FILMEDGE PREVIEWS TIM BURTON'S RESURRECTION OF THE CULT TV SERIES DARK SHADOWS STARRING JOHNNY DEPP AS THE ICONIC VAMPIRE BARNABAS COLLINS

DARK SHADOWS ARISES AGAIN After lingering in the dusty crypts of the development graveyard for years, creative powerhouse partners Tim Burton and Johnny Depp are finally resurrecting the Gothic melodrama about ancient vampire Barnabas Collins as they begin production on DARK SHADOWS this April. Director Burton and star Depp cast their stylized spell once again as the popular TV cult classic from the 1960s-70s arises before cameras for Warner Brothers. Screenwriter Seth Grahame-Smith, who recently penned the genre-bending PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES, provides the script metamorphosis from goth soap opera to feature film revisiting the fogbound woods and cobwebbed corridors of Collinwood mansion and Barnabas' lair in the Old House.

DARK SHADOWS MOVIE NEWS UPDATES — UPDATED 3/16/11
LATEST CASTING NEWS, PRODUCTION DEVELOPMENTS AND SPECULATION ABOUT THE NEW WARNER BROTHERS FILM

§ EVA GREEN SPILLS SOME BLOODY GOOD DETAILS ABOUT ANGELIQUE AND THE TONE OF BURTON'S DARK SHADOWS

• Actress Eva Green's interview with MTV Movies released today offers some tantalizing if imprecise details about director Tim Burton's storytelling approach to his DARK SHADOWS reboot feature film, which apparently will be set in the 1970s where the campy, beloved TV series ended. Green describes Burton's approach cryptically as, "It's something that he's never done, I think. It's much more focused on the actors. It could almost be a play."
  
  Perhaps best known for her portrayal of icy, calculating Vesper Lynd in the fantastic Bond series rebirth CASINO ROYALE, Eva's description of the Angelique she'll be playing for Burton has a very different spirit than that originated by Lara Parker on the original Gothic drama: "I haven't seen the TV series, but from what I've seen on the Internet, it's very different. My character is this sexy witch, very powerful in town, she's very cool. She has many faces." Green suspects she will sport blond hair for the mystical seductress character, as true to form per Parker's look.
  
  Not included in the video interview below are more comments about Burton's film referencing the original series but also following his own inspiration from it. "The script is very powerful and funny," Green intimates while remaining contractually vague, "[Angelique]'s relationship with Barnabas, that 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?' relationship, very love-hate — it's very funny."
  
  Reading between the lines, it sounds to us that Burton will walk the fine line between soap opera camp and genuine Gothic conflict of characters. FilmEdge hopes that Green's comments about the script being so "funny" imply that the heightened reality (fantasy?) of playing these popular cult characters will be as fun for the cast as it is for audiences to watch on-screen, rather than Burton, Depp and all going straight for satiric parody of the series. We find encouragement Burton can succeed with this balancing act given his previous films of similar tone such as BEETLEJUICE or even ED WOOD, which express great fondness for their source material while not taking themselves or the 'franchise' too seriously. In any case, FilmEdge is delighted at the prospect of the lovely Eva Green playing a blonde siren of a witch with 1970s retro-styling.  Angelique alone could cast many a spell on DARK SHADOWS' male fans, old and new. Watch the video below.

§ HELENA BONHAM CARTER OSCAR INTERVIEW ON PLAYING 'THE ALCOHOLIC PSYCHIATRIST' DR. JULIA HOFFMAN

• Long reported as the odds-on (and likely director Tim Burton's) favorite to be cast as Dr. Julia Hoffman in his feature version of DARK SHADOWS, Helena Bonham Carter came practically confirmed her casting at the Oscars this past Sunday. In this brief Red Carpet interview with MTV Movies' Josh Horowitz, Carter joked, "I've never played the alcoholic psychiatrist. I thought it was the sexy part he wanted me for." The actress and Burton's significant other agreed with the (leading) question that "It definitely reads as a fun part," which certainly implies that the direction and uber-DS fan and star Johnny Depp are maintaining at least some of the series' more melodramatic, soap-ish elements of heightened reality, as originated specifically in the Hoffman role by actress Grayson Hall in the 1960s show. Carter was careful not to definitively confirm the status of her rumored castmates Michelle Pfeiffer or Eva Green, so FilmEdge still awaits studio confirmation of these actresses. Watch the video.

§ JOHNNY DEPP DISCUSSES HOW HE WILL PLAY BARNABAS COLLINS, PRAISES JONATHAN FRID IN MTV MOVIES INTERVIEW

• DARK SHADOWS movie star Johnny Depp praises the Barnabas Collins role originator, Jonathan Frid, for his iconic portrayal of the Gothic TV series' reluctant vampire, and suggests he will maintain key elements of Frid's character traits in the Tim Burton remake. Watch the video.

§ BURTON CAST ALUMNI MICHELLE PFEIFFER AND HELENA BONHAM CARTER IN TALKS FOR DARK SHADOWS ROLES

• While unconfirmed and pending, reports indicate that Michelle Pfeiffer is in talks to play DARK SHADOWS matriarch Elizabeth Collins Stoddard, the widowed recluse protecting Collinwood mansion and the secrets lurking in its corridors and chambers. In the 1960s-70s Gothic daytime drama, veteran actress Joan Bennett portrayed Elizabeth, who began the series as the stern figurehead of the Collins family who lived in seclusion and fear that the buried secret about her dead husband, Paul Stoddard, would be revealed and ruin the Collins name.
  
  Burton cast favorite (and significant other) Helena Bonham Carter is also rumored to be considering the role of Dr. Julia Hoffman, another strong female character played by Grayson Hall who suddenly rose to great prominence in the DARK SHADOWS melodrama. Originally called to Collinsport to investigate the mysterious disappearance of Maggie Evans, Hoffman discovered the vampiric secret of Barnabas Collins only to partner up with him in an attempt to medically treat his supernatural condition.
  
  Though neither actress' casting have been confirmed by the studio or filmmakers, it may be a frighteningly safe bet that both Elizabeth Stoddard and Julia Hoffman will play significant parts in this feature film reboot of DARK SHADOWS. Both actresses have worked successfully with director Tim Burton before (Pfeiffer as Catwoman in BATMAN RETURNS and Carter in numerous films, most recently ALICE IN WONDERLAND), so if cast, presumably both would gleefully follow in the spirit of Burton and Depp's faithful big-screen homage to the kitschy 1960s Gothic soap opera.

§ DETAILS FOR 2011 DARK SHADOWS FESTIVAL - DARK SHADOWS 45TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION IN BROOKLYN, NY

• Our ShadowGram source at the Yahoo DARK SHADOWS group has sent updated details on the 2011 DARK SHADOWS Festival, scheduled to run August 19-21 in Brooklyn, New York. This year's DS convention, celebrating the 45th anniversary of the series' June 1966 debut, will be hosted at the New York Marriott Hotel at the Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn NY, and the reservation line is open at (800) 266-9432 [refer to Dark Shadows Festival 2011 room block when making reservations — act now as rooms at the discount rate are limited].
  
  Fans will enjoy special DS guest appearances by Jonathan Frid (Barnabas), Lara Parker (Angelique), David Selby (Quentin), Kathryn Leigh Scott (Maggie), Jerry Lacy (Trask), Marie Wallace (Megan Todd), Kathleen Cody (Hallie Stokes), Sharon Smyth (Sarah), Donna Wandrey (Roxanne Drew) and Robert Cobert (original score composer) to name those already confirmed. Activities will include dramatic performances by the stars, autograph and photo opportunities, Q&A sessions, rare video screenings, a gala banquet, memorabilia auction and update on the upcoming Warner Brothers film starring Johnny Depp. FilmEdge will continue presenting DS Fest 2011 updates as we get them.

§ DARK SHADOWS BEWITCHES BOND GIRL EVA GREEN TO BEDEVIL BARNABAS COLLINS AS ANGELIQUE THE WITCH?

• Another exclusive report from Deadline indicates that Eva Green may cast her spell on Johnny Depp's Barnabas Collins as the island witch Angelique Bouchard, maid to Josette Du Pres and treacherous villainess of the classic DARK SHADOWS daytime series. While Green's casting is under negotiation and unconfirmed, the actress' role as duplicitous yet seductive Vesper Lynd in CASINO ROYALE (2006) put James Bond through his heartbroken paces, so there is little doubt Green could torment Depp's resurrected vampire too. French-born Eva Green might also be a supernaturally good fit for Angelique, the Du Pres family servant who bewitched Barnabas with the voodoo-based magic she learned on her native home of Martinique. This femme fatale, originated by Lara Parker, caused quite a stir in the 1960s TV series when introduced in the 1795 flashback plot twist explaining how Barnabas became a vampire amid a romantic triangle between she, Collins and Josette. Green has plenty of recent screen experience with exotic roles including the Crusades-era epic KINGDOM OF HEAVEN and the parallel-universe adventure THE GOLDEN COMPASS. FilmEdge considers this an excellent casting coup for DARK SHADOWS and hopes rumor becomes fact.

§ DARK SHADOWS CASTING RUMORS UNEARTHED INCLUDING JACKIE EARLE HALEY AND BELLA HEATHCOATE

• Casting conversations have apparently begun for Tim Burton's feature-length reboot of DARK SHADOWS, as Variety reports that Australian actress Bella Heathcoate is being considered opposite Johnny Depp as "a waitress whom [Barnabas] Collins takes a shine to because of her resemblance to his long-lost love." While not named in the article, the role seems to duplicate the character of waitress Maggie Evans, originally portrayed by Kathryn Leigh Scott.
  
  Meanwhile, Deadline reports a scoop that Jackie Earle Haley (SHUTTER ISLAND, WATCHMEN) is in talks to play Willie Loomis, the troubled henchman of vampire Barnabas Collins. The soul-wracked behavior of this desperate minion, made prominent in the classic DS by John Karlen, would be a perfect character match for Haley, who has revived his career lately in a string of angst-riddled film roles. Strangely, this same report places Bella Heathcoate up for the role of Victoria Winters, the Collinwood governess — though Variety's casting report (above) indicated she was up for the part of Maggie the waitress/reincarnation of Barnabas' lost love, Josette Du Pres. Has the DARK SHADOWS script combined the character parameters of Maggie and Victoria for this feature remake, or have these dueling sources gotten their casting sides confused? FilmEdge will try to clear out the fog lurking amid these reports, so stay tuned!
  
  

DARK SHADOWS MOVIE AND SERIES RESOURCES ON THE WEB
FANS OF THE ORIGINAL DARK SHADOWS TELEVISION SERIES WILL WANT TO HAUNT THESE RECOMMENDED WEBSITES

• Dark Shadows Festival — home of the official DS television series fan club mailing list, annual conventions and merchandise offers
• Dark Shadows Journal Online — thorough reference source with episode guide, daytime series and movie history and cast bios
• Dark Shadows Audio Dramas — buy over 30 new, full-cast audio dramas and books-on-CD based on the classic DS series
• Dark Shadows Forums — online discussion boards for DS fans to chat about latest news, series, movies and more
• Blog of Dark Shadows — Ed Gross has a fine WordPress blog all about Dark Shadows incarnations past and present

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