Some of you may know that I'm a fan of the classic Gothic soap opera Dark Shadows. I loved the original show, the films that spawned, the 1991 reboot, the books, the comics...if it's Dark Shadows, I've enjoyed it at some point.
There'd been talk of a new feature film reboot for years, but the project was stuck in turnaround for so long that I kind of brushed it off. But then, late last year, there was new buzz. And as 2011 came in and picked up steam, there was more buzz, and then outright news. Johnny Depp, a life-long DS fan, was attached to play his dream role of Barnabas Collins! Tim Burton, another fan of the show, to direct from a script by that most ghoulish of the hot young novelists, Seth Grahame-Smith! And then came a flood of casting news that was, by turns, thrilling and worrying, strange and perfect.
Helena Bonham Carter as Dr. Julia Hoffman! Michelle Pfeiffer as Elizabeth Collins-Stoddard! Jonny Lee Miller as Roger Collins! and on and on.
Of course there were, and are, the naysayers who hated the film before it was even really began to exist. They want nothing but their classic DS. That's fine. They're allowed that.
After listening to all the complaint, even I had lost interest in the film. I just gave up. But then, this morning, something glorious was linked up in my Twitter queue. Something amazing and real and bold, with the Spirit of '67 and the Feel of Today! (Pardon me if I wax weird...)
This. The first official cast photo:
And lo, it was good! The shot was taken early on at the start of principle photography and based to a degree upon a cast photo from the classic series.There'd been talk of a new feature film reboot for years, but the project was stuck in turnaround for so long that I kind of brushed it off. But then, late last year, there was new buzz. And as 2011 came in and picked up steam, there was more buzz, and then outright news. Johnny Depp, a life-long DS fan, was attached to play his dream role of Barnabas Collins! Tim Burton, another fan of the show, to direct from a script by that most ghoulish of the hot young novelists, Seth Grahame-Smith! And then came a flood of casting news that was, by turns, thrilling and worrying, strange and perfect.
Helena Bonham Carter as Dr. Julia Hoffman! Michelle Pfeiffer as Elizabeth Collins-Stoddard! Jonny Lee Miller as Roger Collins! and on and on.
Of course there were, and are, the naysayers who hated the film before it was even really began to exist. They want nothing but their classic DS. That's fine. They're allowed that.
After listening to all the complaint, even I had lost interest in the film. I just gave up. But then, this morning, something glorious was linked up in my Twitter queue. Something amazing and real and bold, with the Spirit of '67 and the Feel of Today! (Pardon me if I wax weird...)
This. The first official cast photo:
 | ||
| From left to right: Helena Bonham Carter as Dr. Julia Hoffman, Chloe Moretz as Carolyn Stoddard, Eva Green as Angelique, Gulliver McGrath as David Collins, Bella Heathcote as Victoria Winters, Johnny Depp as Barnabas Collins, Ray Shirley as Mrs. Johnson, Jackie Earle Haley as Willie Loomis, Jonny Lee Miller as Roger Collins, and Michelle Pfeiffer as Elizabeth Collins-Stoddard. |
Of course, a film cannot stand on looks and publicity photos alone (at least, not as much as Hollywood wishes!) but for now, this is what we have.
I would encourage all Dark Shadows fans, be they old or new, to embrace this film as a chance to revisit Collinsport, Maine once more. Go into this with an open mind, whether you see it in the theatre, on DVD/Blu-Ray, or in some strictly digital format. Watch it, make your judgment then, and just revel in the fact that there's some hope for the love and memory of Dark Shadows to be kept alive.
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