Depp/Burton DARK SHADOWS Is In Production!!

[michael c]

i just don't recall ever hearing about a third barnabas until this.

in the early publicity i thought it was mentioned that it was macdonell's teenage barnabas who left england with his parents. not a 6 year old.

still hearing recently that the entire 18th century sequence was just about 8 minutes it stands to reason such a character was not required.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

It seems as if things might have been changed somewhere along the way because the Warner Brothers' Press Release told us the Collinses sailed to America in 1752 and then lead us to believe the events leading to Barnabas becoming a vampire took place in 1772. But now we know the latter part extends to 1776 - and who knows if their arrival in America is still in 1752? If Barnabas was supposed to like 40 in 1776, anything dealing with a 6-year-old Barnabas would have to take place around 1742. And for all we know maybe it does because perhaps it takes place in England before the crossing...

Or perhaps Barnabas is only supposed to be around 30 when he's cursed...

6 days 10 hours 25 minutes 1 second until the day the Depp/Burton Dark Shadows is released(ET)!!

[ProfStokes]

Apparently the scene I so widely object to is in the final cut of the film, which is unfortunate, because it has no place being in something called Dark Shadows, and imo destroys, perhaps, the most vital character relationship in series history. 

Very disappointing, Cousin_Barnabas.    Thank you for the link, and the warning.

ProfStokes

[Sara Monster]

New pictures: (with SPOILERS!)
http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20483133_20592906,00.html

[michael c]

i'm officially done with pictures and spoilers so i'll skip it.

something needs to be kept suspenseful for next week.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

   Exactly! 

6 days 8 hours 24 minutes 12 seconds until the day the Depp/Burton Dark Shadows is released(ET)!!

(And there's now officially less than 7 days until I'll be seeing the film next Friday afternoon with a group of fellow DS friends. We all can't wait - especially to see it in IMAX!)

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I was just reading an article that said that The Avengers took in a "disappointing" $18.7 million in its midnight showings. They blame it on the fact that Thursday night was a school night for the target audience. But Thursday nights are almost always school nights for the target audience because seemingly almost every film is aimed at that same target audience, so if they could come out for the other films on a school night, that's no excuse this time around. But what I would say is a more valid excuse is that The Avengers is not a sequel and sequels tend to bring out more people because they have a much better idea of what they're in for than they do when it comes to a non-sequel film. And really, what has the entertainment media come to when they think $18.7 million is a disappointment? And though I could be wrong, I suspect that's most probably more than DS will pull in for its midnight shows next week. Though, of course, expectations are not anywhere near as high for DS as they are for The Avengers. And speaking of the expectations for The Avengers, forecasts are that it will bring in between $150 and $200 million this upcoming weekend. I suppose we'll see - but I would not be the slightest bit surprised if it does. On the other hand, it will be interesting to see what the forecast will be for DS. A few months back Empire Magazine forecast a $60 million opening weekend in the US. Again, I suppose we'll see - but as I said back then, that could be optimistic...

6 days 7 hours 20 minutes 15 seconds until the day the Depp/Burton Dark Shadows is released(ET)!!

[jimbo]

Box Office Mojo is predicting a domestic take of $125 million for the DS movie. Not bad. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=3434&p=.htm

[Gerard]

And doesn't everyone say to stay till the end of the credits??

I always do, especially after seeing Airplane (you actually have to read the credits because they're hysterical and there was that little surprise at the end), and Mel Brooks' History of the World Part I (because of its wonderful surprise at the end).

Gerard

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Box Office Mojo is predicting a domestic take of $125 million for the DS movie. Not bad.

And combined with last week's foreign gross prediction of $240 million, that would make for a worldwide gross of $365 million, which would be fantastic if things really do play out that way. 

One thing I found interesting about last week's article is that they strongly suspect that DS will not be shown in China (so they're not even factoring in that country) because of how China's stance on the supernatural tends to get supernatural films "squashed by censors." (Apparently none of the Twilight films have shown in China.)

6 days 6 hours 43 minutes 20 seconds until the day the Depp/Burton Dark Shadows is released(ET)!!

[Gerard]

Call me weird, but I've always loved spoilers.  When I watch a movie on TV I've never seen, I'll quickly go on-line and look up the plot (wiki is great for that).  I'll read it to the end, and then I'll sit and watch the movie to the end and, for me, it doesn't harm my enjoyment one bit (quite often it enhances it, especially if the film is rather difficult to follow because of twists and turns).  Plus, I'm actually good at figuring things out.  When I saw The Others, a creepy, atmospheric ghost story, I figured out the ending.  When I watched part one of season two of The Walking Dead (currently my favorite TV show), and they talked about a "shocking" final scene, I figured out what it would be episodes before it aired.  So, for me, hunting down spoilers doesn't take away the fun; often, I've figured out how things are going to go and end even without them.  I already have an idea how DS-the-movie will end, but I won't say here.  I'll wait until after I've seen it and let you know if I was right.

Gerard

[Gothick]

I'm the same way, Gerard.  I've seen so many of these things now that what gives me real pleasure is the quality of the performances, how the story is told, whether the dialogue is of a superior calibre, etc. 

It takes a really devious inventive mind to surprise me.  Two movies where I was at least jolted were Carrie and The Crying Game (where the "big reveal" was less of a surprise than how the director chose to reveal it).  I thought I couldn't ever be shocked like that again but it happened a couple of years ago when I saw the 1989 film The Woman in Black (recently re-made by a coalition of production companies including a revived aegis of Hammer studios).  A friend told me that there was no attempt in the remake to re-stage the shocking scene in the 1989 version.  Which was probably just as well.

cheers, G.

[Cousin_Barnabas]

i believe a glimpse of the controversial scene in question is actually in the trailer and alot of the ads...

it's actually kind of obvious. i'm not that squeamish about it.

i actually find the other joke(although i certainly recall as 10 year old boys making similar remarks)yuckier.

I really just can't believe that they resorted to that for one the best character dynamics in the original.  It ruins the relationship.   

And as for the note about the character I alluded to, it's more of a what instead of a who.   And I am thinking it is unrelated to a previous character from the series. 

[michael c]

in general i'm not opposed to spoilers either. knowing a particular thing is going to happen and seeing it all play out are two different things.

when i first got into the series one of the first things i did was buy KLS's "my dark shadows memories" with it's complete episode guide and series outline and promptly read it cover-to-cover. so from near the outset i had a general overview of the series. watching the 'fountain pen' plot i knew that a vampire was going to show up a few months later. it didn't affect my enjoyment of the series in the least.

and sometimes i too check out the wikipedia entry on a film before i watch it so i know what's going on.

in terms of the film at hand there were certain things i felt i needed to know walking in. watching it blind would have been too stressful. so i deliberately read certain things i knew had spoilers so now i have that general overview.

however at this point i am becoming oversaturated with it. i don't need or want to know any more so i'll tread very lightly with future material until i see it next week.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Tonight Access Hollywood continued their DS interview with Michelle Pfeiffer at CinemaCon.

And I see that Entertainment Tonight is apparently running previews counting down to the weekend DS show because Eva Green was on again last night to say there were two days left.

And speaking of previews, tonight Extra promoted that Johnny Depp is on Monday.

6 days 4 hours 0 minutes 46 seconds until the day the Depp/Burton Dark Shadows is released(ET)!!