No doubt in response to the paparazzi shots that hit the Internet last week, Warner Bros. through Entertainment Weekly, has issued the first official cast shot from Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows. For the fans who were so outraged the seemingly Michael Jackson-inspired take on Barnabas Collins, this image should provide a little bit of reassurance. In the piece, which can be found HERE, Johnny Depp reflects, “I do remember, very vividly, practically sprinting home from school in the afternoon to see Jonathan Frid play Barnabas Collins. Even then, at that age, I knew — this has got to be weird.” Adds Tim Burton, “I remember seeing a group photograph of the cast of the original series. For me it captured the weird Dark Shadows vibe in a single image. I had a brief window of opportunity to have our cast present at the same time, the day before principle photography began. We decided to stage a similar picture instead of rehearsing, to see if we captured the Dark Shadows feeling.”
What do you think? Did they capture that vibe? Just click on an image to enlarge it.
Diabolus
September 22, 2011
Wow. Wow. Wow. Can’t wait. This looks like Edward Gorey meets Tim Burton meets Dan Curtis. We DS fans could not have hoped for better. Just look at Julia Hoffman. I mean, come on! SO EXCITED.
Paula
September 22, 2011
I saw a picture of Johnny Depp as Barnabas Collins and I thought he was outrageous. He looks like a cartoon character – nothing like the character is meant to be. White pasty face, makeup, etc . Tim Burton is looney to say the least. It bothers me, too, that Johnny would go along with this weird portrayal of a beloved vampire. Hopefully, the other characters will look sensible.
Paula
September 22, 2011
To be honest, I don’t know why Dan Curtis would approve of this awful depiction of Barnabas Collins. He did the TV show in good taste for five years. I don’t like Barnabas looking like a cross between The Joker from Batman and Edward Scissorshand.
Layne
October 1, 2011
Sadly, Dan cannot say anything since he died in March of 2006.
Ed Gross
September 22, 2011
I’m a little surprised at the reaction to this photo. I completely agree when it comes to that pasty image that hit the ‘net last week. But this one looks more “normal” and much stronger than the previous one. And, Paula, Dan Curtis is no longer with us. My understanding is that the rights to Dark Shadows were sold to Warner Bros. and Johnny Depp and this is THEIR take on it.
Lon
September 22, 2011
I too jumped to the conclusions when that photo appeared with Depp in white makeup, the fedora and blue sunglasses. The photo looks great, Helena looks great as Julia (she is channeling, the late Grayson Hall, gotta love the attitude!!! Jonny Lee Miller looks impressive as Roger, I would’ve preferred Michelle’s hair darker and fashioned after Joan Bennett. Angelique looks like an older Carolyn as portrayed by Nancy Barrett. Depp as Barnabas in this pic looks great, although the cane should’ve had a silver wolf’s head…. Looking forward to it.
Dark Shadow
September 25, 2011
Did I, or did I not state that Depp’s Barney would be complimentary to Frid’s portrayal? I knew those unofficial & unprocessed set photos were not indicative of what we would see on screen, but you were so violently offended that you couldn’t even see straight.
The makeup in the unofficial photos indicates that there will be special effects added later. Now that you’ve calmed down, can you remember what effect might be added to Barney’s face right around the time the “treatments” seem to be succeeding?
In the show the effect was used just before he was able to “test” the daylight. In the first movie, it was used again shortly after Barney walked around in the sun with Maggie. In the Revival, it was featured when Barney & Victoria were enjoying a mid day meal, right after taking a daylight stroll together.
As a 45 year long fan, this should not be a difficult puzzle for you to solve.
Cheers!
Ed Gross
September 22, 2011
This truly was the smartest thing the studio could have done given the response the other photos had gotten. I’m back to being intrigued regarding the project. I certainly don’t expect it to be a clone of the original,but at least now its starting to suggest the proper branching off from that version.
Lon
September 22, 2011
I totally agree, they did the right thing. I can’t wait for the new issue of Entertainment Weekly!!! It reminds me of the Flip, 16 Magazines and Tiger Beats of our past, here we go again!!! Surprisingly Depp looks so young. One thing I don’t understand, construction workers discover Barnabas’ tomb according to Entertainment Weekly…
Kit Forbes
September 23, 2011
<<>>
My thoughts exactly. So Carolyn & Vickie are those teenager looking gals behind Julia (perfect look!) and David (who also seems to young to me but, whatev).
Glad to see the Depp makeup scare from last time seemed a movie lighting vs real lighting issue. I loved the original series and will give this a go. Hopefully it will do well enough for a sequel and we can have Quentin.
Also looking forward to original cast cameos. Selby incognito is better than none “Quentin fix” at all. ^_^
Cecelia
September 24, 2011
Well, I’m not sure I’m fond of Helena Bonham Carter’s orange hair. Grayson’s hair was red but not Ronald McDonald red. They did manage to find a dress even uglier than the horrors Julia wore on the show.
And why is Bella Heathcote’s Vicki dressed like a schoolgirl? A governess in leotard stockings?
The new Willie Loomis looks more like Matthew Morgan than Willie.
Dark Shadow
September 25, 2011
If you look at the actual photo in the magazine, her hair isn’t as extreme as it appears on a computer moniter. Also, have you forgotten how wild Julia’s hair was in House of Dark Shadows? Her first scene in that film is absolutely shocking. And let’s not forget the scary do she was sporting when she first arrived at Collinwood on the TV show. Thank God it was in B&W!
Cecelia
September 26, 2011
The style of HBC’s hair looks fine, it’s the color that’s wild. Who needs any set lighting with NuJulia’s hair to light the way? Seriously. Julia is my second favorite DS character (after Barnabas). I really hope they don’t make her into a cartoon.
Dark Shadow
September 26, 2011
Color does not seem to me to be much different than what we see on screen from the original show. Currently watching the episodes prior to the 1897 storyline, and the hair color seems spot on. In House of Dark Shadows, Julia’s hair was not only wild in style, but the color was really quite shocking. Overall, HBC’s portrayal in this photo looks like a toned down version of Julia to me.
Dan Silvio
September 25, 2011
This photo is much more to my liking, However Barnabas looks almost as old as DAVID and the new CAROLYN. The lady behind chloë moretz,she looks like CAROLYN from the Original series. And yes the new willie does look like MATHEW MORGAN, the caretaker of COLLINWOOD during the first year of DS instead of Willie Loomis but the 1990 Willie did NOT resemble Willie or Mathew. But I am glad this is the look and NOT the CLOWN we all saw in the shots that have been running around the web and on FB.
Dark Shadow
September 25, 2011
If you save the picture as .bmp file, and then zoom in on Barney/Depp, he looks age appropriate. He just appears boyish because of the combination of his distance from the lens & the pallor of his face. When seen up close, the details that define an older appearance can be seen.