DARK SHADOWS form in January for Tim Burton and Johnny Depp!
Around this time last year, Tim Burton announced that his next movie would be an adaptation of the 60′s Gothic ABC serial Dark Shadows with (you guessed it) Johnny Depp set to lead as the vampire Barnabas Collins.
Without a doubt, it’s a dream project for Warner Bros and was probably the easiest pitch of Burton’s career. All he needed to say was ‘Depp as a vampire with feelings’. Yup, it’s gonna be huge. Though we sincerely hope it’s not being made just so emo favourite Depp can play a tortured, self-loathing member of the undead for those pesky Twilighters.
But when Warner Bros. ordered re-writes of John August’s (Big Fish, Sweeney Todd) script — then Disney’s Alice in Wonderland hit (grossing over $1 billion worldwide) – suddenly The Mouse were desperate for Burton drop his WB commitments and helm a similar ‘Wonderland’ re-imagining of Sleeping Beauty.
Disney’s movie would be based on the villainous Maleficent and my understanding is they offered Burton a huge deal to direct, and were willing to spend a lot of Wonderland’s fortune on a cast (including Angelina Jolie to lead) but in the end, Burton wasn’t interested in repeating himself. Yeah I know… amazing, huh?
Thankfully for our sanity, Deadline say Dark Shadows will firmly go in front of WB camera’s in January.
In a bit of a surprise, Seth Grahame-Smith (who wrote the twisted Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Abe Lincoln: Vampire Hunter – the latter which Burton is producing for Timbur Bekmambetov to adapt as his next film) – has been hired to write a fresh draft of the supernatural screenplay.
All the staples of the Tim Burton formula are here, as the show regularly featured werewolves, ghosts, zombies, man-made monsters and witches, and it’s use of atmosphere and outlandish characters was it’s hallmark.
The show sounds like it very closely resembled the kind of mood of Sleepy Hollow, and no doubt Burton will find parts for Hammer horror vets Sir. Christopher Lee and Michael Gough. Oh, and his partner Helena Bonham Carter is sure to be in there too.
Wiki describe Dark Shadows as thus;
Dark Shadows was distinguished by its vividly melodramatic performances, atmospheric interiors, memorable story lines and an unusually adventurous music score. Now regarded as somewhat of a camp classic, it continues to enjoy intense cult status among its followers.
Isn’t it interesting that the above could account for any Tim Burton movie ever made? Change Dark Shadows to Batman, Batman Returns, Beetlejuice, Sleepy Hollow, Mars Attacks! and Sweeney Todd and it all works.
For Depp – it will be his movie post-Pirates of the Carribean: On Stranger Tides film and will shoot before his ambitious Pancho Villa biopic. His schedule now looks full until late 2011.
12 Comments
I haven’t seen Mars Attacks, but which of those above named Burton movies featured “vividly melodramatic performances?” Per Websters: “melodramatic suggests an exaggerated emotionalism or an inappropriate theatricalism.” http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dramatic Sounds like basically hammy acting, hence the “camp” factor, but when has Burton done “camp” or when has he hired hammy actors or encouraged any member of one of his great casts to give a hammy performance? And what director wouldn’t want to be known for directing a movie with “atmospheric interiors, memorable story lines and an unusually adventurous music score?”
Vermontfudge,
That wiki comment wasn’t particularly a dig at Burton, if anything it’s a suggestion that Dark Shadows fits well into his filmography. Especially the “atmospheric interiors, memorable story lines and an unusually adventurous music score?”
As much as I loved his performance, didn’t Nicholson ‘ham’ up the acting in Batman?
Chris Walken certainly did in the sequel.
“Burton likes to shoot on sets, he likes to create another world, he’s influenced by silent movies, old horror movies, Hammer films, what’s wrong with that”…
Nothing wrong with that. I like those Tim Burton movies. But none of that was in Alice in Wonderland.
And most of Johnny Depp’s performances – Edward Scissorhands aside – in Burton’s films are hammier than a Pork Farm Factory. Sometimes it works such as Ed Wood, Scissorhands and Sleepy Hollow but sometimes it really bombs. If Depp’s performances in Chocolate Factory, Wonderland and Sweeney Todd are not “theatrical” then how would you describe them. They’re hardly studies in neo-realism are they?
On the subject of Burton’s Batman: am I the only one who thought his films were absolutely terrible and Michael Keaton – while he was great in Beetlejuice – was one of the worst Batman’s ever!
I love the Burton movies…
http://www.obsessedwithfilm.com/movie-news/batman.php
Clooney’s actual Batman (not Bruce Wayne, where he was actually rather excellent) was the undisputed worst. But generally, Batman as a character has been rather spoilt as far as good performances go.
You missed the “innapropriate” part of the phrase, it’s “innapropriately theatrical.” Nobody said Depp’s performances were “studies in neo-realism.” Gee, could you be more extreme? Burton likes to shoot on sets, he likes to create another world, he’s influenced by silent movies, old horror movies, Hammer films, what’s wrong with that? Different strokes for different directors. I don’t think you have the slightest idea what hammy acting is.
Fair play Matt – I’m not saying they are bad movies because they are obviously very well made. But, I just didn’t like them. They had great casts with Nicholson, Walken, Pfeiffer and DeVito but I find the movies over-the-top and unwatchable compared to Nolan’s updates.
Interestingly, I read somewhere that before Burton was offered the Batman updates the Coen Brothers were asked to direct them but they turned down the opportunity.
Ivan Reitman and Joe Dante too..
The Burton Batman films are great fun and wonderful pieces of cinema but that is not to say thay they aren’t very heavy handed in tone – sometimes this approach makes for engrossing and entertaining set-pieces and other times it is a little overbearing. The Dark Knight is an improvement though I’d still never categorise it as a mastepiece as the story appears to fall off a cliff in the final third – the scene on the boat has to be one of the most ludicrous and emotionally forced scenes I’ve ever witnessed.
Depp is very hit and miss regardless of who he is working with – I adore some of his performances in films such as Finding Neverland and Ed Wood but he can often be out there and quirky for the sheer sake of it. No surprise to see that he is working with Burton again – they are worse than Scorsese and DiCaprio…
This is such good news. Tim and Johnny have been talking about this movie way before The Twilight series. So I wonder if the filming will begin in Jan. or if they will just begin production? Mr. Depp will certainly be busy in 2011.
Aah. . . Joe Dante – very inventive director of some fine low budget horrors and comedies who didn’t quite get the blockbuster shot he deserved. Maybe he did but turned it down?
“Burton likes to shoot on sets, he likes to create another world, he’s influenced by silent movies, old horror movies, Hammer films, what’s wrong with that”…
Nothing wrong with that. I like those Tim Burton movies. But none of that was in Alice in Wonderland.