WB ORDERS FILMING OF NEW DS PILOT

[Patti Feinberg]

MB...I love you, honor you and listen to most everything you say.....but I draw the line:

posted on Sci-Fi's Web site today. Check the news item out here.

BLAAAHHH TO SCI FI....

Patti

Carroll O'Connor as Dr. Smith.....boggles the imagination!!!


lololololololol clinged peached Vicki!!!!

[Mark Rainey]

I actually think it would be a far more interesting series if they keep the Colonel (that was his rank) as an evil character, rather than the loveable buffoon he became in the original (which was by Jonathan Harris' own design).  He was far more interesting in the first coupla months episodes where he ramained a cunning danger to the family, doing everything from trying to murder them to betraying them to vicious aliens in order to save his own neck.

I quite agree. Although I admit I enjoyed Dr. Smith's antics as a clown, I thought he showed much greater range when he was a real meanie. I met Jonathan Harris briefly at the same con where I met Jonathan Frid for the first time, and I have to say, Harris just knocked me out with his wit and obvious long dramatic experience. He was one of the most entertaining speakers I ever heard. I adopted a whole new respect for him that day.

--Mark

[victoriawinters]

As a big fan of Hong Kong Cinema, wanted to say how thrilled I am to see John Woo attached to the LIS project.  Will be most interesting to see what he will do for the small screen in a direct way, instead of his influence in the indirect way.

[jimbo]

For those who may have wondered what happened to the poll at the Futon Critic's website asking which WB pilot do you wish see to series, I received a response from the website's Editor-in Chief: " Sadly the final results are not available as they were lost when an outsider tried to "stuff the ballot" in favor of one particular show and caused the poll to overload. We're looking into a way to prevent this from happening in the future."
Now that is a shame.

[Miss_Winthrop]

Ryan Seacrest's show is being taken off the air, so he is now available to play Barnabas.  A little long in tooth by the WB's standards, but what the hey.

Ryan Seacrest is 27 years old.  Long in tooth?

[Midnite]

From the new Entertainment Weekly (March 12):


Pilot Greenlight?
Insiders take a flyby at fall's hottest shows-- coming from Mel Gibson, Jessica Simpson, and Method Man.  by Lynette Rice

DARK SHADOWS  (The WB, from ER's John Wells)
Dramatic remake of the 1960s sudser about a rich family under a vampire curse.  BUZZ  "The WB already ordered six scripts, so it's pretty safe to say it's going on the air."

[Mysterious Benefactor]

BUZZ  "The WB already ordered six scripts, so it's pretty safe to say it's going on the air."

Well, isn't that a very interesting development?! Hopefully it's true.

Funny how we're always reluctant to believe good news until it's been confirmed by a dozen different sources.    But I suppose getting burned so many times in the past has made us abundantly cautious - even when great news seems to be staring us right in the face...

In this case, though, the fact that EW is published by Time-Warner, the WB's parent company, might give it more credence than if it had been published in almost any other magazine. 

[Philippe Cordier]

Well, the '91 DS pilot didn't begin shooting until March 19, 1990, and the first casting news (published in USA Today) didn't start filtering out until just four days before that on the 15th. And if we can believe the info on the My Entertainment World Web site, the WB DS pilot isn't slated to begin production until sometime this March.

It was actually May 1990 before ShadowGram reported the complete '91 cast and publicity photos of some cast members began to surface. Of course, that was before the Internet was as popular as it is today. So, somehow I'm sure we'll be hearing something long before May, and I doubt anyone is actually trying to keep any casting news a "big secret." 

It's been almost a month since this was posted ("filming to start any day").  Why haven't we heard anything about the cast?

If any original cast members were to appear, surely we'd have heard something about that by now ...

Waiting impatiently, since that's all one can do ...

[Midnite]

It's been almost a month since this was posted ("filming to start any day").  Why haven't we heard anything about the cast?

An excerpt from:

ShadowGram Update #111

ShadowGram (SG) announces the following breaking news for Dark Shadows (DS).

--- DARK SHADOWS 2004 SIGNS FIRST CAST MEMBER

SG has learned that 30-year-old Los Angeles-born actress MARLEY SHELTON will portray governess Victoria Winters in the forthcoming "Dark Shadows" television pilot for the WB Network. She is the first performer to be signed for the proposed new series, which will begin filming later this month in the Los Angeles area.

Marley's past credits include the films "Pleasantville" and "Nixon." She played Tricia Nixon in the latter project, which, coincidentally, also featured Joanna Going, the 1991 "Dark Shadows'" Victoria Winters. Marley also was seen in the short-lived 1993 CBS primetime serial "Angel Falls," which co-starred Jean Simmons, who portrayed Elizabeth Collins Stoddard in the 1991 "Dark Shadows."

For the rest of the update, including an announcement about the pilot's director, click the above (SG #111) link.

[dom]

Interesting choice. I'll have to check out some of her work. I've seen PLEASANTVILLE but I don't remember her (or much of the movie for that matter).

What do you think about her age? I wonder if Viki will be thirty also?  I guess this is a positive developement for those who were worried about WB casting a bunch of teenagers in major roles.

So far, so good I'd say. We're that much closer to a new DS.

[Josette]

I saw Pleasantville fairly recently, but other than a couple of main characters I wouldn't remember who was who.  I checked the IMDB and she's way down the list (on the 2nd page after clicking "more") - so it must have been a pretty small part.

Since they're mentioning all the coincidences of casting, Joan Allen who was Pat Nixon was also in Pleasantville!

I then checked Marley Shelton and I see she was in Uptown Girls.  I haven't seen that yet but want to.  This time she's listed right after the 2 leads.

[Cassandra]

Im glad they're finally starting to choose the cast for the new DS.
Here are some of the movies that Marley Shelton has appeared in, maybe some of them will look familiar to you:

Never Been Kissed (1999)
Lured Innocence (1999)
 Hairshirt (1998)
Pleasantville (1998)
Warriors of Virtue (1997)
The Trojan War (aka: Rescue Me) (1997)
Secret Between Friends (TV/1996)
 Nixon (1995)
A Friend to die For (aka: The Death of a Cheerleader) (TV/1994)
Hercules in the Underworld (before 'Hercules' became a 1 hr series) (TV/1994)
 Take Me Home Again (aka: The Lies Boys Tell) (TV/1994)
Ambush in Waco (part of HBO's "In the Line of Duty" series) (TV/1993)
 The Sandlot (aka: The Sandlot Kids) (1993)
Grand Canyon (1991)
Marley was also in the following TV series:
Angel Falls (1993) as 'Brandi Dare'


Here's are a couple of links if anyone's interested in finding out more about the actress:

http://members.aol.com/fanforvm/marlee/

http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hc&id=1800019209&cf=gen&intl=us

Cassandra

[Mysterious Benefactor]

It's been almost a month since this was posted ("filming to start any day").  Why haven't we heard anything about the cast?

I'm sure that Tim will soon be posting tonight's ShadowGram in its entirety, but here's an excerpt from it that answers your question

As you've probably gathered from a few of my recent posts, I subscribe to Variety's Web site. SG and Midnite got the jump on me with this, though, because the e-mail containing the news of Shelton's casting didn't come in until 03:38:09 am EST, and I didn't download/check out today's news stories until just a few minutes ago. But so long as the word gets out, it surely doesn't matter who posts it. 

For what it's worth, this is what Variety had to say (which is a whole lot less than SG has reported, but does include a credit that hasn't been mentioned yet):

'Kat,' 'Call' add thesps to pilots

Silverman, Moore, Shelton, Pyle secure key gigs

By MICHAEL SCHNEIDER

With several pilots about to go into production, networks and studios continued to fill up cast rosters Thursday

...

Also, thesps Jonathan Silverman ("The Single Guy"), Shemar Moore ("The Young and the Restless"), Marley Shelton ("Uptown Girls"), Missi Pyle ("Big Fish"), Justin Chatwin ("Traffic") and James Pickens Jr. ("The Lyon's Den") all secured key gigs.

...

In other casting news:

...

Shelton will play Victoria Winters in the WB's new Mark Verheiden/John Wells/Dan Curtis version of "Dark Shadows." Drama, from Warner Bros. TV and Wells, is a remake of the classic Gothic soap. Shelton's other credits include "Just a Kiss."[/b]


From "Uptown Girls" Official Web Site:

Other key roles were cast with actors with whom the filmmakers were already familiar from other projects.  Producer Stevens had recently directed Marley Shelton in his film Just A Kiss, and actor Donald Faison worked with Boaz Yakin on Remember the Titans.  Yakin says he immediately knew he wanted both actors for Uptown Girls.

"I had to have Marley Shelton as Ingrid," Boaz Yakin says.  "She's able to convey Ingrid's sensitivity and high strung-qualities, and she's just a really good actress."

Unfortunately, though, if there are any photos of her on the site, I couldn't find them.    She might appear in the trailer, but unless they identify the character Ingrid in it, without knowing what Shelton looks like, obviously we're not likely to spot her, so I didn't bother to check it out.    However, if anyone else is curious, you can access the site here.


Hopefully this will be the start of several such reports in the coming days. 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

SG has learned that 30-year-old Los Angeles-born actress MARLEY SHELTON will portray governess Victoria Winters in the forthcoming "Dark Shadows" television pilot for the WB Network.

Well, this should put to rest anyone's fears that the WB DS will be populated by a bunch of teenagers.    And as the casting starts to fill out, hopefully we'll soon be able to speculate about a lot more constructive topics - like whether or not the actress who plays Julia will sport the austere hairdo that Barbara Steele did in the '91 remake or the more stylish 'dos of the '68 and beyond Grayson Hall. The really important stuff like that! 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

without knowing what Shelton looks like, obviously we're not likely to spot her

Ah ha - I found her here. There's a very nice photo and a lengthy bio (and, hey, she's already played opposite a vamp - well, sort of - she was in Valentine, which starred Angel's David Boreanaz - though I can't say I can honestly place her character in the story).

Personally, I think she looks more like a Carolyn - very attractive, with blond hair. But, of course, nothing stops her from dying her hair darker, or even from the show completely departing from DC's "dream" governess with long dark hair. (Though, if the latter is the case, I can already foresee the conniption fits some "purists" in fandom are going to have!  )