Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows opens in twelve days. Is it a gothic horror comedy or a comedy with elements of horror? American Werewolf in London suffered a similar identity crisis, at least in terms of how reviewers and a lot of audience members perceived it. (Me? I’ve never thought of it as anything other than a horror movie with a sense of humor. I think Dark Shadows will not be anywhere near as intense as American Werewolf and that there may be equal measures of both campy humor and horror.

In any case, Warner Brothers is releasing a Tim Burton dvd boxed set containing 7 titles this Tuesday, May 1. (Remember these may not what you consider to be his “best”, but they are all WB films:

Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, Beetlejuice, Batman, Batman Returns, Mars Attacks!, Corpse Bride, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

The set also includes a hard-cover book.  To celebrate the release of this boxed set, our friends at Hey U Guys have shared some behind the scenes images (You can see their complete gallery at the link). Of the films listed above, only Beetlejuice (a personal favorite) and Mars Attacks!  are not represented.  Some other favorites make up for it, like Edward Scissorhands (I cannot believe it’s been 22 years since its release) and Ed Wood among them. 

Pee Wee’s Big Adventure 1985

Batman 1989

Edward Scissorhands 1990

Batman Returns 1992

Ed Wood 1994

Sleepy Hollow  1999

Planet of the Apes 2001

Big Fish 2003

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory 2005

Corpse Bride 2005

Sweeney Todd 2007

Alice in Wonderland 2010

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Two more weeks! To celebrate the countdown to the May 11 release, we have a lucky 13 brand new stills just dropped by Warner Brothers for Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows!

I’m really looking forward to this, as you have probably gathered by now. I’m still not sure why the marketing wizards seem to be leaning so heavily on the  campy humor, because what I’m hearing is that the movie does contain a fair amount of horror, which is befitting a movie where the central character is a vampire. (Although a movie that also transplanted a vampire to the modern world and played it strictly for laughs, Love at First Bite, is among my favorite guilty pleasures.) Without getting spoilery, I can say that the film culminates in a “bloody battle”. I’d really hate it if Burton had drained the blood out of vampire Barnabas Collins. As I have yet to see the entire finished product I can only guess that if the balancing act is successful, it will be due in large part to screenwriter Seth Grahame-Smith, who also wrote Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, another Burton collaboration and other genre mash-up.

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 (Depp) 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 Bouchard (Green). 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 (Pfeiffer) has called upon live-in psychiatrist, Dr. Julia Hoffman (Helena Bonham Carter), to help with her family troubles. Also residing in the manor is Elizabeth’s ne’er-do-well brother, Roger Collins, (Jonny Lee Miller); her rebellious teenage daughter Carolyn Stoddard (Moretz); and Roger’s precocious 10-year-old son, David Collins (Gulliver McGrath). The mystery extends beyond the family, to caretaker Willie Loomis (Jackie Earle Haley) and David’s new nanny, Victoria Winters, played by Bella Heathcote.

Johnny Depp is of course Barnabas Collins (and I still say he’s a mix of Edward Scissorhands and Max Schreck). The film also stars Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter, Eva Green, Jackie Earle Haley, Jonny Lee Miller, Bella Heathcote, Chloe Moretz and Gulliver McGrath.  Dark Shadows opens in the US and the UK on May 11.

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I know, I know, I’ve told you I’m excited for The Avengers and Prometheus and The Dark Knight  Rises (among others), I’ve even told you I’m excited about Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows, but let me just say it again. I’m really really excited about Dark Shadows!

We have a new UK trailer to share (thanks to our friends HeyUGuys), and while it does seem to emphasize the comedy, everything I’m reading leads me to believe that Burton has found the balance I’d hoped for. I’m not sure why the marketing campaign seems to be leaning so heavily on the humor, but apparently the movie is in fact a good mix of comedy and horror. The film culminates in a “bloody battle”. I don’t want to get too spoilery, but that sounds about right. I’d really hate it if Burton had drained the blood vampire Barnabas Collins. I think  a lot of the credit will eventually go to writer Seth Grahame-Smith, who also wrote Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, another Burton collaboration.

Johnny Depp is of course Barnabas Collins (and I still say he’s a mix of Edward Scissorhands and Max Schreck) and he looks like he’s having a blast. The film also stars Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter, Eva Green, Jackie Earle Haley, Jonny Lee Miller, Bella Heathcote, Chloe Moretz and Gulliver McGrath.

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 (Depp) 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 Bouchard (Green). 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 (Pfeiffer) has called upon live-in psychiatrist, Dr. Julia Hoffman (Helena Bonham Carter), to help with her family troubles. Also residing in the manor is Elizabeth’s ne’er-do-well brother, Roger Collins, (Jonny Lee Miller); her rebellious teenage daughter Carolyn Stoddard (Moretz); and Roger’s precocious 10-year-old son, David Collins (Gulliver McGrath). The mystery extends beyond the family, to caretaker Willie Loomis (Jackie Earle Haley) and David’s new nanny, Victoria Winters, played by Bella Heathcote.

Dark Shadows opens in the US and the UK on May 11.

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That’s a new banner above for Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows, basically depicting Barnabas Collins with ‘his women’.

I have no doubt that Burton has respect for the source material, Dan Curtis’ late 60’s-early 70’s gothic soap opera. This is the man who cast Vincent Price in Edward Scissorhands and resurrected the memory of Bela Lugosi in Ed Wood. He and Depp appreciate Jonathan Frid’s Barnabas even if they can’t quite play it straight. While the new banner illustrates the Pop Art/Peter Max/70’s look of the costumes and the other posters, that sentiment is captured in the latest still of Depp’s Barnabas to be released. It’s definitely my favorite of what I’ve seen so far.

That’s the same walking stick that Frid used and the nails on the hands are tributes to both Frid and Max Schreck, the original cinematic vampire in Nosferatu.

We also have, for your viewing pleasure, another tv spot, again brilliantly combining the traditional gothic themes while also mining them for subtle comedy. 

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 (Depp) 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 Bouchard (Eva Green). 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 (Helena Bonham Carter), to help with her family troubles. Also residing in the manor is Elizabeth’s ne’er-do-well brother, Roger Collins, (Jonny Lee Miller); her rebellious teenage daughter Carolyn Stoddard (Chloe Grace Moretz); and Roger’s precocious 10-year-old son, David Collins (Gulliver McGrath). The mystery extends beyond the family, to caretaker Willie Loomis (Jackie Earle Haley) and David’s new nanny, Victoria Winters, played by Bella Heathcote.

Dark Shadows casts its spell beginning May 11 in the US and the UK. (In the US, that’s one week after The Avengers gets their bite at the apple. After that they’ll be fighting it out fang and nail.)

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I hope you kept those umbrellas handy, all you fans of campy gothic horror and/or Tim Burton and Johnny Depp collaborations, cuz it’s raining again! Months of nothing, nada, zilch, zippo…lately we’ve gotten inundated with material for Tim Burton’s tongue-in-cheek adaptation of Dan Curtis’ gothic soap opera, Dark Shadows. Today we another new set of posters, which consist of nine full-body character sheets, PLUS we have a casket full of new images.

Helen Bonham Carter as Dr. Julia Hoffman is starting to look more like Grayson Hall with every haughty tilt of her head. Michelle Pfeiffer as Elizabeth Collins Stoddard is a lot prettier and more vibrant than Joan Bennett, but still formidable. Eva Green looks a tad overly photoshopped in her poster, but I think she makes a terrific Angelique Bouchard. Jonny Lee Miller is that leisure suit with the arched brow is just spot on Roger Collins. I may have thought I wanted a strict remake of the show I loved as a little kid, but I am really looking forward to Burton’s take.

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 (Depp) 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 Bouchard (Green). 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 (Pfeiffer) has called upon live-in psychiatrist, Dr. Julia Hoffman (Bonham Carter), to help with her family troubles. Also residing in the manor is Elizabeth’s ne’er-do-well brother, Roger Collins, (Miller); her rebellious teenage daughter Carolyn Stoddard (Chloe Moretz); and Roger’s precocious 10-year-old son, David Collins (Gulliver McGrath). The mystery extends beyond the family, to caretaker Willie Loomis (Haley) and David’s new nanny, Victoria Winters, played by Bella Heathcote.

The Avengers gets one week atop the US box office before Dark Shadows casts its spell beginning May 11 in the US and the UK.

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First, let me just say that the first trailer, our first look beyond a few still images, at Tim Burton’s rendition of Dan Curtis’ seminal gothic horror television show Dark Shadows looks AWESOME!

(you can see it in HiDef here)

It is genius that Burton and his screenwriters kept the show moored in the 70’s rather than trying to bring it into the present. If you’ve ever seen a single episode of the show, or one of its spinoff movies, then you know how spot on the casting is down to every last character in terms of physical appearance. The fact that they’re going for comedy just spins thewhole thing on its head. I was a little disappointed, at first, that Burton went the ultra camp route rather than playing it straight the way the tv show did, but it works with Burton’s deft touch and the comic timing of his star, not to mention (un)dead-pan delivery of his star, Depp. Frankly, it will be nice to see Eva Green lighten up a bit.

Helena Bonham Carter’s Dr. Julia Hoffman, while she may be as repressed as her predecessor, appears to be self-medicating as well. Chloe Grace Moretz’s character is Carolyn Stoddard, but I think they’ve merged her with Amy Collins as well (who was played by Denise Nickerson. Moretz is an infinitely better actress although Nickerson wasn’t bad as a giant blueberry in Willy Wonka “Your’re turning violet, Violet!”) and I love that she’s capable of withering Depp’s Barnabas with a look. Jonny Lee Miller appears to know how to handle being the insufferable prig that is ne’r do well Roger Collins.

If I was curious before, I am definitely looking forward to this now! I’m sure we’ll have some more tantalizing tidbits in the weeks to come. Dark Shadows opens May 11^th!

This is a very cool primer on the characters and how they compare.

For further hilarity, our friends at HeyUGuys have come up with a Dark Shadows/Tim Burton Character Mashup that you have to see. It's at the link.

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Once again, when it rains it pours. So get out your umbrellas fans of campy gothic horror and/or Tim Burton and Johnny Depp collaborations! After a long dry spell, we finally had some new images for Dark Shadows last week.  There’s a trailer coming tomorrow, but in the meantime, I thought I’d whet your whistle with a few MORE new pics as well as the new banner, above.

The pics give us a first looks at Helen Bonham Carter as Dr. Julia Hoffman and Jackie Earle Haley as Willie Loomis, as well as more Michelle Pfeiffer as Elizabeth Collins Stoddard and Eva Green as Angelique Bouchard and Jonny Lee Miller as Roger Collins. Most importantly we see Johnny Depp’s Barnabas Collins dripping blood. Huzzah!

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 (Depp) 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 Bouchard (Green). 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 (Pfeiffer) has called upon live-in psychiatrist, Dr. Julia Hoffman (Bonham Carter), to help with her family troubles. Also residing in the manor is Elizabeth’s ne’er-do-well brother, Roger Collins, (Miller); her rebellious teenage daughter Carolyn Stoddard (Chloe Moretz); and Roger’s precocious 10-year-old son, David Collins (Gulliver McGrath). The mystery extends beyond the family, to caretaker Willie Loomis (Haley) and David’s new nanny, Victoria Winters, played by Bella Heathcote.

Dark Shadows casts its spell beginning May 11 in the US and the UK.

Stay connected with us! Follow us on Twitter, fan us on Facebook, grab our RSS feed, or subscribe to us via a News Reader. We would love to hear from you.

It seems that not only do we have dueling Snow White projects in production, we’ve also got dueling Dickens! We’ve shown you the first look at Helena Bonham Carter as Miss Havisham in David Nicholls’ adaptation of Great Expectations, directed by Mike Newell and due out next year to coincide with the 200th anniversary of Charles Dickens’ birth. Nicholls is said to have turned it into a “thriller” and has come up with an alternate ending(!?) As he told The Telegraph, "Dickens came up with two endings – one which is incredibly bleak and one which is unrealistically romantic and sentimental. Neither are quite satisfactory and we've come up with an ending that isn't in the book – and is somewhere in between. It draws on events in the book but takes them in a slightly different direction, but is in no way sacrilegious." Well, that remains to be seen.

In any case, the BBC is taking a different approach. Here’s your first look at Gillian Anderson,  who has been cast as their version of the tormented Miss Havisham. She certainly looks the part of the jilted Victorian bride, but so does Bonham Carter. There’s no doubt their performances will also be compared. Anderson can do period drama, she was nominated for a BAFTA, Emmy and Golden Globe for Dickens’ Bleak House in 2005.

The production also stars Ray Winstone as the dastardly Abel Magwitch. I adore Ray Winstone but he will have to stack up against Ralph Fiennes in Newell’s film. David Suchet (the definitive Hercule Poirot) is Mr Jaggers, and Douglas Booth (Boy George in BBC's "Worried About The Boy")  is adult Pip. Oscar Kennedy plays young Pip, young Estella is played by Izzy Meikle-Small (young Kathy in Never Let Me Go). The older Estella is Vanessa Kirby (Ruth Elms in "The Hour")

Due to be aired in December 2012, this version is a three-episode adaptation, part of a season of documentary, drama and discussion programs celebrating the work of Dickens on the BBC. I’m hoping that means PBS will pick it up so we can see it this side of the pond, too. Enjoy the pics!