Dark Shadows

Dark Shadows Set to Shoot in January

Source: Deadline

July 15, 2010

Tim Burton's Dark Shadows is set to roll in January 2011, reports Deadline.

The film has also received a new writer in the form of Seth Grahame-Smith (author of "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter"), who will rewrite the John August screenplay.

Based on the cult soap opera from the 1960's, the film stars Johnny Depp as Barnabas Collins, a popular vampire character who took over the show's focus after he first appeared one year into the series' original five year run

I'm not surprised the movie is doing better overseas - I'm sure that Burton and Depp are very iconic in other countries (doesn't Depp live in France?). The movie was marketed in a way in the US which would not draw most of the people who loved the original and would not bring in new fans either. It's basically just Burton and Depp jerking off. The sad thing is Dark Shadows will get the blame, not these hacks.

Depp in particular I've read is the top box office draw internationally. American films often sell overseas almost solely due to movie star popularity (which is one reason actors justify their huge fees--stars don't drive box office the same way as they used to in N America).

To be fair, slightly to my surprise, many of the negative critics have squarely placed blame not on the source material but on the Burton/Depp formula's staleness and saturation.

I thought it was great and paid homage to the original series in many different surprising ways. The Laura story, Quentin, Maggie Evans and so many other things were integrated which surprised me. Also the cameo with the original stars was extremely brief, but so touching. I wish they'd made Lara Parker or Kathryn Leigh Scott Mrs. Johnson or something. I LOVED Carolyn and David in this film and the actress playing Victoria was perfect. The only real letdown was the ending, which felt rushed.

Another thing--the film is NOT a comedy at all. The only comedic bits are whats featured in the trailer. Beyond that it's mostly played straight and the family is pretty dark and complicated. Michelle Pheiffer is a surprising delight and very powerful force as Elizabeth. I think had they come up with a better marketing plan this could've been a huge franchise. It's a shame it'll end up as a stand alone film because they set up a lot of future films well. Whoever decided to market as a comedy needs to be fired.

I was disappointed that they blended Maggie/Victoria into one character and Laura's brief appearance was too dissimilar to her storyline on the original show. I also wished David had mentioned Sarah at least once.

I refuse to pay to see it. This is how a good friend, whose opinion I trust but has NOT watched the show, said it went (he also said the group of guys he saw it with, two of whom didn't even know there was a tv show, hated it):

I saw it this morning and really was disappointed. The trailer/commercials had significantly lowered my expectations, but I didn't think it would be as bad as it was.

The have gutted the property of anything that made the show endearing. It is Dark Shadows in name only. There is no connective tissue, other than character names, to tie this to the source material.

Aside from that it's just a poorly constructed film. It starts out as Victoria's story, but quickly drops her once Barnabas is introduced. There is almost no plot. It's basically a series of jokes about how Barnabas is shocked by life in the 70s. We've seen this story many times before, and done much better. Plus it has little to do with the Dark Shadows brand I suspect. This isn't even a fun spoof like The Brady Bunch movie. I was happy for it to be over.

On Metacritic the reviews seem to run the gamut--the New York Times loved it, yet sent out one of their C level critics for some reason, not Scott.

It actually wasn't as bad as I expected. I think when you finally do catch it on TV you'll be surprised. Also, I disagree with your friend about the lack of a plot; it's all about Angelique and Barnabas and actually is quite close to the original series.

http://www.tnr.com/article/film/103321/dark-shadows-tim-burton-johnny-depp-soap-opera-remake

Just got back from seeing Dark Shadows movie I enjoyed the film - lot of people were there and they sounded like they were having a good time - some there knew DS TV show and some had never seen the show.

I am torn between waiting for Dark Shadows to hit tv and going to the movies. I hate spending tons of money at the movies. I already spent money on The Avengers (which I might go see again) and there is must sees Batman and Prometheus and likely go and see Spiderman, and The Bourne Legacy, My friend also wants me to with her go and see The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel when it hits town. Argh, I might wait for it to be on tv.

Edited May 16, 201213 yr by Ann_SS

I liked Johnny Depp and Michelle Pfeiffer - I could see Jonathan Frid's Barnabas in Johnny's Barnabas.

The Dark Shadows TV cast made a movie in 1970 called House of Dark Shadows.

Dark Shadows - Official Trailer (HD)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTjD3rV27Go&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Who liked the DS movie with Johnny Depp? I still prefer the ones from the 70s.

I wanted to like it but wound up turning it off in 5 minutes. I think the trailer and the comedy angle soured me on the whole thing. Was it any good?

It was a collosal mess! I had such high hopes, but came out of that long dreadful movie almost weeping and looking for a refund!

I found it entertaining for what it was, but I thought it was very short-sighted. Had they turned it into a dark, gothic horror film they could've gotten an entire franchise out of it. I can't believe Warner Brothers allowed them to turn it into a comedy. I still have hopes the show will return in some way. Either with CW or SyFy rebooting it as a primetime series. If we could trust Prospect Park, I'd say it would be a good idea for them to do a daytime version of either Dark Shadows or Passions.

I wanted to like it but wound up turning it off in 5 minutes. I think the trailer and the comedy angle soured me on the whole thing. Was it any good?

Initially I liked it only because they made a movie based on a soap. The novelty wore off fairly quickly and I viewed it as an extension to the Parallel Time story. That said, I will never watch it again. The series IMO wasn't that campy, or at least that wasn't there intention. Just look at the 70s movies.

I liked it but didn't love it. Like others have said, it shouldn't have been a comedy. However, the cast was phenomenal - especially Helena Bonham Carter and Michelle Pfieffer.