It's official: Dark Shadows returns as a film with Johnny Depp

[Taeylor Collins]

I know a lot of people are not happy with the new script writer; however at this point I am just trying to trust Johnny Deep.  Who know we may go through several scripts before the movie is filmed.  This is the nature of Hollywood.  I just to try relax, breathe and set back to watch it all unfold.  Johnny is a fan and I am gonna try and put my faith in that!

[B.Collins]

i agree, that's what i am trying to do as well. i am THRILLED that we have someone who wants to make the film WHO actually IS a fan of the show. unlike sometimes where people make films of their favorite tv shows or favorite books & don't do the film justice. & thankfully Johnny Depp grew up watching the show. i can't give you an answer on tim burton though. i'm curious if he's even SEEN the show or what he thought of it? i know they plan on doing the film together.


but to me it does seem like perfect fit. well more of a fit than say if 'David Fincher" directed it. only cause Burton has been doing Macabre. his entire life & actually i think that even if some people do LOVE the film, people will still hate it.

only cause like i said everyone here is so used to the original Cast that there will never be any real replacements for it. even if there are fans of the remakes they've already done. so that's my atitude & i am going to try my damdest to try & keep it like that.

[Taeylor Collins]

As far as I know Cousin B.Collins Tim Burton is a CONFIRMED fan! I appreciate your attitude as well because I had heard a lot of rumblings from DS friends on Facebook really downing the writer but I refuse to form an opinion (concerning his writing) until I see the movie or hear some of what the plot may be.

[B.Collins]

thanxs you cousin, also i've never even HEARD of the guy before. the writer i mean, so i've never read any of his books or seen any of his movies if he's done film adaptation before i mean. i have no idea if he has or not.


People diss the "Lost In Space" film but i actually like it. only thing that i think they COULD have done is not cast "Gary Oldman" whom i am a fan of & have been for years. but in this instance he was miscast.  but the film i enjoy. it's actually one of the 1st early dvd's i ever bought. so i have good memories towards that & the film as well.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

It's not simply the new writer on his own that's sparking fears. It's the type of stuff the new writer is known for, the remark made by Richard Zanuck that the previous script was "very funny," and remarks Burton has made (chiefly the ones on Late Night with Jonathan Ross), and Burton's often quirky take on things. All that combined together can lead one to believe that Burton is looking more toward doing a parody of DS rather than a straight dramatic/Gothic version. Though, of course, it's definitely not fair to judge or presume anything before we actually know what the take on DS actually will be. And I'm certainly trying my best to keep an open mind. But at the same time I can understand the fears many fans are experiencing at this juncture...

seen any of his movies if he's done film adaptation before i mean. i have no idea if he has or not.

As far as I could tell from his credits, he hasn't. Though that doesn't necessarily mean he's incapable of writing a great screenplay for the Depp/DS film. One can only hope that he is... (Though I do believe he's also adapting his own AL:VH for the screen. Though that's his own work, so it's very different than DS...)

[B.Collins]

i agree 100% i Do have reservations but it's not against the writer,  since i've never read or seen any of his material to see if he's any good? i honestly have no idea. i also didn't hear that the previous script was very funny. that's the 1st i've heard of that. well i guess if they choose a different writer hopefully he LEAST knows what "DS" is & what type of show it was. & is.


i also hope he's a fan as well. cause i think Fans of this or that show tend to do a better job than if they aren't.  anyways people also say the same thing about books that get made into films. they expect EVERYTHING to be in it. well some do anyways. such as "The Dark Tower" series buy "Stephen King" personally i'd love to see that either as a film. or a tv series for HBO. that'd i think would be Perfect for the format. maybe a guy like Alan Ball for that one. anyways, that's for another thread. my points that's also why i have this atitude. i worry like everyone else does about how DS is going to make it in a film. to bad "Dan Curtis" has since passed away cause than he'd ease our minds. i just hope the film doesn't come out in (2013) as the latest news says. that's a bit too far ahead for them to do that. i don't think i can wait THAT Long for them to release the original films on dvd or blue-ray.  it also wouldn't surprise me if MPI did a re-issue of the tv series during that time.  when it's in theatres. that i can understand why they'd do that. but i am THRILLED that the Entire show is on dvd. & that they finished releasing it before all this was announced. ya know?

[Mysterious Benefactor]

to bad "Dan Curtis" has since passed away cause than he'd ease our minds.

That wouldn't ease my mind. True - I'd know the film wouldn't be a parody, and that would be a relief.   But if DC were fully in charge, I'd also be pretty certain that what it would be would be the umpteenth remake of hoDS - and I sure as hell wouldn't want to see that either.    I'm hoping for a fresh take on things, but also something that resembles the dramatic/Gothic aspects of DS that we know and love.  

[jimbo]

Let's face it. We dodged a bullet. It seemed that Tim Burton just didn't like John August's script and the various re-writes. There may have been a point where Tim and company would have passed on this project based on an unsuitable script. It seems that TB grew so tired of August's script that he entertained a pitch from writer Seth Grahame-Smith and liked his version of what the new DS movie should be. At least we know that this movie will not be "very funny" if the previous script was rejected.

[B.Collins]

i agree Jimbo. i also don't want another remake but a NEW film. the ONLY thing i really honestly expect to be the same, & i'll be SHOCKED if it's not in it. is the start of the film. where Barnabas is Released in short the introduction of Barnabas. the rest after that i think SHOULD be Original. it won't honestly bother me if Willie isn't the one who finds him.

it also won't bother me if he isn't his slave in it. since i prefer him when he's not his slave anyways. but those are things i can live with ya know?  it'd also be cool if they Could film it at the original Estate like the show did. i know the show was filmed in New York. but i'm referring to the interior when they went to Lyndhurst. isn't it called? if they are able to film inside that

than i think that'd be great.

[jimbo]

Hi B.Collins It's been stated by one of the DS producers that the movie will be filmed at Pinewood Studios in London. So it seems filming in the US is out unless things change. Unfortunately, we don't have any input on how and where the movie should be filmed. We have no idea if the new writer is going to shake things up but I expect he will for good or bad. I am hoping it will be filmed on the serious side. We don't know why TB did not like August's script or what he liked about the new writer's ideas. Let's hope that the script is a real good one because I don't think TB and JD are going to wait forever to get the right script. They both have many projects on their respective plates.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

It seems that TB grew so tired of August's script that he entertained a pitch from writer Seth Grahame-Smith and liked his version of what the new DS movie should be. At least we know that this movie will not be "very funny" if the previous script was rejected.

Well, I don't know if we can necessarily say that. From the reports I've seen, after reading Grahame-Smith's Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, it was Burton who decided Grahame-Smith was the guy to write the Depp/DS film and Burton approached him. Though it's still not clear what it was about the book that made Burton make that decision. Was it the vampire story, or the humor in it - or possibly even both? And have you seen some of the reviews of that book? Some critics really hate both the story and the humor of it. (A few pages back I referenced what EW had to say about the book.) But the one review I'm trying to hold onto is the following one (but only because it's from www.vampires.com - and I'm hoping they *might* be a good judge of what makes good vampire fiction - but who knows?):

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter Review

As I've said, I'm trying to keep an open mind, but I won't really feel completely comfortable until some DS fan whose opinion I trust reads the book and also thinks Grahame-Smith could be capable of coming up with a great script...

[Taeylor Collins]

MY best  Dark Shadows friend (whom I have known for 20 years) loves the book but of course that I guess doesn't help you MB!  She is gonna send it to me. I will let you know what I think!

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I'll be looking forward to seeing what you have to say. 

[MsCriseyde]

As I've said, I'm trying to keep an open mind, but I won't really feel completely comfortable until some DS fan whose opinion I trust reads the book and also thinks Grahame-Smith could be capable of coming up with a great script...

Before Grahame-Smith was attached to the DS film, David Selby was asked to write a piece about the book based on his own interest in/writing on Lincoln and I assume also his association with the horror genre through DS. Unfortunately, I don't have the specifics on when and where it will appear.

FWIW, I kind of liked the book, but
[spoiler]I am also a bit uncomfortable with S-G's need to try to make slavery worse somehow for the purposes of his story. The reality was bad enough.[/spoiler]

The premise of the book seems over the top, but he approaches it very seriously, and, when you think about it, isn't that DS in a nutshell?

[Mysterious Benefactor]

FWIW, I kind of liked the book

Coming from you, it's worth a lot.  

The premise of the book seems over the top, but he approaches it very seriously, and, when you think about it, isn't that DS in a nutshell?

That eases my mind immensely - particularly the "very seriously" description.    Thanks. After reading some of the reviews, I had no idea what to think...