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

[madscntst]

That is interesting about the smoking caterpillar.  The thing is, if I remember the original story correctly, he wasn't merely smoking, he was smoking a hookah, and I could imagine Disney being a little squeamish if they did that.  A regular cigarette, not as much, but I suppose the world is very politically correct these days (personally, I hate smoking, but I think it's silly to censor it).

Anyway, here is a somewhat silly feature article (Ed Wood was a hit?  It made about $5.  Gilbert Grape and Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas were hits?  They made about $10)  that mentions DS:

Movie fan anticipates going to great Depps for vampires

[Midnite]

(Ed Wood was a hit?  It made about $5.  Gilbert Grape and Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas were hits?  They made about $10)

LOL

I wonder if the writer actually spoke to any Orlando club fans, or if he just Googled DS and learned where they meet.

[jimbo]

Don't know if there is any significance to this but this production site posted the Dark Shadows movie today for the first time with a summer start date.
http://www.myentertainmentworld.com/mew/film_production_newlisting.html

[madscntst]

Good find, jimbo, I hope it's true!  Though summer sounds a little on the optimistic side, considering it's already late May with no official confirmation.  I'd be happy enough with a fall start.  I'm not familiar with this website, but hope that it's solid on the prospect that the project is in gear!  Didn't I also just read somewhere that John August has said DS is his "next one to film"? 

Cathy

[jimbo]

Thank you madscntst. I would like to think that this is promising news. I remembered this site when the 2004 pilot was in development and I vaguely remember subscribing for a very short period of time and if my memory is correct it was worth the subscription in terms of details and accuracy. My theory is that a source provided them the information just very recently. This site could have posted it when IMDb did and this tells me that the summer shoot is the latest information regarding the movie's status. If the source is credible, and that is a big if, then we should be hearing an announcement very soon. If not, it will be just another one of those listings that remain in limbo like the rest of us. Is it possible that Burton will be completing his Alice movie sooner than expected? Or has another director been hired to direct the DS movie? The site says it has been in business since September 1999 so it is not a fly by night business. Perhaps someone here who knows the movie industry knows of its reputation.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Thank heavens: SAG Members Approve Feature, Prime-Time Contract

Now we no longer have the possibility of a strike hanging over the Depp/DS film.

[jimbo]

Pretty sure this does not impact the DS movie but it seems Disney is pushing hard to get the new Pirates movie off the ground.

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=56211

[madscntst]

Teensy heads-up:  Johnny will be on David Letterman NEXT Thursday, June 25     Thanks to the various Depp boards for the info.

Late Night TV listings

Surely most of the focus will be on Public Enemies, but you never know if any future projects (ahem, DS) might be mentioned.  He will also be doing some press junkets for PE very soon, so ditto.  (BTW I'm not sure I like the sound of them pushing hard to do Pirates 4, lol  

Cathy

[jimbo]

Thanks for the heads up Madscntst about JD's appearance on the David Letterman show this coming week. So far he seems to have alluded being asked any DS questions which is understandable since he is promoting PE but there is always hope.
This article is about Tim Burton's Alice movie which indicates in part filming was completed in December but the 3D process seems to be still ongoing(?)

http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2009-06-21-alice-in-wonderland_N.htm

[jimbo]

Unfortunately it looks like we will have to wait until next year for filming to begin on the DS movie as per Mr. Depp himself. He does have kind words for Dark Shadows.

http://www.collider.com/2009/06/22/johnny-depp-interview-alice-in-wonderland-dark-shadows-and-pirates-of-the-caribbean-4/

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Interesting that they're still tweaking the script. Though I can't say that I think that's a bad thing because I would much rather that they get it right than that they get it fast. Some of the best scripts have gone through multiple rewrites - so the situation is nothing new in the industry. And as far as Alice In Wonderland taking longer than initially reported, well, that's not much of a surprise either.

[madscntst]

I didn't see the news until this morning.  All the Depp fans seem very excited about this, but I am disappointed that it won't be done this year    Still, I think that Johnny's enthusiasm speaks volumes.  Earlier yesterday evening, there was another article from the press conferences where he'd been asked about The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (the ill-fated film he started with Terry Gilliam in 2000, which became the subject of the documentary Lost In La Mancha), and you could just tell he's no longer interested in doing it.  But he seems genuinely thrilled about DS.  So... we wait a little longer, but my fingers remain crossed!

[jimbo]

I think Johnny actually said that they will "probably" attack the movie next year. Not sure if he meant that there was a possibility that the movie may be filmed the year after that or that there was a possibility that the movie could still be filmed later this year?
I still don't know why Sam Sarkar told us in March that an announcement from WB was imminent. I think it will be a long time before we here from WB. Also just wondering what Johnny will be doing from July to the end of this year in terms of his acting profession. He could certainly use a nice long vacation but he will probably try to squeeze in another movie?

[madscntst]

Also just wondering what Johnny will be doing from July to the end of this year in terms of his acting profession. He could certainly use a nice long vacation but he will probably try to squeeze in another movie?

We are wondering the same thing, jimbo!  In general, Johnny is a workaholic and doesn't often have much downtime.  But there have been exceptions, including the early 00's and the 2nd half of '07 (he took time off between Sweeney Todd and Public Enemies).  With all the projects that are on his plate right now, I would've expected him to have something lined up for this fall.  On the other hand, one one board someone reminded us that he's just made 4 (4!!) films in the past 15 months:  Public Enemies, Alice In Wonderland, Rango and The Rum Diary.  So maybe it's time for another break, though I certainly think he could indeed squeeze something else in this year.

I just found out that his partner, Vanessa Paradis, is filming a movie right now, and once the Public Enemies premieres are over with, he may just want to be with her and the kids while she is filming. Also, his production company has a lot of stuff in development (many of which he won't star in) so it's possible he may spend the time getting the ball rolling on some of those.  My personal wish is that he'll do some kind of musical project.  I run a website devoted to Johnny's musical pursuits and try to keep up with news about that, and last year there was a rumor that he might start a record label-- maybe wishful thinking but I'd love to see it happen.

Anyway, if DS wasn't on the verge of being greenlit by now, I really don't see how it could come together this year.  Sam Sarkar seemed very confident, but maybe the script needed more tweaking, and as quite a few people have mentioned, it may be more a matter of waiting for Tim Burton than for Johnny at this stage.  This is probably why the folks involved with movies don't say a lot before things are pretty solid, because so many things can happen to slow a project down and too many fans like us start to jump the gun    But I agree with MB in that I'd rather have them take a little longer and be fully ready to do it.  The bright side is that Johnny seems genuinely thrilled to be doing it, and since he's producing it as well, we know he's going to be firing on all cylinders to do it right!

Cathy

[jimbo]

Thanks Madscntst for your thoughts and information. I am still going to hope that the DS movie starts later this year although that now appears to be wishful thinking. This movie business is very strange. For example, GK Films, only about 3 weeks ago, sent an email to myentertainmentworld indicating that the DS movie would begin shooting this summer and provided production information. It seems that it is not only the fans who jump the gun. It gives the impression that all of the DS producers are not on the same page. It has always been true that it is better that the movie gets done properly especially if more are to follow. It certainly is encouraging that the man himself said that the DS movie is going to happen. Can't beat that.