Tim Burton "Dark Shadows" 2012

[Aya_Alexa]

Tim Burton Will Direct Johnny Depp in ‘Dark Shadows’



Just in case you thought there was any chance that Tim Burton and Johnny Depp would fail to re-team for Dark Shadows, this is the point where you forget it. For those who doesn't know what this is, Dark Shadows is a gothic soap opera that originally aired weekdays on the ABC television network, from June 27, 1966 to April 2, 1971. The show was created by Dan Curtis, who tells of a dream he had in which a girl takes a long train ride to visit a large mansion.

The film has been a project on the actor’s wishlist for a long time, and while it has recently seemed like the planned January shoot might not happen, the movie isn’t going anywhere.

Now a new report says that the film will shoot starting in April 2011. That’s a push of a couple months, so what will it do to the rest of Johnny Depp’s possible film slate?

Deadline reports the new date but doesn’t have any further details about the film. We’ll have to wait for more casting info; meanwhile the basics remain the same. Tim Burton is directing, Johnny Depp is starring and the script is by Pride and Prejudice and Zombies novelist Seth Grahame-Smith, jumping off from a first draft by Big Fish writer John August.

Now, the follow-up question is what this will do to Johnny Depp’s other potential films. There is one big one, Kathryn Bigelow‘s Triple Frontier. (Or Sleeping Dogs, which is the alternate title some have used.) Deadline says Dark Shadows — on which the actor is also a producer — is going to take precedence even though Triple Frontier is slated to begin in February. Can he do both? Deadline isn’t optimistic, saying that Mark Wahlberg could take his Triple Frontier role.

And what about Snow White and the Huntsman, which was recently said to have been offered to Mr. Depp? That one you probably can forget about, at least as far as he goes.

[Aya_Alexa]

Now that it appears that 'Dark Shadows,' the big-screen adaptation of the 1960s supernatural TV series, will finally see the light of day, we can expect a flurry of casting reports relating to the Johnny Depp starring-Tim Burton directed film. Yesterday we reported that Jackie Earle Haley and Bella Heathcoate were in talks to star in the film; today Deadline has revealed that Eva Green - who played the treacherous Vesper Lynd opposite Daniel Craig in 'Casino Royale' -- is in negotiations to take the female lead. She would play Angelique, a powerful witch who has a love-hate relationship with 200-year-old vampire Barnabas Collins (Depp). The Warner Bros. film will begin shooting this spring for a 2012 release.

Ultimate Bond Girl Eva Green Gets 'Dark Shadows' Lead



Eva Green has landed the female lead in Dark Shadows, the Tim Burton-directed adaptation of the 60s supernatural TV soap opera for Warner Bros. Green, who made a most memorable impression when she broke James Bond's heart in Casino Royale as Vesper Lynd, is negotiating to play the role of Angelique. In the series, she was a powerful witch who was alternately tormented and bewitched by her love-hate relationship with Barnabas Collins. Depp will play Collins. Lara Parker played the role in the original Gothic horror soap. The French-born actress most recently starred oppposite Ewan McGregor in the romantic thriller Perfect Sense, the Sundance title just acquired by IFC. Green just signed with UTA and she is also repped by UK-based Tavistock Wood.

[Aya_Alexa]

Eva Green recently signed on to star opposite Johnny Depp in Tim Burton’s adaptation of Dark Shadows. Green will play Angelique who, a “powerful witch who was alternately tormented and bewitched by her love-hate relationship with Barnabas Collins (Depp)” in the 1960s gothic soap opera. However, Green’s understanding is that her Angelique won’t be too familiar to fans of the show:

“I haven’t seen the TV series, but from what I’ve seen on the Internet, it’s very different. My character is very different. She’s American, blonde, cool, in the ’70s. She is this sexy witch, very powerful in town, she’s very cool. She has many faces.”

I’m not also familiar with the show, though I’m in favor of anything that motivates Green to mime smoking so adorably.

Green expects rehearsals to begin next month. Jackie Earle Haley, Bella Heathcote, Helena Bonham Carter, and Michelle Pfeiffer are in talks to star.

[Aya_Alexa]

EXCLUSIVE: I'm told that Jackie Earle Haley is in talks to play Willie Loomis in Dark Shadows, the Tim Burton-directed horror film for Warner Bros, based on the 60s TV soap that will star Johnny Depp as Barnabas Collins. At the same time, sources say that Bella Heathcoate is the choice to play Victoria Winters, the young governess of the Collins estate. Heathcote was among the names mentioned for Snow White and the Huntsman, a role which Deadline told you exclusively now has Twilight Saga's Kristen Stewart as front runner.The Vicki role was originated by Alexandra Moltke on the original soap.

As for Haley, the Loomis role was a pivotal one on the soap. Loomis is a notorious con artist who comes to Collinwood bent on swindling the reclusive matriarch Elizabeth Collins Stoddard. He winds up living in the mansion and hatches a plan when he observes a portrait of the late Barnabas Collins, who wore some serious bling. Loomis breaks into the mausoleum and pries open Barnabas' coffin expecting to steal jewelry, he's given the shock of his life when he's attacked by the vampire and rendered the servant and whipping boy of the bloodsucker. The Loomis role was played by James Hall and later John Karlen in the original soap. Haley most recently stepped into iconic horror terrain when he played Freddy Krueger in the remake A Nightmare on Elm Street.

[Aya_Alexa]

Michelle Pfeiffer and Helena Bonham Carter are ready to bite into Tim Burton's 'Dark Shadows.' According to The Hollywood Reporter, Pfeiffer is in negotiations to join the vampire flick opposite Johnny Depp, who stars as Barnabas Collins, a self-loathing vampire living in a Maine manor searching for his lost love. Pfeiffer would play Elizabeth Collins Stoddard, the reclusive matriarch of the Collins family. And Deadline reports that, although talks have not yet started, Helena Bonham Carter is in line to play Dr. Julia Hoffman, a specialist in psychology and rare blood disorders who wants to cure Barnabas of his thirst for blood. Pfeiffer worked with Burton when she co-starred as Catwoman in 1992's 'Batman Returns.' Bonham Carter is, of course, Burton's soul mate on and off the big screen. Jackie Earle Haley, Eva Green and Bella Heathcote have already been cast in the film, which Warner Bros. has scheduled for an April start.

Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter Eye 'Dark Shadows'

Tim Burton is turning to familiar onscreen leading ladies for roles in Dark Shadows, the film he’ll direct for Warner Bros with Johnny Depp in the lead role of Barnabas Collins. Michelle Pfeiffer is in talks to play Elizabeth Collins Stoddard. And while talks haven't begun yet, I'm told Helena Bonham Carter is in line to play Dr. Julia Hoffman.

Pfeiffer, who played a memorable Catwoman in the 1992 Burton-directed Batman Returns, will play the reclusive matriarch of the Collins clan. She is the owner of Collinwood, the mansion where the supernatural saga unfolds. That role was originated by Joan Bennett in the TV series.

Bonham Carter, who is Oscar nominated for The King’s Speech and just won the BAFTA, is likely to play Hoffman, a specialist in psychology and rare blood disorders who moves into Collinwood. While she initially is a threat to the vampire Barnabas, she eventually becomes his ally, who might be able to cure him of his thirst for blood. Bonham Carter, Burton’s leading lady off screen, has starred in Burton-directed films that include Alice in Wonderland and Sweeney Todd. Hoffman was played in the series by Grayson Hall.

Deadline told you previously that Eva Green was set to play the witch Angelique, Jackie Earle Haley is playing the conman Willie Loomis, while Bella Heathcoate will play Victoria Winters, the young governess of the Collins estate.

[Aya_Alexa]

As production on Tim Burton's 'Dark Shadows' barrels toward its April start, the solid sea of talent has fallen into place. Of course, star Johnny Depp has been with the project for years, entering the blood-sucking fray in 2007, well before 'Twilight' made vampires an oppressive media phenomenon. After development difficulties, the project got back on track this year, pulling together the likes of Jackie Earle Haley, Eva Green, Bella Heathcote, Michelle Pfieffer and, of course, Helena Bonham Carter, because no Burton production is complete without her.

But now Burton also has a younger Barnabas Collins, and he's the spitting image of a young Johnny Depp. That picture to the right isn't Depp, but rather upcoming 'Prom' star Thomas McDonell.

Deadline reports that McDonell will play a young Barnabas in the film, and that 'Twilight' Volturi head Michael Sheen is in early talks to play Roger (Pfieffer's brother).

Based on the supernatural soap opera that ran in the late '60s, Burton's film version will see Collins as a self-loathing vampire in Maine, on the hunt for his lost love. It's probably not a jump to assume that McDonell will come into play for this part of the story. Heathcote will play a young governess at Collins' estate; Haley will be a con artist manservant; Pfieffer will play the reclusive matriarch; Green gets to be the powerful witch who has a love/hate relationship with the vampire; and Carter will play a blood disorder specialist who wants to remove the vampire's bloodlust.

The 'Dark Shadows' will descend on theaters next year.

[Aya_Alexa]

Tim Burton has set Gulliver McGrath to play the role of David Collins in Dark Shadows. It was a coveted role on the pint-sized set, and I've heard Burton has his sights on Michael Sheen to play his father, Roger Collins. The young Australian actor made it to the finals for the lead in Martin Scorsese's Hugo Cabret, then got a small role after the job went to Asa Butterfield. The role of David Collins was originated in the 60s soap by David Henesy, and then Joseph Gordon-Levitt played him in the 1990 series revival. Johnny Deep heads a cast that includes Michelle Pfeiffer, Bella Heathcoate, Jackie Earle Haley and Eva Green, with Helena Bonham Carter also expected to join. Seth Grahame-Smith wrote the script. McGrath is repped by Management 360, ARG in London and Emma Raciti in Australia.

[Aya_Alexa]

Alongside the news that child actor Gulliver McGrath (The Loved Ones) will play the role of David Collins in Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows also comes word that Michael Sheen (Frost/Nixon) is the leading candidate to play his father, Roger Collins. Deadline is reporting the tentative rumor that Sheen is Burton’s top choice for the role although nothing is confirmed as of yet. For now, McGrath joins a cast that already includes Johnny Depp, Eva Green, Michelle Pfeiffer, Jackie Early Haley, and Bella Heathcoate. As you may already expect, Helena Bonham Carter is believed to be officially joining the cast at some point as well.

Previously, Sheen provided voice work as White Rabbit in Burton’s Alice in Wonderland. He is also experienced in working with supernatural-based material given his respective turns in the Underworld and Twilight franchises. As for McGrath, the young actor was previously a finalist to play the namesake in Martin Scorsese’s Hugo Cabret. His role of David Collins was held by Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the 90s reboot of the television series.

[Aya_Alexa]

The role of a teenage survivalist in a post-apocalyptic world was a coveted one, with young star Chloë Moretz hot on its tail, but Jennifer Lawrence nabbed the lead of Katniss in the upcoming adaptation of the young-adult sci-fi story, 'The Hunger Games.' Since then, people have been trying to figure out if the 'Let Me In' star would tackle another spot on the cast list, but Deadline has announced that Moretz is in talks to work with Tim Burton on the upcoming 'Dark Shadows' remake.

Instead of trying to stay alive in a deadly, Big Brother–esque city, Moretz will be hanging out with the vampires of a gothic soap-opera-turned-movie, including Burton regular Johnny Depp. Moretz will star as Carolyn, whose reclusive mother -- Elizabeth Collins Stoddard, played by Michelle Pfeiffer -- owns the Collinwood mansion where all the supernatural shenanigans take place.

Moretz played a bloodsucker in last year's 'Let the Right One In' remake, where she was praised for her performance as Abby, a 12-year-old vamp who befriends a young boy who is continually bullied and harassed. 'Dark Shadows' will be a reversal of roles, because the character Carolyn is perpetually teased at school by other children who call her mother a witch. Carolyn's father, Paul Stoddard, left the family before she was born, prompting Elizabeth to go into a long mourning period. That Collins family is indeed a morbid bunch.

What say you about this 'Dark Shadows' news? Are you still hanging onto hope that Moretz will join 'The Hunger Games' in a supporting role? Are more vampires too close for comfort?

[Insaniac]

^this looks very interesting

[nozmail]

^this looks very interesting

yeah, f*ckin jackie earle haley FTW!

[Aya_Alexa]

me too im excited, i love Johnny Depp and Tim Burton's works.

[MrSinister]

I still believe in the Burton-Depp team-up, even after the dreadful Alice in Wonderland

[outmap]

I still believe in the Burton-Depp team-up, even after the dreadful Alice in Wonderland

Don't forget Bonham Carter, lagi din syang kasama.

This looks promising with the inclusion of Chloe Moretz and Jackie Earle Haley.

[Aya_Alexa]

Don't forget Bonham Carter, lagi din syang kasama.

This looks promising with the inclusion of Chloe Moretz and Jackie Earle Haley.

ahaha fave ni Tim Burton sina Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter. sila rin pala yung dun sa sweeney todd eh.

[Aya_Alexa]

Cameras begin rolling on the new Tim Burton/Johnny Depp version of "Dark Shadows" in April, and not surprisingly the filmmakers are trying to keep all the details relatively hidden. Yet we do know some things, including the fact Michelle Pfeiffer (who last worked with Burton as Catwoman in "Batman Returns") will be playing Liz Collins Stoddard. Helena Bonham Carter confirmed at the Oscars that she had been cast as Dr. Julia Hoffman, with the interesting detail that in this version the character will be alcoholic (well, falling in love with a 200-year-old vampire who only has eyes for other women--that will drive you to drink, methinks). The IMDB page is less clear, having changed her listing twice now...

Eva Green has already been confirmed to play Angelique--the temptress who uses her witchcraft to turn Barnabas Collins into a vampire. Depp of course will be the lead, a role he has said he's dreamt-on since childhood. Green also said she'd be a blonde for the role, which matches two previous Angeliques--Lara Parker (in the original series) and Lysette Anthony (in the 1991 revival series). Jackie Earle Haley (Rorschach from "Watchmen") is on board as Willie Loomis, who discovers the sleeping vampire and becomes the equivalent of Renfield.

Now, on to news that actually is...well, new...

The film is set in the period of the original series. Not today, in the early years of the 21st century, but circa 1970 when the episodes first aired. Period shops are being raided for the appropriate garb. Certainly this decision removes a looming plot hole in the way of the story. In this day and age of the internet and DNA databases, with intercontinental phones and faxes almost childsplay, how could a total stranger show up at a wealthy family's door and simply get away with claiming to be a long-lost cousin? True, he seems very nice. And he looks just like that portrait of an ancestor that has hung on the wall for a couple of centuries. Yeah, he's not asking for anything save the opportunity to live in and fix up a dilapidated old mansion on the estate--at his own expense. But if Barnabas showed up in 2011 with that kind of tale you can be sure somebody in or around the Collins family would at least have somebody do a credit check.

Another fine actor is also in negotiations to join the cast--Michael Sheen, co-star of "Underworld" and the second "Twilight" film (having played a werewolf and a vampire respectively). He also previously worked with Burton, providing the voice of the White Rabbit for last year's "Alice in Wonderland." No definite word on the role he's being offered, but Roger Collins is the obvious choice--sherry-guzzling, quip-launching younger brother of Liz.

Meanwhile, a British newspaper published an article recently about the sets under construction including a "huge gothic entrance hall" as well as the creation of an entire New England fishing village care of Pinewood Studios' ginormous outdoor tank (which takes a full week to fill).

[H0KAGE]

ahaha fave ni Tim Burton sina Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter. sila rin pala yung dun sa sweeney todd eh.

Ang alam ko, spouse niya si Helena Bonham Carter. Pero ang sabi ng wikipedia, "partner" daw.

Anyway, thanks for the heads up Aya_Alexa.

[Aya_Alexa]

Ang alam ko, spouse niya si Helena Bonham Carter. Pero ang sabi ng wikipedia, "partner" daw.

Anyway, thanks for the heads up Aya_Alexa.

ako ang alam ko girlpren lang siya ni Tim Burton eh.

[H0KAGE]

ako ang alam ko girlpren lang siya ni Tim Burton eh.

May anak nga sila. Hahaha!

[infinite_trial]

at last, no more sparkling vampires XD