July 4th, 2011 at 5:19 pm by
Sheri
Warner Brothers has released the first look at Collinwood Manor, the setting for much of Tim Burton’s
Dark Shadows. Filming began in May and it appears that work is nearly complete on the exterior,
located in a remote area of Surrey (standing in for coastal Maine) in England, that will be used for the film.
The script is by first-time Burton collaborator Seth Grahame-Smith (author of the “Abraham Lincoln:Vampire Hunter” and “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” novels). Based on the Gothic television show from the 60′s, Dark Shadows has had big screen adaptations before, as well as an updated tv version in the late 90′s with Ben Cross, Burton’s film will be less a remake than a re-imagining. Johnny Depp has been cast as head vampire Barnabas Collins, while Eva Green will play the witch Angelique. Burton’s life partner, baby mommy and frequent collaborator Helena Bonham Carter will also appear as Dr. Julia Hoffman.
Here’s the official synopsis Warner’s released back in April:
“In the year 1752, Joshua and Naomi Collins, with young son Barnabas, set sail from Liverpool, England to start a new life in America. But even an ocean was not enough to escape the mysterious curse that has plagued their family. Two decades pass and Barnabas has the world at his feet—or at least the town of Collinsport, Maine. The master of Collinwood Manor, Barnabas is rich, powerful and an inveterate playboy, until he makes the grave mistake of breaking the heart of Angelique Brouchard. A witch, in every sense of the word, Angelique dooms him to a fate worse than death: turning him into a vampire, and then burying him alive.
Two centuries later, Barnabas is inadvertently freed from his tomb and emerges into the very changed world of 1972. He returns to Collinwood Manor to find that his once-grand estate has fallen into ruin. The dysfunctional remnants of the Collins family have fared little better, each harboring their own dark secrets. Matriarch Elizabeth Collins Stoddard (Michelle Pfeiffer) has called upon live-in psychiatrist, Dr. Julia Hoffman, to help with her family troubles.”
Here’s a pic from the tv series:
The rest of the cast (and having grown up with Jonathan Frid as Barnabas and David Selby as Quentin, I’m liking these choices) includes Chloe Grace Moretz, Jackie Earle Haley (as Willie Loomis-inspired!), Jonny Lee Miller and this just in…Alice Cooper! No word yet on who will play Quentin (there is a cast listing for a “young Quentin” so this may be a clue as to what direction Burton will take the story).
Dark Shadows is scheduled to be released May 11, 2012.
