Dark Shadows (film)
Encyclopedia
Dark Shadows is an upcoming supernatural drama film based on the 1966-1971 gothic soap opera of the same name
. The film is directed by Tim Burton
and stars Johnny Depp
as the vampire Barnabas Collins. It is scheduled to be released on , 2012 in both conventional and IMAX
theaters.
At the San Diego Comic-Con 2011, it was also confirmed that four actors from the original series will appear in the film. In June 2011, Jonathan Frid
, Lara Parker
, David Selby
and Kathryn Leigh Scott
all spent three days at Pinewood Studios to film cameo appearances.
based on a screenplay by Seth Grahame-Smith
. In July 2007, Warner Bros.
acquired film rights for the gothic soap opera Dark Shadows
from the estate of its creator Dan Curtis. Actor Johnny Depp
was attached to star in the film. The project's development was delayed by the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike
. After the strike was resolved, Tim Burton was attached to direct the film. By 2009, screenwriter John August
was writing a screenplay for Dark Shadows. In 2010, author and screenwriter Seth Grahame-Smith
replaced August in writing the screenplay. Filming began in May 2011. It is being filmed entirely in England, at both Pinewood Studios
and on location.
Additional crew members are cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel
, production designer Rick Heinrichs
, costume designer Colleen Atwood
, editor Chris Lebenzon
and composer Danny Elfman
.
Dark Shadows
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. The story bible, which was written by Art Wallace, does not mention any supernatural elements...
. The film is directed by Tim Burton
Tim Burton
Timothy William "Tim" Burton is an American film director, film producer, writer and artist. He is famous for dark, quirky-themed movies such as Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Corpse Bride and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet...
and stars Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp
John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II is an American actor, producer and musician. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Depp rose to prominence on the 1980s television series 21 Jump Street, becoming a teen idol...
as the vampire Barnabas Collins. It is scheduled to be released on , 2012 in both conventional and IMAX
IMAX
IMAX is a motion picture film format and a set of proprietary cinema projection standards created by the Canadian company IMAX Corporation. IMAX has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems...
theaters.
Synopsis
In 1752, the Collins family sails from Liverpool, England to North America. The son, Barnabas, grows up to be a wealthy playboy in Collinsport, Maine and is the master of Collinwood Manor. He breaks the heart of a witch, Angelique Bouchard, who turns him into a vampire and buries him alive. In 1972, Barnabas is freed and returns to find his manor in ruin. It is occupied by dysfunctional descendants and other residents, all of whom have secrets.Cast
- Johnny DeppJohnny DeppJohn Christopher "Johnny" Depp II is an American actor, producer and musician. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Depp rose to prominence on the 1980s television series 21 Jump Street, becoming a teen idol...
as Barnabas CollinsBarnabas CollinsBarnabas Collins is a fictional character, one of the feature characters in the ABC daytime serial Dark Shadows, which aired from 1966 to 1971. Originally played by Canadian actor Jonathan Frid, Barnabas Collins is a 200-year-old vampire who is in search of fresh blood and his lost love, Josette...
, an 18th century vampire who awakens to the 20th century. Thomas McDonellThomas McDonellThomas McDonell is an American actor, musician, and artist. He appeared in The Forbidden Kingdom with Jet Li, and in Twelve, starring Chace Crawford. McDonell played the main role in 2011 teenage film Prom as Jesse Richter, alongside Aimee Teegarden...
plays the young version of Barnabas. - Eva GreenEva GreenEva Gaëlle Green is a French actress and model.Green performed in theatre before making her film debut in The Dreamers , which generated controversy over her numerous nude scenes. She achieved greater fame for her parts in Kingdom of Heaven , and in the 2006 James Bond film Casino Royale, for...
as Angelique Bouchard, a witch whose heart Barnabas breaks. - Michelle PfeifferMichelle PfeifferMichelle Marie Pfeiffer is an American actress. She made her film debut in 1980 in The Hollywood Knights, but first garnered mainstream attention with her performance in Brian De Palma's Scarface . Pfeiffer has won numerous awards for her work...
as Elizabeth Collins StoddardElizabeth Collins StoddardElizabeth Collins Stoddard was a fictional character played by Joan Bennett on the cult television ABC-TV Gothic horror soap opera Dark Shadows from 1966-1971. Jean Simmons portrayed the character in the reival series in 1991, Blair Brown took over the role in the WB pilot and will be played by...
, the family matriarch. - Jonny Lee MillerJonny Lee MillerJonathan "Jonny" Lee Miller is an English actor. During the initial days he was best known for his roles in the 1996 films Trainspotting and Hackers...
as Roger Collins, Elizabeth's "ne'er-do-well" brother. - Chloë MoretzChloe MoretzChloë Grace Moretz is an American actress, known for her role as Hit-Girl in the 2010 superhero film Kick-Ass. She also appeared in The Amityville Horror, Days of Summer, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Hugo, and portrayed Abby, the child vampire, in Let Me In.-Personal life:Moretz was born in Atlanta,...
as Carolyn StoddardCarolyn StoddardCarolyn Stoddard is a fictional character played by Nancy Barrett in the 1966 soap opera Dark Shadows. In the 1991 revival of Dark Shadows, Carolyn is portrayed by actress Barbara Blackburn...
, Elizabeth's rebellious teenage daughter. - Gulliver McGrathGulliver McGrath- Career :Gulliver played Charlie in the Australian crime series Rush. He also starred as the title character in the Melbourne Theatre Company production Poor Boy alongside Guy Pearce and Abi Tucker....
as David CollinsDavid Collins (Dark Shadows)David Collins was a fictional character, the son of Roger Collins, on the television serial Dark Shadows, played by David Henesy. In the 1990 made-for-television movie and 1991 revival series, David Collins was played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. In the 2004 WB Pilot for Dark Shadows, he was played by...
, Roger's "precocious" 10-year-old son. - Helena Bonham CarterHelena Bonham CarterHelena Bonham Carter is an English actress of film, stage, and television. She made her acting debut in a television adaptation of K. M. Peyton's A Pattern of Roses before winning her first film role as the titular character in Lady Jane...
as Dr. Julia HoffmanJulia HoffmanJulia Hoffman is a fictional character played by Grayson Hall in the 1966 ABC soap opera Dark Shadows. A doctor in the fields of psychology and rare blood disorders and head of the Windcliff Sanitarium, she moved into Collinwood and discovered the vampire, Barnabas Collins...
, Elizabeth's hired live-in psychiatrist. - Jackie Earle HaleyJackie Earle HaleyJackie Earle Haley is an American film actor. Establishing himself from child actor to adult Academy Award-nominee, he is perhaps best known for his roles as Moocher in Breaking Away, Kelly Leak in The Bad News Bears, pedophile Ronnie McGorvey in Little Children, the vigilante Rorschach in...
as Willie LoomisWillie LoomisWillie Loomis was a character on the ABC-TV gothic horror soap opera, Dark Shadows, which aired from 1966 until 1971. The character was first played by actor James Hall for a total of four episodes, who was subsequently replaced by John Karlen beginning with episode #206. Karlen continued to play...
, the manor's caretaker. - Bella HeathcoteBella HeathcoteIsabella "Bella" Heathcote is an Australian actress. She is best known for playing Amanda Fowler on the Australian television soap opera Neighbours.- Career :...
as Victoria WintersVictoria WintersVictoria Winters is a fictional character from the television Gothic soap opera Dark Shadows and its remakes of the same name. The role was originated by Alexandra Moltke on the ABC series from 1966–1968. After Moltke left to raise a family in 1968, actresses Betsy Durkin and Carolyn Groves briefly...
, David's governess. - Ray Shirley as Mrs. Johnson, the manor's elderly maid.
- Ivan KayeIvan KayeIvan Kaye is a British actor. He previously played Dr. Johnathon Leroy in a recurrent role in EastEnders, and he played Bryan in The Green Green Grass...
as Joshua Collins, the father of Barnabas Collins. - Christopher LeeChristopher LeeSir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee, CBE, CStJ is an English actor and musician. Lee initially portrayed villains and became famous for his role as Count Dracula in a string of Hammer Horror films...
as Bill Malloy, the manager of the Collins Fishing Fleet and Cannery. - Alice CooperAlice CooperAlice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
as himself.
At the San Diego Comic-Con 2011, it was also confirmed that four actors from the original series will appear in the film. In June 2011, Jonathan Frid
Jonathan Frid
John Herbert Frid is a theater, television, and film actor, best known for playing the role of vampire Barnabas Collins on the gothic television soap opera Dark Shadows.-Early Life:...
, Lara Parker
Lara Parker
Lara Parker is an American television, stage, and film actress best known for her role as Angelique on the cult ABC-TV serial Dark Shadows which aired from to...
, David Selby
David Selby
David Lynn Selby is an American character and stage actor. He has worked in movies, soap operas and television. The naturally black-headed Selby is best known for playing the roles of Quentin Collins on the ABC-TV serial, Dark Shadows , and as the evil and compassionate...
and Kathryn Leigh Scott
Kathryn Leigh Scott
Kathryn Leigh Scott is an American television and film actress who is best remembered for playing Maggie Evans, Josette DuPres Collins, Rachel Drummond, Lady Kitty Soames Hampshire, and Maggie Evans PT on Dark Shadows.-Early life:Scott was born Marlene Kringstad in Robbinsdale, Minnesota in 1943...
all spent three days at Pinewood Studios to film cameo appearances.
Production
Dark Shadows is directed by Tim BurtonTim Burton
Timothy William "Tim" Burton is an American film director, film producer, writer and artist. He is famous for dark, quirky-themed movies such as Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Corpse Bride and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet...
based on a screenplay by Seth Grahame-Smith
Seth Grahame-Smith
Seth Grahame-Smith is an American best-selling author, screenwriter, and producer of film and television. He is best known as the author of The New York Times best-selling novels Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter, both of which are being adapted as feature films...
. In July 2007, Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
acquired film rights for the gothic soap opera Dark Shadows
Dark Shadows
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. The story bible, which was written by Art Wallace, does not mention any supernatural elements...
from the estate of its creator Dan Curtis. Actor Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp
John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II is an American actor, producer and musician. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Depp rose to prominence on the 1980s television series 21 Jump Street, becoming a teen idol...
was attached to star in the film. The project's development was delayed by the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike
2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike
The 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, more commonly referred to as simply the Writers' Strike, was a strike by the Writers Guild of America, East and the Writers Guild of America, West ....
. After the strike was resolved, Tim Burton was attached to direct the film. By 2009, screenwriter John August
John August
John August is an American screenwriter and film director. He also writes and maintains the popular screenwriting blog , and develops screenwriter-targeted software....
was writing a screenplay for Dark Shadows. In 2010, author and screenwriter Seth Grahame-Smith
Seth Grahame-Smith
Seth Grahame-Smith is an American best-selling author, screenwriter, and producer of film and television. He is best known as the author of The New York Times best-selling novels Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter, both of which are being adapted as feature films...
replaced August in writing the screenplay. Filming began in May 2011. It is being filmed entirely in England, at both Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios is a major British film studio situated in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, approximately west of central London. The studios have played host to many productions over the years from huge blockbuster films to television shows to commercials to pop promos.The purchase of Shepperton...
and on location.
Additional crew members are cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel
Bruno Delbonnel
Bruno Delbonnel is a French cinematographer.Delbonnel was born in Nancy, Meurthe-et-Moselle, France and graduated in 1978 from the ESEC ....
, production designer Rick Heinrichs
Rick Heinrichs
Richard Heinrichs is an American production designer, effects artist, art director and film producer. He is well known to have worked on the Pirates of the Caribbean series, Ang Lee's Hulk and The Nightmare Before Christmas...
, costume designer Colleen Atwood
Colleen Atwood
Colleen Atwood is an American costume designer.Atwood has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Costume Design nine times and won Academy Awards for the movies Chicago in 2002, Memoirs of a Geisha in 2006, and Alice in Wonderland in 2011. Atwood has collaborated several times with...
, editor Chris Lebenzon
Chris Lebenzon
Christopher John Lebenzon is an American film editor with more than 36 film credits dating from 1976. Lebenzon has been nominated for the Academy Award for Film Editing for the films Top Gun and Crimson Tide . He has become a member of the American Cinema Editors for his work on Sweeney Todd and...
and composer Danny Elfman
Danny Elfman
Daniel Robert "Danny" Elfman is an American composer, best known for scoring music for television and film. Up until 1995, he was the lead singer and songwriter in the rock band Oingo Boingo, a group he formed in 1976...
.
See also
There have been two other films based on the soap opera Dark Shadows:- House of Dark ShadowsHouse of Dark ShadowsHouse of Dark Shadows is a 1970 feature-length horror film directed by Dan Curtis based on his Dark Shadows television series. Filming took place at Lyndhurst in Tarrytown, New York with additional footage at nearby Sleepy Hollow Cemetery: parts of the locals appeared on the Dark Shadows series as...
(1970) - Night of Dark ShadowsNight of Dark ShadowsNight of Dark Shadows is a 1971 horror film by Dan Curtis. It is the sequel to House of Dark Shadows. It centers on the story of Quentin Collins and his bride Tracy at the Collinwood Mansion in Collinsport, Maine....
(1971)