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

[michael c]

perhaps we're all of the mark and ms. heathcote won't be playing either vicki or maggie but collinsport inn waitress susie.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

   Now THAT would be something - from non-speaking extra to Barnabas' love interest! What an upgrade for the character THAT would be!!

[Gothick]

MSC, you crack me up!  Thanks for the laugh.

G.

[jimbo]

We were previously informed that the movie will start shooting in April and now we seem to have a start date which was posted today at the myentertainmentworld website:
DARK SHADOWS - April 11, 2011 - UK  http://www.myentertainmentworld.com/mew/film_production_newlisting.html

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Excellent! And what a perfect birthday present because that's the Monday after my birthday (which is on Saturday). Having the film begin on the 11th will be a gift I'll love to see opened!   

[jimbo]

Wow MB that is an excellent birthday gift!!!

[Mysterious Benefactor]

It's funny because my best friend (and fellow DS fan, and whose birthday is on the 10th) and I were recently joking that it would be perfect if the film started on the 11th - and now apparently it actually will. We may have to celebrate our birthdays that weekend and then have another celebration on Monday.    (It's a good thing that almost all our other friends are also DS fans because they'll get into the double celebration as much as we will.  )

[Josette]

A lot of the casting info discussed so far still seems to be speculative or at least not confirmed.  It's hard to keep track of what is what.  Perhaps someone could start a list of confirmed casting as it becomes known and add to it as more are revealed.

[Mary]

We were previously informed that the movie will start shooting in April and now we seem to have a start date which was posted today at the myentertainmentworld website:
DARK SHADOWS - April 11, 2011 - UK  http://www.myentertainmentworld.com/mew/film_production_newlisting.html

Wow!  Cool!  Thanks Jimbo!!

[Mysterious Benefactor]

A lot of the casting info discussed so far still seems to be speculative or at least not confirmed.  It's hard to keep track of what is what.  Perhaps someone could start a list of confirmed casting as it becomes known and add to it as more are revealed.

Once the casting is confirmed, ShadowGram will be sending out an update. Until that time we might not learn who has actually signed.

Of course, the interesting, or should it be maddening thing is that a lot of the Internet reports treated the news as if Jackie Earle Haley, Bella Heathcote and Eva Green had indeed been signed even though the source articles in Variety and on deadline.com clearly said each was in talks. But then, so what else is new on the Internet because it's all too often a place where speculation and rumor is presented as fact - so it's nothing to turn talks into actual signings...

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Noticed two more behind the scenes additions on the IMDb - this time on the creative end:  Christine Cantella is the assistant costume designer, and Courtney Hoffman is the costume buyer.

Cantella has worked with Colleen Atwood and Burton and/or Depp before. Hoffman doesn't seem to have ever worked with any of them.


And still no name for Bella Heathcote's character. But speaking of her own name, I find it surprising that seemingly none of the casting reports are playing up the fact that she shares the same first name as the Twilight Saga films' heroine because some of the reporting sites just love to jump on coincidences like that...

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Add Cheryl Beasley as the film's costume supervisor. It doesn't seem as if she's worked with Atwood before. In fact, if IMDb can be trusted, it seems as if DS may only be her second film.

And I realize that some may not find many of these latest additions all that exciting. But to me it's great to see not only potential casting news but also the hiring of behind the scenes technical and creative personnel because it shows that the film really is moving forward on several different fronts. And what's not exciting about that?  

[jimbo]

Thanks MB for the info. Any news we could get our hands on is a good thing. I did notice a potential conflict. Eva Green is shooting Arbitrage in the U.S. in mid April according to myentertainmentworld website. Of course I guess they can film around her schedule if she actually gets the DS role.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

She wouldn't be the first actor to work on two films simultaneously. For instance, I was recently reading an interview with Helena Bonham Carter in which she talked about how she shot the upcoming Harry Potter films during the week and The King's Speech on the weekends. Of course that was easier for her than it would be for Eva Green because both of HBC's films were shooting in England. But other actors have flown back and forth between the US and Europe while working on two film simultaneously. Though the best case scenario for her would be that she could shoot all or at least most of her stuff for one film and then move on to the next. But, of course, that all depends on how the logistics of each film are planned out. For example, if, say, all of Angelique's scenes will take place on sets, there's the chance that she wouldn't be needed for DS until the production shoots on those sets.

[madscntst]

Johnny has also worked on two films at once   I don't know the exact logistics, but roughly, he worked on Chocolat in about June-July of 2000, and on From Hell from around June-Sept (and going straight on to the ill-fated The Man Who Killed Don Quixote right after that!)    In Chocolat, Johnny wore his natural long hair in a ponytail, and in From Hell he wore a (shorter) wig, because the latter film took place in Victorian England.  He was the lead in From Hell, but only 4th or 5th billed in Chocolat, so not being the lead in both films probably helped him to manage to do both simultaneously.

He also did a cameo for a French film, Happily Ever After, while he was in the middle of filming Secret Window.  That might've only taken a day or so, though.

I think that Christian Bale was working on something else (Terminator?? I forget) during part of Public Enemies filming, but he wasn't required to be present for the whole ~4 month Public Enemies shoot.

As for Eva, I'm sure they will figure out how to fit in the two shooting schedules, otherwise I don't think they would offer her the part!  Unless Angelique is in every scene, they can film other scenes around her other schedule.

I'm not paying attention to most of the crew's names as you're posting them, MB, but I appreciate you posting the info anyway, because as you say, it's just cool in general to see the project shaping up and various different positions getting filled!

Cathy