right now. It should be out soon.

[MacShadowsBall]

Yay!!!! the Ledge has some DS fans!!! I know vivfox and holidayroad are fans, and Lee is too (and a Big Brother fan).

All the DS stars have aged really well especially Lara Parker, aka Angelique. She's like 70 year old and hot! :nod:

Are you guys aware of the new Dark Shadows movie coming next year starring Johnny Depp as Barnabas Collins?

[paleshadow]

My mom was addicted to Dark Shadows, so growing up I was kind of forced to watch it. Certain things about the show always stuck with me, including the opening theme and Josette's music box. I tried to start watching it on netflix, but have to admit, I just couldn't get into it. I did; however, stream the revival series from the early 90's. Unfortunately it was only 12 episodes and just when I was getting into it, it was over.

[vivfox]

My mom was addicted to Dark Shadows, so growing up I was kind of forced to watch it. Certain things about the show always stuck with me, including the opening theme and Josette's music box. I tried to start watching it on netflix, but have to admit, I just couldn't get into it. I did; however, stream the revival series from the early 90's. Unfortunately it was only 12 episodes and just when I was getting into it, it was over.


Well to each his own but comparing the pathetic remake to the original is like certain board members claiming the Time version of Fleetwood Mac was better than the Rumours era version.:wavey:

[MacShadowsBall]

Good analogy vivfox,

I've seen bits and pieces of the '90 remake, but the original is what is in my heart and soul. It has been a part of my life since I was a child and I'm now 27 yrs old.

Besides Barnabas, who are your favorite characters?

[vivfox]

Good analogy vivfox,

Besides Barnabas, who are your favorite characters?


All of them at one time or another. The ones who will always stand out in my mind are Barnabas ofcourse and Carolyn, Angelique, Julia & Quentin.

[paleshadow]

Well to each his own but comparing the pathetic remake to the original is like certain board members claiming the Time version of Fleetwood Mac was better than the Rumours era version.:wavey:


If by pathetic you mean that they didn't have microphones coming down during the scenes, or people screwing up their lines constantly like in the original, you're absolutely right! :laugh: I'll never understand why people feel the need to argue things that are just a matter of personal preference, but as you said, to each his own.

[MacShadowsBall]

The ones who will always stand out in my mind are Barnabas ofcourse and Carolyn, Angelique, Julia & Quentin.

Carolyn is an interesting choice. While I adore Nancy Barrett's acting and the 5 characters she portrayed, Carolyn's character just didn't quite jump off the page for me. Though she is attractive epecially that faboulous hair style she had in the B&W episodes. :nod:

Angelique is one of my favs, also. Julia's a fav too esp w/Barnabas. Quentin is okay. He always seemed to be so angry shouting a lot.

If by pathetic you mean that they didn't have microphones coming down during the scenes, or people screwing up their lines constantly like in the original, you're absolutely right! :laugh: I'll never understand why people feel the need to argue things that are just a matter of personal preference, but as you said, to each his own.

I don't think anybody's really arguing. :shrug: The bloopers from the original were because the show was taped virtually live, meaning in one take, straight through, no stopping. So yeah line blubs, flies, things falling down and over all made their way onto the screen and through the speakers.

I believe the whole remake series is available on youtube so maybe I'll check it out.

[Travisevian]

I've adored Dark Shadows since the age of ten. My favourite characters are Elizabeth, Dr. Julia Hoffman, Carolyn, Roger(so dry and prissy), Angelique and of course, Barnabas Collins.

[caroline79]

Quentin was always my favorite...;)
My mom loved Dark Shadows so that's how I got into it. Now I love just about any soap opera. I'm really hoping the movie doesn't suck. I like Johnny Depp and all but....I don't know how I feel about him being Barnabas. It could really go either way. I always think of the part when Quentin's ghost first appears and the two kids (David & whoever) are talking to him on the phone. If that scene were done today it could be amazing, or it could be really cheesy.

Guess we will have to wait and see.

[Jondalar]

the dark shadow movie info


In 1752, the Collins family sails from Liverpool, England to the United States of America. The son, Barnabas, grows up to be a wealthy playboy in Collinsport, Maine and is the master of Collinwood Manor. He breaks the heart of a witch, Angelique Bouchard, who turns him into a vampire and buries him alive. In 1972, Barnabas is freed and returns to find his manor in ruin. It is occupied by dysfunctional descendants and other residents, all of whom have dark secrets.[3]
[edit]Cast

Johnny Depp as Barnabas Collins, an 18th century vampire who awakens to the 20th century.[3] Thomas McDonell plays the young version of Barnabas.[4]
Eva Green as Angelique Bouchard, a witch whose heart Barnabas breaks.[3]
Michelle Pfeiffer as Elizabeth Collins Stoddard, the family matriarch.[3]
Jonny Lee Miller as Roger Collins, Elizabeth's "ne'er-do-well" brother.[3]
Chloë Moretz as Carolyn Stoddard, Elizabeth's rebellious teenage daughter.[3]
Gulliver McGrath as David Collins, Roger's "precocious" 10-year-old son.[3]
Helena Bonham Carter as Dr. Julia Hoffman, Elizabeth's hired live-in psychiatrist.[3]
Jackie Earle Haley as Willie Loomis, the manor's caretaker.[3]
Bella Heathcote as Victoria Winters, David's nanny.[3]
Ivan Kaye as Joshua Collins, the father of Barnabas Collins.[5]
Christopher Lee will appear in an undisclosed role, as confirmed on his official website.[6]
Alice Cooper stated on the BBC One chat show, Lee Mack's All Star Cast, that he would be shooting a small cameo. At the San Diego Comic-Con 2011, it was also confirmed that four actors from the original series will appear in the film. In June 2011, Jonathan Frid, Lara Parker, David Selby and Kathryn Leigh Scott all spent three days at Pinewood Studios to film cameo appearances.[7][8]
[edit]Production

Dark Shadows is directed by Tim Burton based on a screenplay by Seth Grahame-Smith. In July 2007, Warner Bros. acquired film rights for the gothic soap opera Dark Shadows from the estate of its creator Dan Curtis. Actor Johnny Depp was attached to star in the film.[9] The project's development was delayed by the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike. After the strike was resolved, Tim Burton was attached to direct the film.[10] By 2009, screenwriter John August was writing a screenplay for Dark Shadows.[11] In 2010, author and screenwriter Seth Grahame-Smith replaced August in writing the screenplay.[12] Filming began in May 2011. It is taking place entirely in England, both at Pinewood Studios and on location.[3]
Additional crew members are cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel, production designer Rick Heinrichs, costume designer Colleen Atwood, editor Chris Lebenzon and composer Danny Elfman.[3]
[edit]

[TrueFaith77]

Johnny Depp as Barnabus makes me ill.

More importantly, I wish the PJ Hogan pilot would be made available :(

[caroline79]

the dark shadow movie info


In 1752, the Collins family sails from Liverpool, England to the United States of America. The son, Barnabas, grows up to be a wealthy playboy in Collinsport, Maine and is the master of Collinwood Manor. He breaks the heart of a witch, Angelique Bouchard, who turns him into a vampire and buries him alive. In 1972, Barnabas is freed and returns to find his manor in ruin. It is occupied by dysfunctional descendants and other residents, all of whom have dark secrets.[3]
[edit]Cast

Johnny Depp as Barnabas Collins, an 18th century vampire who awakens to the 20th century.[3] Thomas McDonell plays the young version of Barnabas.[4]
Eva Green as Angelique Bouchard, a witch whose heart Barnabas breaks.[3]
Michelle Pfeiffer as Elizabeth Collins Stoddard, the family matriarch.[3]
Jonny Lee Miller as Roger Collins, Elizabeth's "ne'er-do-well" brother.[3]
Chloë Moretz as Carolyn Stoddard, Elizabeth's rebellious teenage daughter.[3]
Gulliver McGrath as David Collins, Roger's "precocious" 10-year-old son.[3]
Helena Bonham Carter as Dr. Julia Hoffman, Elizabeth's hired live-in psychiatrist.[3]
Jackie Earle Haley as Willie Loomis, the manor's caretaker.[3]
Bella Heathcote as Victoria Winters, David's nanny.[3]
Ivan Kaye as Joshua Collins, the father of Barnabas Collins.[5]
Christopher Lee will appear in an undisclosed role, as confirmed on his official website.[6]
Alice Cooper stated on the BBC One chat show, Lee Mack's All Star Cast, that he would be shooting a small cameo. At the San Diego Comic-Con 2011, it was also confirmed that four actors from the original series will appear in the film. In June 2011, Jonathan Frid, Lara Parker, David Selby and Kathryn Leigh Scott all spent three days at Pinewood Studios to film cameo appearances.[7][8]
[edit]Production

Dark Shadows is directed by Tim Burton based on a screenplay by Seth Grahame-Smith. In July 2007, Warner Bros. acquired film rights for the gothic soap opera Dark Shadows from the estate of its creator Dan Curtis. Actor Johnny Depp was attached to star in the film.[9] The project's development was delayed by the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike. After the strike was resolved, Tim Burton was attached to direct the film.[10] By 2009, screenwriter John August was writing a screenplay for Dark Shadows.[11] In 2010, author and screenwriter Seth Grahame-Smith replaced August in writing the screenplay.[12] Filming began in May 2011. It is taking place entirely in England, both at Pinewood Studios and on location.[3]
Additional crew members are cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel, production designer Rick Heinrichs, costume designer Colleen Atwood, editor Chris Lebenzon and composer Danny Elfman.[3]
[edit]

Did not know about that, very cool. But other then Selby's cameo are they really not putting a "Quentin" in this film? He was kind of a major player. If he is not in it that is going to be disappointing.

[Lee]

I'm digging this back up because Dark Shadows was the #5 Yahoo search today.

Here is why:

http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2011/09/14/johnny-depp-dark-shadows-tim-burton/

Still like JF better as Barnabas, but I'll go to see it when it comes out. :nod:

Lee :)

[MacShadowsBall]

That picture worries me alot. I hope they don't turn this movie into spoof/farce type movie. :distress:

[MacShadowsBall]

Here's the first official cast photo for the new Dark Shadows movie. :D

http://img2.timeinc.net/ew/i/2011/09/22/dark-shadows_810.jpg

...and the article from Entertainment Weekly.


Johnny Depp's true 'Dark Shadows' vampire revealed! -- EXCLUSIVE FIRST LOOK

by Anthony Breznican ; Photo by Leah Gallo

Behold the real visage of Johnny Depp’s vampire from Dark Shadows!

Last week, long-range paparazzi shots of the actor wearing ghostly white makeup, large sunglasses and a pulled down fedora made fans of the original 1966-71 supernatural soap opera bristle nervously, with complaints he looked simply too strange.

Nevermind that he’s playing a 200-year-old vampire, which is strange enough.

As you can see from this cast shot, Depp’s bloodsucking pater familias Barnabas Collins actually borrows heavily from the aged-little boy look of original Dark Shadows star Jonathan Frid — not that anyone would be happy to see this guy show up as your prom date either.

Still, this official First Look may reassure those die-hard fans of the original series, memorably offbeat ABC daytime drama about a vampire whose extended family are bedeviled by ghosts, witches, and other gothic woes.

Depp, who fought for years to make this movie, is one of those fans. “I do remember, very vividly, practically sprinting home from school in the afternoon to see Jonathan Frid play Barnabas Collins,” the actor says. “Even then, at that age, I knew — this has got to be weird.”

Weird certainly sums up this particular family portrait — a shot director Tim Burton, who also obsessed over Dark Shadows as a boy, staged in the early days of production.

“I remember seeing a group photograph of the cast of the original series,” he tells EW. “For me it captured the weird Dark Shadows vibe in a single image. I had a brief window of opportunity to have our cast present at the same time, the day before principle photography began. We decided to stage a similar picture instead of rehearsing, to see if we captured the Dark Shadows feeling.”

Here’s who those family members are, one by one.

Barnabas Collins (Depp) — He was an 18th century gentleman, a businessman just before the Revolutionary War, who was transformed against his will into a vampire and buried in a tomb for two centuries. After he finally emerges, uncovered by construction workers in the year 1972, he seeks out his descendants — as well as some long-ago foes and a possible lost love.

“He’s been alive this whole time and very hungry, with no idea what’s going on outside,” says screenwriter Seth Grahame-Smith (author of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, which Burton is producing as a film.)

Barnabas is one vampire who is just as frightened of our times as we are of him, says producer Richard D. Zanuck: “Two-hundred years later, he’s suddenly walking into the town he saw being built and seeing girls in skirts, cars for the first time. It’s a man-out-of-time, supernatural horror story, but I put ‘horror’ in quotes.”

Despite his confusion, he’s still a ladies man. “In some sense he can be a terrifying killer; on the other hand, women have a weakness for him and he has a weakness for women,” Grahame-Smith says. “He can be a very well-mannered, well-meaning vampire most of the time, until his stomach is empty or someone challenges his beloved Collins family.”

Dr. Julia Hoffman (Helena Bonham Carter) – From Alice in Wonderland’s Red Queen, to the cannibalistic cook Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd, Burton can’t help but cast the mother of his children as a deranged person. This prim and proper psychiatrist, who has taken up residence with the Collins family to care for their troubled youngest boy, might seem to break that trend — but don’t bet on it. “Dr. Hoffman’s been there for years, working with David [the little boy in the photo] but not making any progress. He still claims he sees ghosts and talks with his dead mother,” Grahame-Smith says. “She’s crazy but brilliant. Obviously she’s an eccentric, and definitely likes a drink or two. She’s definitely a little bit off her rocker, and is a woman with a lot of secrets herself.” The writer teases: “She’ll also become interested in Barnabas in more than one way. “

Carolyn Stoddard (Chloë Moretz) — Though she played a voracious child vampire in the acclaimed (but little seen) Let Me In, Moretz is on the human side of the spectrum in Dark Shadows — though that doesn’t mean this cousin of young David Collins (and daughter of Michelle Pfeiffer’s character, seen on the far right) isn’t without her own peculiarities. “Carolyn is your typical early-1970s teenager,” Grahame-Smith says. “She likes her music and likes her magazines, and does not like anyone in her family. She likes to keep her door closed and keep to herself. She’s pretty normal, but appearances can be deceiving. I wouldn’t say there is a normal person in this photo.”

Angelique Bouchard (Eva Green) — The Bond girl from Casino Royale turns up here as the villain of the story. “Angelique is a witch who has known Barnabas since the 1700s, when they had an affair that went sour. She is the one who cursed him to be a vampire and locked him in that box,” Grahame-Smith says. “Since he has been away, Angelique has made it her life’s mission to destroy the Collins family. So when Barnabas turns up again after all these years, she’s not very happy to see him.”

David Collins (Gulliver McGrath) — Lonely, confused, and neglected by his pompous father (Jonny Lee Miller, over on the right next to Pfeiffer), David has no one to confide in except his bizarre psychiatrist — and the dead people he claims to see. Grahame-Smith describes him as “a sweet, curious, precocious little boy whose family has branded him as slightly crazy.” Then he finally gets a new caretaker to look after him …

Victoria Winters (Bella Heathcote) — This young woman arrives to become David’s new governess, only to find herself swept up in the vampire-witch melodrama. “When Barnabas meets Victoria, he’s instantly reminded of the woman he lost in the 1700s, before he was cursed to be a vampire,” Grahame-Smith says. “I wouldn’t say he falls in love with her, but there’s an instant attraction, an instant connection.” Is she the reincarnation of his doomed lover Josette du Pres? “We get the sense at the beginning she has a secret past, and that’s unraveled as it goes on,” the screenwriter says.

Mrs. Johnson (Ray Shirley) — “Poor old Mrs. Johnson …” Grahame-Smith sighs when talk turns to the old woman seated in the back behind Depp. “She is the mostly blind, mostly deaf maid, who has been with them for decades and decades. You might find her polishing a piece of silverware with a slab of baloney because she thinks it’s a polishing cloth. I don’t think she actually says anything in the entire film. She’s just sort of there.” He laughs: “Adding her was Tim’s idea.”

Willie Loomis (Jackie Earle Haley) — How awesome is it to play an actual Groundskeeper Willie? The Oscar-nominee for Little Children is a slightly more competent servant than Mrs. Johnson, but that’s not saying much. “He’s the guy who takes out the trash, mows the lawns, and fixes the cars, except he’s usually so drunk and so disinterested that he doesn’t take his job seriously anymore,” Grahame-Smith says. “The lawn is overgrown, the house has fallen into disrepair, and all the cars are on cinder blocks. His heart’s definitely not in the job anymore.”

Roger Collins (Jonny Lee Miller) — This scion of the once-great Collins family is one of the main reasons the aristocratic clan has fallen into such disgrace. “He’s a creepy, self-centered guy who likes to order Willie around, likes to pretend the family is still on top of his game,” Grahame-Smith says. Not only is he a bad father to David, but he is a poor manager of whatever meager wealth the family retains. “When Barnabas shows up and has some very specific ideas about how to make things right, he’s obviously going to bump heads with Roger Collins.”

Elizabeth Collins Stoddard (Michelle Pfeiffer) — The mother of Carolyn Stoddard, and mother-figure to David, she’s the one adult member of the Collins clan who is at least slightly competent. “Elizabeth is the rock of the family. She’s the matriarch,” Grahame-Smith says. “She’s the keeper of the Collins history, and a fierce protector of what remains of her family. She’s the one that insists on the best care for the children, even though money isn’t what it used to be. She’s a very strong woman who unfortunately has been dealt a very difficult deck.” With a witch perpetually trying to destroy her, and a long lost vampire relative turning up to reclaim control, “there’s just too much for her to handle,” Grahame-Smith says.

http://insidemovies.ew.com/2011/09/22/johnny-depps-true-dark-shadows-vampire/

[MacShadowsBall]

I ordered Dark Shadows volume 19 last night and plan on having a catch-up marathon covering volume 18 tonight.

The Leviathan episodes aren't my favorite, but I like some of the characters and the side plots. :cool:

[vivfox]

After hearing Stevie narrate on Katy Perry's upcoming video this caused me to have an interesting dream last night.

Dan Curtis directed a new music video for Stevie. She's on the same balcony she was on in the Rooms On Fire video but this time she's wearing a black cape and the music to the song begins and then she flaps her wings and flies off the balcony and as she's falling the music segues into the opening theme for Dark Shadows and then segues back into the music from ROF and then she gracefully falls into the ocean!

Later on in the dream I bring someone to that house and Stevie re enacts the video for us. Our view is equal to the balcony and I remember thinking the ocean water is fairly dark, not clear blue as I would have imagined Stevie filming in. I'm a bit concerned as if there are sharks in the water waiting to gobble her up or something...

[MacShadowsBall]

vivfox, that was hilarious!! Stevie Nicks meets Dark Shadows in your dreams"! ;)

I wonder if Stevie is/was a fan of Dark Shadows. I would assume she is aware of the show. :shrug:

[vivfox]

vivfox, that was hilarious!! Stevie Nicks meets Dark Shadows in your dreams"! ;)

I wonder if Stevie is/was a fan of Dark Shadows. I would assume she is aware of the show. :shrug:


Well since she's always been a fan of ABC TV soaps I would assume so. Look, that's her in this picture!

[MacShadowsBall]

Well since she's always been a fan of ABC TV soaps I would assume so. Look, that's her in this picture!

I watched House of Dark Shadows Halloween weekend. Stevie's cameo must have been edited out of the final cut. ;)

:laugh:

[MacShadowsBall]

House of Dark Shadows is on Turner Classic Movies tonight at 9pm central time, in just 15 minutes! :cool:

[Lee]

House of Dark Shadows is on Turner Classic Movies tonight at 9pm central time, in just 15 minutes! :cool:

Well, this is a bummer; I didn't see this until the next morning! I wish I would have known because I would have recorded it like I've never seen it before. :rolleyes:, But Iwould have liked to have seen it again. Oh, it takes me back, like waaaay back. :lol:

Lee :)

[MacShadowsBall]

Well, this is a bummer; I didn't see this until the next morning! I wish I would have known because I would have recorded it like I've never seen it before. :rolleyes:, But Iwould have liked to have seen it again. Oh, it takes me back, like waaaay back. :lol:

Lee :)

It's a good movie and makes me anticipate the new one coming out in May.

TCM was doing a tribute to Dick Smith, the make-up artist that did the aging for Barnabas(Jonathan Frid) on the series and in the movie. :cool:

[MacShadowsBall]

Gearing up for the new Dark Shadows movie so I thought I'd post a news article about it :cool:

http://books.usatoday.com/bookbuzz/post/2012-02-09/dark-shadows-returns-in-book-and-movie/623644/1

February 10, 2012
'Dark Shadows' returns in book and movie

'Dark Shadows' by Kathryn Leigh Scott and Jim Pierson

Handout Vampire and soap opera devotees of a certain age will remember rushing home from school to tune in to the next creepily wonderful episode of Dark Shadows.

And while Hollywood is buzzing about the big-screen revival of the franchise with Johnny Depp starring as the vampire Barnabas Collins, in a film directed by Tim Burton, there's a new book coming in April written by Kathryn Leigh Scott, who played Maggie Evans and Josette DuPrés in the long-running soap.

Dark Shadows: Return to Collinwood written by Scott with Jim Pierson, is a look back at five decades of the beloved soap opera whose popularity earned it a permanent spot in our popular culture.

"As you can imagine, this book has been crashed through to tie in with the new Dark Shadows film (in which I have a cameo role) and renewed fan interest in the original House of Dark Shadows," Scott tells USA Today.

The book's foreword is written by none other than Jonathan Frid, who created the role of Barnabas Collins. The book includes hundreds of photographs and behind-the-scenes anecdotes from the show's stars including Scott (Josette DuPrés), Frid (Barnabas Collins), Lara Parker (Angelique Bouchard) and David Selby (Quentin Collins). They all appear in cameo roles in the Burton film which, in addition to Depp, stars Helena Bonham Carter and Michelle Pfeiffer. It opens in May.

The original Dark Shadows ran on ABC from 1966-1971. Reruns and DVD releases of all 1,225 episodes have attracted new generations of fans.

Scott and Pierson have previously collaborated on five books about Dark Shadows and a coffee table book about the career of its creator, the late producer-director Dan Curtis.

[Lee]

I'm digging this up because there is an article on this new Dark Shadows in the current (April) issue of Vanity Fair. Julia Roberts is on the cover. There are pictures of some of the people in the movie. I must say Johnny Depp looks like a scary Barnabas. I didn't think Barnabas should be that scary looking because I think the character warrants some sympathy (at least I gave him some sympathy back in the day). I'd scan the two pages, but I don't think I know how to shrink it or post it here for that matter. I already told my husband, book it; we are going to see this movie in May. :D

Lee :)

[MacShadowsBall]

I'm looking forward to the movie, though I am a bit concerned about a few things.

The trailer has yet to be released and the movie is due out in May. Also there are reports that the movie will be have "comedy" in it, for what its worth.

There's a Dark Shadows forum that I check everyday, http://www.dsboards.com/indexse05.html

[Lee]

Hey, thanks for posting the DS forum link; I'll have to check it out.

They have released a trailer for the new Dark Shadows, but I have to say, I haven't looked at it & I'm afraid to. Yes, I did hear that it's a "comedy". Dark Shadows, the original show, was not a comedy. It was some serious stuff. Barnabas was a tragic figure, to me anyway. He had a spell put on him by a meanie witch & became a vampire. He could never live a normal life. OK, am I the only one that feels this way? :confused:

Lee :confused:

[TrueFaith77]

I am not a fan of the original Dark Shadows (I have problems with it :lol:) but this trailer is a travesty. I would assume fans of the show will not be happy with the tone of the trailer. The movie, itself, you can't always tell from the commercials...

[MacShadowsBall]

Hey, thanks for posting the DS forum link; I'll have to check it out.

They have released a trailer for the new Dark Shadows, but I have to say, I haven't looked at it & I'm afraid to. Yes, I did hear that it's a "comedy". Dark Shadows, the original show, was not a comedy. It was some serious stuff. Barnabas was a tragic figure, to me anyway. He had a spell put on him by a meanie witch & became a vampire. He could never live a normal life. OK, am I the only one that feels this way? :confused:

Lee :confused:

The trailer debut on Ellen's talk show Thursday and it's on youtube. I watched it last night and it is definitely intended to be a "comedy" actually more like a spoof/farce of Dark Shadows. I'm disappointed.

They did a test screening this past week and most people who saw it, liked it. Whether they were already DS fans is not really known.

I am not a fan of the original Dark Shadows (I have problems with it :lol:) but this trailer is a travesty. I would assume fans of the show will not be happy with the tone of the trailer. The movie, itself, you can't always tell from the commercials...

You assume correctly. Most members of the DS community started getting worried about the movie when various people involved with it started refering to the new movie as a "black comedy". I've been a DS fan for almost 20 years (much longer than a FM fan), and I'm concerned about what this is gonna do to the original series. :distress:

I'm sure everybody here can understand my feelings about guarding the original series, much like we guard and protect/defend the image of Fleetwood Mac and Stevie Nicks. :cool:

[TrueFaith77]

The trailer debut on Ellen's talk show Thursday and it's on youtube. I watched it last night and it is definitely intended to be a "comedy" actually more like a spoof/farce of Dark Shadows. I'm disappointed.

They did a test screening this past week and most people who saw it, liked it. Whether they were already DS fans is not really known.



You assume correctly. Most members of the DS community started getting worried about the movie when various people involved with it started refering to the new movie as a "black comedy". I've been a DS fan for almost 20 years (much longer than a FM fan), and I'm concerned about what this is gonna do to the original series. :distress:

I'm sure everybody here can understand my feelings about guarding the original series, much like we guard and protect/defend the image of Fleetwood Mac and Stevie Nicks. :cool:

Wort of all: it doesn't even look funny!?!? As for the highr atings: I think people will swallow anything Burton/Depp serve (but that's another story--and I don't want to alienate even MORE people on the Ledge).

After Twilight, it's surprising they are taking the spoof route.

As you are a DS fan, I am curious to know if you ever saw the PJ Hogan pilot from a few years ago. I heard it played at some (one?) DS convention... I really wish they had picked him to do the film. I LOVE PJ HOGAN! In fact, he should counter by doing Peyton Place (my favorite tv show. of. all. time!).

[MacShadowsBall]

As you are a DS fan, I am curious to know if you ever saw the PJ Hogan pilot from a few years ago. I heard it played at some (one?) DS convention... I really wish they had picked him to do the film. I LOVE PJ HOGAN! In fact, he should counter by doing Peyton Place (my favorite tv show. of. all. time!).

Back in 2004, the WB network passed on a pilot for a weekly Dark Shadows series. As you said, they showed the pilot a few times at the DS Festivals. I haven't seen it as I've never been to the festivals and I don't think its available for public viewing, if you will.

I've heard it was quite good but bloody and violent. Something about Barnabas bashing Willie's girlfriend's head into a wall in the mauseleom!

[TrueFaith77]

Back in 2004, the WB network passed on a pilot for a weekly Dark Shadows series. As you said, they showed the pilot a few times at the DS Festivals. I haven't seen it as I've never been to the festivals and I don't think its available for public viewing, if you will.

I've heard it was quite good but bloody and violent. Something about Barnabas bashing Willie's girlfriend's head into a wall in the mauseleom!

I'm intrigued.
:lol:

I've looked on the 'net for it but, yeah, it's never turned up. Likely we will have to wait 200 years for it to be exhumed.

[vivfox]

Dark Shadows as a comedy? I suppose this could work. I really was nervous about them retelling a story that's already been told by my beloved characters. It could become a campy classic like Rocky Horror. I'm sure when that movie was made they had no idea in the future people would be viewing it at midnight with rice in their hair.:laugh:

[MacShadowsBall]

Love the new sig, viv

Here's the trailer, for what its worth.

<iframe width="853" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/qP1JPeBoR3g" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[vivfox]

Love the new sig, viv

Here's the trailer, for what its worth.


The movie looks very entertaining. I'll have to bring my 18 year old neice.

[MacShadowsBall]

The movie looks very entertaining. I'll have to bring my 18 year old neice.

Do I detect a hint of sarcasm? :shrug:

[vivfox]

Do I detect a hint of sarcasm? :shrug:


Not at all. That's her age.

[Rod~A~Little]

Loved Dark Shadows as a child and was excited when I heard they were remaking it. But I'm a little aprehensive! So many remakes did not do the films justice.

Guess we shall see!

[mylittledemon]

I love Tim Burton but... yeesh... based on trailer, I think it looks terrible.

[MacShadowsBall]

I love Tim Burton but... yeesh... based on trailer, I think it looks terrible.

Have you seen the original series and are you a fan of it? We, as in Dark Shadows fans on a DS forum, are interested in what people who were unaware of Dark Shadows think of the movie trailer. According to several interviews/articles, the movie's target audience is not the original DS fans.

[mylittledemon]

According to several interviews/articles, the movie's target audience is not the original DS fans.

no $h*t. :laugh:

I was expecting a slightly humorous, but dark (bloody and gory) type thing from him. Sadly, I have to agree with a lot of people bashing Burton for his "remakes."

[MacShadowsBall]

Every Friday a new Dark Shadows article is on the MTV news website/blog. Todays article talks about the potential franchise/sequels aspects of DS, assuming of course the first one is a hit.

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1681704/dark-shadows-franchise.jhtml

Mar 23 2012 3:39 PM EDT
Can 'Dark Shadows' Be A Franchise?' - Hunger Games' fever has us wondering about the prospects for Tim Burton's adaptation.
By John Mitchell


Everyone has "Hunger Games" fever, and it's understandable; the film is absolutely everywhere, critics are saying it's pretty good and star Jennifer Lawrence's candid, funny interviews are a welcome change from the uncomfortable sit-downs granted by, um, some other YA adaptation stars when their films hit the big screen.

Anyway, "Games" just crept into theaters, and talk of the sequel is already ramping up. Filming on "Catching Fire" is set to begin later this year, and a November 22, 2013, release date is already in the books. That got us thinking about our own little mini-obsession: "Dark Shadows."

While it's nowhere near as fervent or large as "Games," "Shadows" has a devout following too, and if the film is a hit at the box office, which seems quite possible if not bet-on-it likely, at least one sequel would be justified. And with an extensive catalog of 1,225 episodes, there is plenty of plot for, well, as many follow-ups as Tim Burton could come up with.

But the approach the director has taken with the film makes us wonder if it's the sort of thing that could sustain a franchise.

Let's talk this out. First, the direction Burton has chosen to take with the film has already divided fans. Over on MTV Movies Blog, we asked readers whether they liked the "Shadows" trailer, and the reaction was pretty much split down the middle. Just over half of those who voted (52.35 percent) were into the trailer, checking our "Love it! Burton knows what he's doing" box. That leaves 47.65 percent of respondents who instead "Hated it! Burton is ruining everything!"

It's a pretty radical reinvention, to be sure, and the trailer reminds us most of the big-screen version of "The Addams Family." "Addams," of course, was a sitcom to start with, and all director Barry Sonnenfeld really did was turn up the volume on the weird. Much of the humor derived from people reacting to the macabre-but-good-natured family of weirdos, and the film was a hit — a big enough hit to merit a sequel.

The "Addams" sequel didn't connect quite the way the first film did, perhaps because the shtick that was so fresh the first time around had worn out its welcome. So even if it's a hit, will people really want multiple "Shadows" films once the novelty has worn thin?

The thing about (good) sequels is that they generally require emotional investment from the audience to be successful. We want to know what happens next with Katniss in "The Hunger Games." There's an entire mythology attached to Bruce Wayne in the "Batman" films. It's hard to form that connection when the characters are hyper-realized and a little bit caricatured.

And though there is a definite mythology to "Shadows," Burton has opted to ignore it in favor of some brave, maybe even fun, stylistic choices he no doubt hopes will make the film unique and set it apart, both from the series itself and from anything else hitting the big screen this summer.

But zany absurdity is hard to maintain across multiple films. By the time the second "Addams" movie came around, the crux of the joke — playing off other people's reactions to the goth family — was a bit tired, so they had to put Wednesday and Pugsley into an awkward situation (summer camp) to try and keep it fresh.

Had Burton hewed a little closer to his source material, this wouldn't be a concern, but in taking such liberties with the style of "Shadows" he kind of backs himself into a corner when it comes to whatever comes next. He'd have to up the ante in some way for a sequel, but since he's already operating so over the top, is that even possible?

We're super excited for "Shadows" but we're just curious if — unlike "Hunger Games" fans — we should learn to quell our excitement that there may be more films coming. After all, maybe there's a reason we only ever got one "Beetlejuice" (hey, wait a minute ... ).

[MacShadowsBall]

I'm curious about the relationship between Julia and Barnabas in this movie. As we all know, they were DS's "unofficial couple" and had great chemistry. Just from the trailer, it seems they don't have many scenes together, as Barnabas's main relationship is with Angelique. :cool:

[Lee]

I'm curious about the relationship between Julia and Barnabas in this movie. As we all know, they were DS's "unofficial couple" and had great chemistry. Just from the trailer, it seems they don't have many scenes together, as Barnabas's main relationship is with Angelique. :cool:

Yeah, I always thought there was a chemistry there between Julia & Barnabas, too, but I thought it was one-side in that Julia loved him, but he loved Josette. Angelique more of less kept them apart. Julia was just a friend to Barnabas or so he thought.

I saw that trailer for the movie. I'm kind of not so excited about it now. :shrug: I don't know if I'll go & see it or not. Guess I'll wait & see what kind of reviews it gets.

Lee :)

[MacShadowsBall]

Barnabas was always looking for Josette, or at least someone who could be "his" Josette. I started getting tired of it by the time Roxanne came along in PT1970.

Apparently there is a new TV ad running for the new movie. It's about 1 minute and features new scenes.

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/KLKHoO6spUU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[vivfox]

Apparently there is a new TV ad running for the new movie. It's about 1 minute and features new scenes.


Nothing from this clip other than the outside of the house and the cliff beside the ocean, remind me of the Dark Shadows from my childhood. Yet this looks like a movie I will enjoy in a theatre.

[MacShadowsBall]

Awesome article from a Michelle Pfeiffer website about the Dark Shadows movie...

http://www.gorgeouspfeiffer.com/blog/?p=2455

Tim Burton’s Soap Opera | May 2012
by Gorgeous Pfeiffer on Apr 4, 2012 • 5:02 pm 2 Comments
EMPIRE | MAY 2012

“every family is strange, IF YOU SCRATCH THE SURFACE…”

Tim Burton introduces us to his most dysfunctional dynasty yet: the Collins clan of Dark Shadows

ODD FAMILIES ARE AT THE HEART OF ALMOST ALL TIM BURTON’S MOVIES. FROM THE BOGGSES WHO TAKE IN A SHARP-fingered freak in Edward Scissorhands, to the fantasist Edward Bloom and his confused brood in Big Fish, to the bloodthirsty nutbags of Sweeney Todd, Burton has always dealt with the unique oddness within every household. But there is none stranger than the Collins clan of his latest, Dark Shadows.

When Empire meets him at a sound studio in London, Burton (above, with star Johnny Depp) is still moulding the Collins family’s life. “Honestly, right now I’m not 100 per cent sure how it’s going to turn out,” he says of the film. “But that’s not unusual. We’re shaping it now. It’s slightly terrifying to be talking about it while I’m still trying to make it.” Fear might be the right mindset for constructing Dark Shadows. Based on a wacko late-‘60s soap opera of the same name, it’s sort of benign horror set up, full of monsters but no scares, chronicling a very peculiar family =, the head of whom is a vampire and whose members harbor other supernatural secrets.

“Every family is strange, if you scratch the surface,” says Burton, running a hand through his omni-directional hair. “Even the ones that seem really normal, often especially the ones that seem really normal,” the cult soap was a favourite of Burton’s in his youth and a show he claims is to blame/thank for the modern glut of ‘vampires-meet-whatever’ projects. “It’s the first thing I remember that mixed all these different genres,” he says. “I think all those modern vampire stories owe a lot to Dark Shadows. Although… I still can’t identify exactly why I’m a fan. I can look at Star Trek or Star Wars and see why people are fans, but this is harder to work out. I’ve tried not to over-analyse it.”

All the same, Empire made Burton analyse the film’s chief characters, and the actors he chose to play them.


The VAMPIRE, BARNABAS COLLINS (JOHNNY DEPP)

“BARNABAS COLLINS IS JUST A ROMANTIC family man who happens to be a vampire,” says Burtons of his lead character. “That was really the key element I liked about the original series, that it wasn’t about a vampire; being a vampire was just this weird part of his personality, this strange thing that happened to him.”

In the film, Barnabas begins living a very happy life in the 1700s, romancing everyone he chooses and generally enjoying the playboy lifestyle that comes with being the heir to a successful fishing cannery business (can you tell this is fantasy?). that is, until he romances the wrong person, a witch with some serious jealousy issues and some not inconsiderable magical powers. She turns Barnabas into a vampire and then buries him alive, where he remains until he’s eventually unearthed in 1972, when his family are now down on their luck and his vengeful ex is still much not over it.

“Johnny brought this project to me. I don’t remember if we even had ever discussed that we both liked the show, although we may have because we share this enthusiasm for weird, obscure things,” remembers Burton. “The setting of 1972 is quite specific. It’s this transitional time in history, and it was a quite a transitional time for me as a child, becoming a teenager, which was extremely unpleasant ad awkward. Doing research on this I actually started to get physically ill… But for Barnabas, he’s this person who’s been locked away for 200 years and comes into this time feeling very strange and awkward.

“The ‘70s felt strange at the time and still feels strange today. You know, seeing him see all those weird things like mood rings and pet rocks and troll dolls. It’s all just, ‘Jesus, what is going on?!’ That’s the world Barnabas is coming into.”


The MATRIARCH, ELIZABETH COLLINS STODDARD (MICHELLE PFEIFFER)

FOR THE HEAD OF THE COLLINS FAMILY in 1972, a woman who is managing both the decline of the family business and the chaos that is the family itself, Burton chose an actress with whom he had memorably worked before—although not for 20 years.

“Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman is one of my favourite performances in any of my films,” says Burton. “I hadn’t spoken to her in many, many years and then she actually called me up about this film before I was even officially doing it. She said, ‘I never call people but I heard you might be making Dark Shadows and I’d really like to be part of it. ‘Elizabeth is about as close as it gets to normal in the Collins household. She’s the calm centre of a storm of bloodsuckers, alcoholics, secretive teenagers and other assorted weirdos. Barnabas’ former inamoratas, Angelique (Eva Green), has established a rival cannery that has left the Collin’s business on its knees and the family fortune dwindling. Burton says Pfeiffer’ calm matriarch role was echoed on the set.

“Michelle is a big fans of the show and would watch episodes every morning. It was great to have someone there who knew everything about the show and everyone could see her example. I think we actually, had a better working relationship on this film. Batman Returns was sort of tense, because you’re filming on rooftops and she’s having to do action in high heels. This time was very pleasant. Although she did have to walk down some steps in high heels and had trouble with that. So in one area she’s gone downhill…”


The PLAYBOY, ROGER COLLINS (JONNY LEE MILLER)

JOHNNH LEE MILLER’S CHARACTER, ROGER, IS the one about whom Burton will reveal the least. “Above all else, this is very much of the story of family and Johnny is absolutely the bad seed of that family.” Where Elizabeth is rock steady in the face of the misfortune that befalls her family and does everything she can to keep them on the right track, Roger is much more focused on himself. This may explain why his own son, David, has a psychiatrist live with him, albeit an alcoholic one.

In the original show, Roger was a playboy who squanders his share o his father’s inheritance and then lives off his sister’s ever-reducing reserves. The movie’s version is very much in the same ‘live now, pay later’ vein. “I’d say he’s probably the one character that really loves the fact that he lives in the early ‘70s,” laughs Burton,
“a ne’er-do-well”. He also has utterly dreadful hair and really horrible taste in polo necks. Unforgivable.


The WITCH, ANGELIQUE BOUCHARD (EVA GREEN)

EVA GREEN’S CHARACTER IS ONE THAT could easily have stepped off the set of Dynasty, if that ‘80s soap had included witches as well as bitches. “She really is just like something from that world, says Burton. “Eva’s like an old silent movie star. There’s mystery to her, which is kind of amazing in this day and age when you know absolutely everything about everyone. She’s like a witch. She probably is a witch and just doesn’t want anyone to know it. I think she really is.” Angelique is certainly a witch, the witch who turns Barnabas into the bloodsucking undead after he breaks her heart. Not being one to get over a rejection quickly, she is still intent on revenge when Barnabas emerges again in the 1970s. By this time, the massive-haired Angelique has set up her own cannery business, a corporate behemoth complete with gift shop that has nearly run the Collin’s cannery into the ground. “She’s a very melodramatic character,” says Burton. “Whenever she and Barnabas clash, it’s usually in a huge way.” Burton cast his female lead based more on a hunch than any real knowledge of the actress. “I’d only seen Eva in Casino Royale,” he explains. “But there was this thing I used to say that would drive the casting director nuts. He would suggest people and I’d say, ‘They’re not very Dark Shadows.’ He’d ask what that meant and I still don’t really know what it means, but I do know that Eva is very Dark Shadows.


The TEEN, CAROLYN STODDARD (CHLOE GRACE MORETZ)

AS WITH MOST TEENAGERS, CAROLYN, ELIZABETH’S daughter, keeps a lot of secrets locked up and tries to keep her own issues away from the many—any—that the rest if her family publicly flaunt. “Every family is a bit odd in its own way and being a teenager in any family will feel strange,” says Burton. “Carolyn is capturing that feeling of being a teenager and that internal loneliness and weirdness that you feel at that time. I remember as a teenager trying to latch on to families outside of mine, because they seemed less strange. I’d make friends with a lot of Italian families, mainly because they tended to cook a lot. But you spend enough time with even the happiest of families and you’ll find something strange underneath.”

Burton was well aware of his 15 year-old star’s work in films like Kick-Ass and Let Me In when he was casting the role of the brooding Carolyn. “I was just happy she was available!” he exclaims. “Chloe’s done great things, but my only concern with her was whether she could play a real teenager, you know? But she was great. She’s very thoughtful. There’s just a reality to her; whether she’s playing a superhero girl or a vampire, there’s always a reality to it. She’s got a very old soul. Like someone who’s been around a very long time.” Fitting, considering the family he’s been fictionally born into.


The SHRINK, DR. JULIA HOFFMAN (HELENA BONHAM CARTER)

“HELENA AND I HAD ACTUALLY made a decision that we weren’t going to work together on t his film,” says Burton of his long-term partner and mother of his two children. “We just thought we should take a bit of a time out after doing so many things together. But strangely, there’s something about the character in the original show that Helena has a certain similarity to, so she just seemed very right for the role. Saying that, I don’t know how good she felt about being offered the part of an ageing, alcoholic psychiatrist. But she took the role.”

Dr. Hoffman lives in the Collins house, but she is not strictly part of the family. She is a “live-in psychiatrist”, primarily working with the troubled youngest member of the Collins family. Elizabeth’s ten year-old nephew, David (Gulliver McGrath)—though the Collins family provides no shortage of odd minds on which to work. She is also a committed booze-hound and occasional attempted seductress of Barnabas (unsuccessful, naturally).

“She’s a little bit of a sad character in a way,” says Burton. “Helena had never seen the show, because it was never really over here in England, and she was one of the few people I showed some episodes. I don’t really know if that was a good thing to do. It may not have been helpful, because she looked at it and said, ‘So this is how you want me to act? Like, bad?’ So I didn’t really show it to anyone else.”

Dark Shadows is out on May 11 and will be reviewed in a future issue.

[Lee]

Man, I did not know he just passed away. I did not see it on the news. The man was an icon; he made Dark Shadows what it was. I just happened to be trolling the DS board that was posted here & saw that he passed. A shame he won't see the movie that he apparently has a cameo in.

http://www.hamiltonnews.com/news/remembering-jonathan-frid/

Lee :(

[MacShadowsBall]

Wow, I'm really sad about this. I called my mom and she almost started crying...:(

Sad to see him pass before the movie is released. I'm certain this movie will be a success and revive the DS fandom, which will benefit the original stars. Luckily we'll get to see him in his cameo next month.

[vivfox]

My precious Barbabas is gone? He'll never be truly gone. He will live forever in our minds.

[Lee]

Here's where I read about it initially:

http://www.kathrynleighscott.com/?p=2190

I had no idea the four of them had cameos in the new movie. I wasn't really planning on seeing it, but I now I think I will.

Lee :distress:

[MacShadowsBall]

According to various websites, he either died Friday or Saturday at a hospital in Ontario, Canada. I wonder why the news took a few days to get out? Perhaps it was the family's request to wait as long as they could. :shrug:

It would be good for them to mention his passing on one of the news broadcast this evening.

EDIT: Looks like Lee and I posted around the same time...Kathryn and Jonathan had lots of good scenes/moments together. Looks like I gotta have DS marathon tonight!

[Lee]

Looks like this is just starting to break on-line. I've seen it in several places. According to http://www.etonline.com, the family didn't want to release the information sooner.

Don't really know which day he passed; if it was Friday, the 13th, that would seem somewhat appropriate & kind of ironic.

Lee :distress:

[Macfanforever]

wonder why with the long delay.

[chiliD]

It said he died of "natural causes", so that made me think:

Did he eat some garlic bread?

Did he not get into his coffin before sunrise?

Did he get a wooden steak...uh, stake?

(too soon?)

[Macfanforever]

Foe some reason I never got into the show.Maybe I shoould check it out.

[Lee]

It said he died of "natural causes", so that made me think:

Did he eat some garlic bread?

Did he not get into his coffin before sunrise?

Did he get a wooden steak...uh, stake?

(too soon?)

I've read that he died from complications from a fall. He was 87 afterall & had been in ill health for a while apparently. It is truly ashame that he's not going to get to see the movie. He wasn't one for a lot of publicity from what I've been reading. Very much loved in his Canadian hometown, too.

Lee :(

[MacShadowsBall]

It said he died of "natural causes", so that made me think:

Did he eat some garlic bread?

Did he not get into his coffin before sunrise?

Did he get a wooden steak...uh, stake?

(too soon?)

Not really, "Barnabas" dying is kinda ironic, since he never really died on the show.

One of the local newscast did a nice yet quick 30-second story about his passing. They misspelled his first name as Johnatan.

Foe some reason I never got into the show.Maybe I shoould check it out.

All 1,225 episodes are available on DVD from amazon and deep discount, including the 1991 remake series along with several behind the scenes, documentaries, and extras.

Check out youtube also. :cool:

[TrueFaith77]

The whole show is avail for streaming on netflix.

[Macfanforever]

Not really, "Barnabas" dying is kinda ironic, since he never really died on the show.

One of the local newscast did a nice yet quick 30-second story about his passing. They misspelled his first name as Johnatan.



All 1,225 episodes are available on DVD from amazon and deep discount, including the 1991 remake series along with several behind the scenes, documentaries, and extras.

Check out youtube also. :cool:

Thanks. I got to check them out.

[MacShadowsBall]

Well Warner Brothers and company are moving ahead with promoting the new Dark Shadows movie. Check out the late night shows, especially Jimmy Kimmel live as he had Johnny Lee Miller(Roger) on Monday night and Eva Green (Angelique) will be on tonight's episode.

Here's the Dark Shadows news blog that has great information along with clips/interviews from the new movie. :cool:

http://darkshadowsnews.blogspot.com/

[Dodfather]

I wasn't too excited about this film until I saw the trailer. It looks very funny! I especially love the gag from 1:10-15: "Reveal yourself, tiny songstress!" Haha!

[The Chain]

A few things I've read by people who attended test screenings say that while the trailer somewhat represents the movie, that there is a bit of classic Burton darkness, and some scenes that are quite bloody, if they are to be believed. Which I hope is true, Tim Burton is always at his best when combining absurd comedy with macbre.. as a pretty big fan of his, the last decade has been very hit or miss, disappointing Seems like he's been in a rut. Just compare his earliest films to anything from 2001 to the present, it almost feels as if a different person is behind the wheel sometimes. (Hit: Big Fish, Corpse Bride, Sweeney Todd) (Miss: Planet of the Apes, Alice In Wonderland) (On the fence : Charlie & The Chocolate Factory)

All that said, from the things I've read online, I am actually looking forward this and I'm hoping it will be good.. it can only be uphill after Alice In Wonderland right? Some of the test screen attendees even said the approach reminded them a little of Beetlejuice :thumbsup:

[The Chain]

and Burton working with Michelle Pfeiffer for the first time since her incredible portrayal of Catwoman in Batman Returns? That's worth the price of admission alone. I always wondered why he's worked with Depp, his wife & so many others over and over again, and not Pfeiffer, when she did such a great job. She really seemed to "get" Burton in that role, completely fit in with his style & approach. Heres hoping this is the beginning of frequent collaborations. Here's a still from Dark Shadows, with Michelle looking pretty beautiful & bad ass :cool:

http://www.freeimagehosting.net/t/tla9n.jpg (http://www.freeimagehosting.net/tla9n)

[Dodfather]

and Burton working with Michelle Pfeiffer for the first time since her incredible portrayal of Catwoman in Batman Returns? That's worth the price of admission alone. I always wondered why he's worked with Depp, his wife & so many others over and over again, and not Pfeiffer, when she did such a great job. She really seemed to "get" Burton in that role, completely fit in with his style & approach. Heres hoping this is the beginning of frequent collaborations. Here's a still from Dark Shadows, with Michelle looking pretty beautiful & bad ass :cool:

http://www.freeimagehosting.net/t/tla9n.jpg (http://www.freeimagehosting.net/tla9n)

I couldn't agree more. I'm a huge Michelle Pfeiffer fan. Not only does she never get her due an actress (only two Best Actress Oscar nominations and no wins?!) but, lest we forget. she is hot! :nod:

[The Chain]

I couldn't agree more. I'm a huge Michelle Pfeiffer fan. Not only does she never get her due an actress (only two Best Actress Oscar nominations and no wins?!) but, lest we forget. she is hot! :nod:

Such a shame. She more than deserves it. Great actress. And yes, incredibly hot.. that skintight leather cat suit combined with her beautiful eyes made her my first celebrity crush when I was growing up. And she's aged insanely gracefully.

[vivfox]

Such a shame. She more than deserves it. Great actress. And yes, incredibly hot.. that skintight leather cat suit combined with her beautiful eyes made her my first celebrity crush when I was growing up. And she's aged insanely gracefully.


I remember a long time ago in the 1980's, Sandra Berhardt was on Letterman and she made fun of Michelle having a herpes sore on her lip in a movie. She said they had to include her sore in the script because there was no getting around it. Kinda cruel if you ask me, but hey, I'm just the messenger.

[MacShadowsBall]

Excellent New York Times article about Dark Shadows...

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/06/arts/television/tim-burton-brings-tvs-dark-shadows-back-as-a-movie.html?_r=2

May 5, 2012
The Vampire Who Came Out in the Afternoon
By TERRENCE RAFFERTY


IT was “Satan’s favorite TV show,” according to a religious tract of the time. Tim Burton, 8 years old when the Gothic daytime soap opera “Dark Shadows” came into the world and not quite 13 when it breathed its last, was clearly untroubled that his viewing preferences were similar to those of the Prince of Darkness.

“I should probably have been doing homework or playing sports after school instead of watching ‘Dark Shadows,’ ” he said. “But seeing that show every afternoon, at home, in Burbank, it just doesn’t get much weirder than that.” And for Mr. Burton, the director of “Edward Scissorhands,” “Sleepy Hollow,” and now a splashy silver-screen “Dark Shadows” (opening Friday), “weird” is a term of the very highest praise.

Some pop culture phenomena are easy to understand, he said, like “Star Trek,” which had its premiere just a couple of months after “Dark Shadows” began, in 1966. “Even if you’re not a ‘Star Trek’ fan, you kind of get the dynamic,” Mr. Burton said. But “Dark Shadows,” he continued, is “an acquired taste, and it’s really hard to describe it to people who never saw it.”

He’s right about that. There’s been a lot of supernatural drama on television since the demise of the original “Dark Shadows,” in 1971, but even under the influence of a powerful spell you would have a difficult time coming up with another show that roamed so freely and so recklessly through the underworld of horror pulp. Though nearly forgotten now, the series’s conflicted vampire, Barnabas Collins (played by Jonathan Frid, who died last month), was its biggest draw — at the time, he was more popular than the comparably peculiar Mr. Spock of “Star Trek”— but he was hardly the only unlikely denizen of the soap-opera town of Collinsport, Me. Over the course of 1,225 half-hour episodes Collinsport, a demographic anomaly even by the standards of New England, rolled out the Welcome Wagon for a staggering number of witches, warlocks, doppelgängers, mad scientists, werewolves, and, of course, ghosts, who seemed to descend in waves, like tourists in foliage season.

This satanic soap was Dan Curtis’s baby. Curtis, who had been a successful producer of golf telecasts, had the idea that a Gothic-romance kind of daytime drama — something on the order of “Rebecca,” with an innocent young woman rattling around in a gloomy old house — might appeal to the soap operas’ stay-at-home audience, and ABC gave him a shot. The show didn’t catch on right away, though, so Curtis, with nothing to lose, decided to throw in a ghost. One of the show’s directors said to him, “We’ve crossed the line with this, you know.” But the ratings went up. And they rose even higher when a few months later, in the 211th episode, Barnabas Collins emerged from his grave after almost 200 years of involuntary confinement.

In the context of late-’60s daytime drama these choices were, to put it mildly, counterintuitive. A few years later we would learn to call such desperate moves “jumping the shark,” but what “Dark Shadows” proved at the moment Barnabas’s cold, pale hand reached out of his coffin was that soap-opera narrative is in its essence an act of desperation, like the telling of bedtime stories by weary parents to wakeful kids: the stories just seem to go on and on and on, and the longer your audience stays with you, the more sharks, inevitably, will have to be jumped.

Seen from this point of view what Curtis did in “Dark Shadows” wasn’t all that different from what other, more ostensibly reality-based, soaps did when they found themselves hard up for story lines to hold their viewers’ attention. The traditional daytime dramas have always required a fair amount of willing suspension of disbelief too, what with their amnesia plots and evil twins, their periodic recasting of familiar roles and bizarre reversals of character. When an actor introduced as a villain becomes popular, the producers generally contrive to turn that character into a more sympathetic figure. (See Luke the rapist from “General Hospital.”) In soaps, pretty much anything goes.

But “Dark Shadows” sure felt different. “It kind of created its own universe, had its own weird vibe that wasn’t like anything else,” Mr. Burton said, admiringly. (He used some form of the word “weird” no fewer than 17 times in a 20-minute phone call.) “The fact that it was a soap opera, on TV every day in the afternoon, in itself made it strange. But the tone it had made it even stranger.” Part of that stranger-than-strange tone has to do with the acting style, which inhabits some odd no-creature’s-land between drab soap solemnity and the over-the-top histrionics of Hammer horror.

For Mr. Burton that made casting a challenge. Johnny Depp and Michelle Pfeiffer, who play Barnabas and Elizabeth Collins Stoddard, the matriarch of the cursed Collins clan, knew the show, but other cast members — like Eva Green, Jackie Earle Haley and Mr. Burton’s partner, Helena Bonham Carter — did not. “I felt like I was using a kind of ‘Dark Shadows’ filter, which I could never quite verbalize to the casting director,” Mr. Burton said. “Somebody was either part of the ‘Dark Shadows’ club or not, and I could never say why. It’s something personal.”

Before the soap opera ended its run Curtis managed to crank out a couple of theatrical features, “House of Dark Shadows” (1970) and “Night of Dark Shadows” (1971), which doubtless put unseemly pressure on a cast and crew whose creative blood was already draining fast. Even with the extra narrative latitude allowed by the horror genre, the show ran out of ideas, and died a (more or less) natural death. (The entire saga, all 400-plus hours of it, will be available Tuesday in a 131-disc DVD set, boxed in an attractive coffin.) Curtis continued, through the ’70s, to put horror of some quality on the small screen. The contemporary vampire thriller “Night Stalker” (1972) remains one of the most terrifying things ever to creep into American living rooms. (“That was cool,” Mr. Burton said. “I loved that.”) The series “Kolchak: The Night Stalker” was spun off from it, and Curtis, who died in 2006 and is now perhaps best known for the “Winds of War” mini-series, also produced or directed very respectable television adaptations of several of the literary classics whose plots he had plundered for “Dark Shadows” story lines: “Dracula,” “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” and “The Picture of Dorian Gray.”

Mr. Burton chose to set his movie in 1972, not long after the original “Dark Shadows” met its timely end. “For me doing this movie was about re-experiencing that time in your life when you feel weird all the time, that age when you’re in transition from being a kid to being a teenager, and it’s all so unpleasant.”

The soap opera Curtis created, with or without the powers of darkness, helped create the culture in which a sensibility like Mr. Burton’s could thrive, and it is still, after all these years, indelibly, unkillably weird. If “Dark Shadows” had never existed, even Tim Burton might not have been able to invent it.

[vivfox]

Great article MacShadowsBall. Nice of you to take a break from your pole dancing to post this.:xoxo:

[MacShadowsBall]

Great article MacShadowsBall. Nice of you to take a break from your pole dancing to post this.:xoxo:

Thanks, vivfox! :laugh:

So right now is the official movie premiere at Gauman's Chinese Theater where the red carpet has been replaced with a black, gothic one.

Also Michelle Pfeiffer is on The Tonight Show tonight, Chloe Moretz is on Kimmel tonight, and tomorrow these two along with Johnny Depp will all be on Ellen's talk show!

Remember the movie comes out this Friday, May 11th.

...back to my pole dancing...:cool:

[MacShadowsBall]

Well the movie is out now! Who's gonna go and see it? :wavey: I'm going next weekend!

[vivfox]

Well the movie is out now! Who's gonna go and see it? :wavey: I'm going next weekend!


I'm going with several people next weekend also.

[MacShadowsBall]

So a friend of mine went over the weekend and he really enjoyed it. He's a big Depp fan and was watched the show back in the 60's, though hasn't watched since then.

Otherwise, mixed reviews from fans and critics are pouring in left and right. Apparently the comedy is actually downplayed and the movie is more bloody and graphic than what was thought. Plus two sex scenes. Though the movie is rated PG-13.

Unfortunately for DS, the Avengers is taking the top spot at the box office this weekend. Though Dark Shadows is #2 and doing very well overseas.

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=3443&p=.htm

Also links to the 2 main DS websites I check out...

http://www.dsboards.com/indexse05.html

and...

http://darkshadowsnews.blogspot.com/

[vivfox]

I can't wait til next weekend to see it!

[MacShadowsBall]

Dark Shadows holding at the #3 spot.
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/daily/chart/?sortdate=2012-05-17&p=.htm


Any Mad Men fans here? They did a "Dark Shadows" episode.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/samantha-zalaznick/mad-men-episode-recap_b_1519073.html

[vivfox]

I saw Dark Shadows tonight.

[MacShadowsBall]

I saw Dark Shadows tonight.

Awesome! What did you think about it?

[vivfox]

Awesome! What did you think about it?

Didn't you see it tonight also?

[MacShadowsBall]

Didn't you see it tonight also?

Not yet. I was going Sunday afternoon, but somebody else wants to go with me and they can't go tomorrow. :cool:

[MacShadowsBall]

Lara Parker (Angelique from the orginal series) article in the Memphis Commercial Appeal...

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2012/may/17/a-star-is-reborn/

[vivfox]

I didn't want to ruin this for anyone. I waited to read reviews from other Ledgies but none of you have done so. So here is mine.
Overall the movie was good, but it was far from great. I'm not sure how long the movie is but let's just assume it was 2 hours long. I really enjoyed the first 90 minutes but the last half hour was so stupid and pointless. The last part of the movie seemed to destroy what they spent the whole movie building up to.
I've never been fond of remakes to begin with. Especially remakes that were tv shows from my childhood. This movie was easy to follow along because I am familiar with the original tv show but if you weren't it could be confusing. In this movie you don't really care if Barnabas and Vicky Winters' love affair works out because they spend such little time making us care about the love these characters share.
The special effects are very good and so is the acting. The latter half of the movie becomes too campy for my tastes though. The cameos were too quick. I saw the original Maggie and Quentin but I missed Jonathan Frid and now I'm gonna have to go see this movie all over again just to see him. And the movie isn't worth my time.
I can't imagine any fan of the original thinking this was better. If you've never seen the tv show you will like the movie, but I doubt you'll love it or want to see it again and again.
Also, one last note: They make this Barnabas able to walk around in the daytime yet he sleeps in a hidden room in the basement. It made no sense to me.

[MacShadowsBall]

I was wondering too if anybody was gonna post a review. I have yet to see the movie and at this point I probably won't. I guess I'm just too busy and not extremely motivated. :shrug:

The movie seems to be still holding its on in the theaters so that is good news.

[Lee]

Thanks for the review. My husband keeps promising to take me to see it, but he never saw the original DS & he doesn't seem too interested in it. I'm just going to let him off the hook & wait until it comes out on On Demand. That way he won't be forced to fall asleep in the movie theatre. :rolleyes:

Lee :)

[Bubba Fleetwood]

Hey, I just saw this thread and had to chime in. I was born in '59 so, yeah, I am one of the original fans who grew up loving Dan Curtis's Dark Shadows and I loved Tim Burton's Dark Shadows as well. In fact, I've seen it twice. I thought it was atmospheric and totally weird and very Tim Burton. It didn't take itself too seriously but it's not a comedy and I really enjoyed it. I know it's not done that well in this country but world wide it's done pretty good. I read it's close to $ 200 million so far.

[MacShadowsBall]

. I know it's not done that well in this country but world wide it's done pretty good. I read it's close to $ 200 million so far.

I find it kinda strange but yeah it's true. It appears to be a bigger success overseas than in the US, although the original series is just now available on DVD outside of the US.

I suppose you don't have to be a fan of the original to like the movie...:cool: