We first mentioned the possibility of Johnny Depp starring as Barnabus Collins almost exactly two years ago, July 27, 2007. (so long ago, I was still going by my old nick, rollerboy, in the comments). I’m lagging a couple of days with this update, but Tim Burton has now announced the big screen resurrection of the legendary TV series will be his next project (Timing the confirmation to coincide with the longest solar eclipse of the 21st century? Coincidence? bwa-ha-ha!)
MTV had the Tim Burton interview yesterday, coming to us via firstshowing.net:
“…another Depp-focused project, one that has teased and tantalized movie nerds for years is finally, finally, going to get underway in 2010: “Dark Shadows.”
“That’s something that [Depp and I] both love and are excited about,” the director told MTV News. “When I’m done with this I’ll definitely focus on that.”
Burton’s comments jibe with what Depp said during the “Public Enemies” junket a few weeks ago. He told MTV’s Josh Horowitz that he’ll be shooting “Shadows” and a fourth “Pirates of the Caribbean” film next year. There’s also the fact that in March, an executive in Depp’s production told us that the film “is very active” and “the studio will be making some announcements regarding it pretty soon. Very soon, probably.”
(Interesting to note in our excitement two years ago, another prominent vampire classic came up in discussion: Kathryn Bigelow’s After Dark Near Dark gets name-dropped in the comments.)
Shadows is a sorry gap in my pop culture education, but I’m eager to become a disciple in the realm of Collingwood. After the cut, there’s a scene from the original series.
Fine time to be reminded that even the most promising vampire movies can evolve from not-so-literary beginnings.
37 Responses for "Tim Burton confirms lurking in Dark Shadows"
If you want to really tanked, you could build a diabolical drinking game around all the gay innuendos in this spooky speed-dating bar chat.
…or does it just seem that way to me because I’ve lost count of all the last-call mash-ups I’ve seen that followed this pattern of probing?
Poor Depp; destined to always fulfil Burton’s eccentric fantasies. But then again, is Depp relevant without Burton’s eyeliner? The relationship benefits both parties and to be fair, it produces (sometimes) good results.
Actually, as Alex Billington quotes Johnny Depp:
So I think it’s less a matter of Depp simply fulfilling somebody else’s fantasies and more a result of Burton and Depp sharing some of the same passions.
yeah, “poor Depp” — poor highest paid-actor on the planet and global swoon-machine Depp.
i am SO SICK of Burton/Depp
so sick of it
I`ve no clue what Dark Shadows is but I`m excited to hear that POTC 4 is a go. I hope they leave Will nd Elisabeth story to the rest since it is closed. From the ending of AWE, I can imagine that Barbossa, Mr Gibbs, Ragetti&Pintel, Murtogg and Mullroy, Jack the Moneky, Cotton`s parrot are going to be back. maybe Will and Elisabeth`s son (now grown up) for continuity with the two of them. The latter doesn`t excite me all that much, though. I hope they up the pirate element and tone down fantasy, pretty much go back to TCOTBP roots.
OK so clearly Jonathan Rhys Meyers has to be in this one, right? Handsome young vampire related to Depp.
vampire? I see, they are jumping on Twilight bandwaggon.
Why does this scene look so familiar…? Late night drinks anyone?
Oh good stuff. I remember this discussion a few years back. I might have said then that you missed some good stuff with Dark Shadows, Ryan. Catching up on it is a bit of a endeavor. It was a daytime soap, and it’s even more of a task than catching up on The Twilight Zone series. But like I said, good stuff. I hope Burton/Depp don’t camp it up too much. Sure, the original was camp to an extent, but you have to give them props for doing what they did in the late 60s. 30 minute live-to-tape format incorporating supernatural melodramatic themes with special effects. A lot of that stuff was a one-take shot and though they didn’t always nail it perfectly, Dark Shadows held its own and its audience.
As far as bringing this project out of the catacombs, I’m all for it. To hear Depp so eager to take on something like that makes me even more excited. Seems it’s more his project than Burton’s and that shifting dynamic might be a good firestarter in their working relationship. It might ignite something new from them. It’s a great Hollywood partnership, but that shift may challenge them a bit. I’d love to see what that yields.
Plus, it would be nice to see the vampires of old for a change — all manners and old-world ash. This is before Stephen King’s ‘Salems Lot (which I also love and has hints of DS) and Anne Rice’s Lestat. And nowadays… I give all the newbie vamps their props, but there was a time when vampires weren’t all horned up teens. What made the vampires so alluring were those innuendoes and not necessarily a full on libido. Nor was it all blood and gore, but mystery and shadows. We could use a suave older Fangster in the mix. Depp could do it.
I can’t wait until the casting starts for this film adaptation. It really should be fun. With a soap opera blueprint to build on, it would be great to see all the Burton regulars turning up in Collinwood. I say reunite Johnny and Winona. Bring in some Keaton, Pfeiffer, DeVito, Walken, Nicholson, Jeffrey Jones… And the casting of Victoria Winters will be the best gig. But Depp should make a great Barnabas as long as he makes him downright eerie. And alluring…
Getting sick of Burton/Depp is like getting sick of Scorsese/De Niro. Or Kurosawa/Mifune. Or Herzog/Kinski. Or Fellini/Mastroianni…
The fact of the matter is that their collaboration works. Depp has done most of his best work with Burton and vice versa. I have no problem with them making movies together until one of them drops dead. What I have a problem with is Depp further descending into Marlon Brando territory with that awful Pirates of the Caribbean series. When even Verbinski, Knightley and Bloom want to move on, you know this nauseating franchise is over and done with. Not to mention the fact that he could be resurrecting The Man Who Killed Don Quixote with Terry Gilliam but has decided to abandon it in favor of this dreck.
Always meant to rent some of the DVDs, tmoves, but they kept getting bumped down my queue. I changed Netflix accounts and never fully repopulated it with survivors of the ancient queue.
“…you have to give them props for doing what they did in the late 60s. 30 minute live-to-tape format incorporating supernatural melodramatic themes with special effects. A lot of that stuff was a one-take shot…”
Didn’t even consider that. I’ll admit I posted that clip for it’s campfire campiness, but it was surprisingly chilling. Considering the Tijuana Brass muzak in that stagey I Love Lucifer bar set, it really got a gripping groove going on.
“Plus, it would be nice to see the vampires of old for a change — all manners and old-world ash.”
I’m all in. Would be terrific to see another opulent vampire milieu after all the slick post-modernizing. Something all dusty velvet and Gormenghastly?
I`ve recently finished reading Dracula and the book is very moody so this type of horror would be interesting to see again.
Ooh, dusty velvet! Dark Shadows was all dusty velvet and gnarly oil paintings and creaky wood planks (or rather a mixture of 60s sound quality and temporary film sets, but it did add a nice touch). Yeah, where did that all go? Just think: teens would rush home to see that show after school! Take that JoBros!
And the music was a big deal back then. Like Billboard, Grammy big. It’s like a soundtrack classic, still a bestseller.
But yes, there was definite camp on that show. The clip you posted highlights it well. It’s a great conversation about absolutely nothing, just the dynamics between two not-so-nice men. (That Burke Devlin!) But how fun was that? And the actors committed. And the fact that Jonathan Frid was such an audience lure. Imagine. But if the series ever does pop up again in your Netflix queue, just remember Barnabas doesn’t enter until the 2nd season, like after episode 200. His arrival made that show a hit.
[Speaking of gay innuendoes... the character of Willie Loomis who unleashes ol' Barney, wasn't bitten on the neck but rather on the wrist. Later Barney got to neck his male victims, but not at first... How far we've come. ; ) ]
“…the character of Willie Loomis who unleashes ol’ Barney, wasn’t bitten on the neck but rather on the wrist.”
ahaha! Wickedly symbolic reach-around retribution for heinous handjobs.
I’ll skip ahead to season 2 then. fangs for the tip.
Actually, bambi, you too should give it a go. You don’t have to commit to all 1, 250+ episodes, but a handful won’t hurt. I promise. Yes, you may laugh a bit (or a lot), but it’s worth seeing where the things you love now got their start. That clip Ryan posted is 40 years old. 40 years. It paved the way for a whole slew of things. And the fact that Jonathan Frid’s performance influenced Johnny Depp says something.
On eBay there’s a collectible copy of a vintage mass market paperback Dark Shadow novelization available for 49 bucks. Scary.
A friend of mine is Dark Shadows fanboy, so I`ll ask him to get me into the series.
I`m still affraid that Burton version is going to be all camp and no creeps.
BTW, Ryan, did you have a chance to see Ultraviolet yet?
Damn. That is scary. B’s still a hit. I might need to dig through an attic or basement somewhere.
Have watched the first two episodes of Ultraviolet, bambi. I like that nobody ever says the V word, and they treat the outbreak like a viral epidemic. That’s the same underlying biological premise of del Toro’s The Strain. It’s very Michael Crichton.
Is The Strain worth the read? I promise I can handle non-Twilightic non-Underworldy and non-True Bloody vampire stories.
The Strain has a full-throttle propulsive plot. It reads like a meaty movie script. Enough literary flourish to keep it from being too junky, and lots of chain-reaction action sequences. Characters with satisfying depth and fully-realized backstories. I didn’t think I’d be too into it, but ended up finding it a lot of fun.
I`ll check it out. It`s supposed to become a trilogy.
I’ll say that it’s good enough that I hate I have to wait two years for the 2nd and 3rd parts of the trilogy. I’m just surprised no studio has snatched up the rights yet. Read a few pages of the first chapter online at Amazon, to see if you like the style.
I read the pages about the legend of some good-natured tall guy. It got me hooked but I wasn`t sure if the rest lived up to the teaser. I guess that the tall guy becomes the main vampire after the incident in the woods.
Waiting for sequels is a bitch. I suffered enough with HP but was smart to read twilight when all of them were published.
Good instincts about the relevance of the European prologue, bambi. There are several flashbacks to “the old country” throughout the book, and they’re written in a different style and voice. Provides a very authentic foundation for the contemporary events.
(Reminds me a lot of the most recent episode of True Blood. hmm…)
“yeah, “poor Depp” — poor highest paid-actor on the planet and global swoon-machine Depp.”
You forgot to mention his alcoholism, anger issues, eccentricity, and relationship woes
Why do I suspect Afrika has anger issues, eccentricity, and relationship woes? (the same as almost everyone alive.) Without the multimillionaire lifestyle to make those things bearable, understandable and even forgivable.
I’ve never cheated on my girlfriend, I’m not an alcoholic, I don’t get into public brawls and I’m not a self-proclaimed “rebel”. You can’t always blame fame for inexcusable behavior. Look at the legendary singer Beyonce Knowles. She’s been famous since she was 15 but has she ever displayed such uncivilized attitudes in the public eye? no.
If fame is now a catalyst for a self-destructive lifestyle and ironically thriving off bad behavior then I’m not interested. Once again, Poor Depp. He can have his life, I’ll keep mine
If Beyonce is a legend, Depp belongs in Mount Rushmore…phhft!
DOPE!
Things i will agree with:
beyonce is no legend
there should be no more pirates movies
johnathen rhys meyers involvement in anything vampire related
things i will not agree with:
burton/depp do their finest work together (besides scissorhands which was great). The latest 2 were epic failures in my book.
there is too much vampire crap out there. True blood being the only (exceptional) exception
If you want an abridged exposure to “Dark Shadows” rent the 1991 revival. It was short-lived, but had a hell of a cast: Ben Cross, Joanna Going, Joseph Gordon-Levitt (as a prepubescent brat), Michael T. Weiss, Roy Thinnes, Jean Simmons. Was pretty decent considering it was an early 90s prime-time drama.
Please work with someone else. The Depp/Burton collaborations are responsible for some of Depps most repetetive and mundane work.
This duo done anything decent since Ed Wood? Any other classics to ruin Tim?
Bigelow’s small vampire classic is NEAR DARK.
things i will not agree with: burton/depp do their finest work together (besides scissorhands which was great). The latest 2 were epic failures in my book.
I’m not a Depp/Burton fan and I’ve liked only 2 or 3 of their collaborations, but I’d like to throw Ed Wood out there along with Edward Scissorhands as great. It’s Burton’s best film to date in my opinion and for me that still stands as Depp’s best performance. He was superb in that movie. Admittedly I haven’t seen all of his movies – for example I love Jim Jarmusch but I’ve never gotten around to seeing Dead Man, which I’ve heard Depp is great in (it’s in my Netflix queue though
).
I’ve only caught a handful of Dark Shadows episodes when it ran on the Sci Fi channel late in the morning and I was out of work, so I haven’t followed the whole story really. But the ones I did see were fun – pure campy creepy horror. Definitely Tim Burton’s style. As someone else mentioned above, hopefully he’ll strike the right balance of campy and creepy.
Never saw it, even during the Sci-Fi Channel reruns, but my mother was apparently a big fan of DARK SHADOWS back in the day. I’m sure she’ll like this news.
I will agree ed wood was fantastic. Willy wonka and sweeny todd however were epic disasters for me. As are depps other solo work: pirates and public enemies come to mind
Except Burton didn’t make “Willy Wonka.”
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