For those who have been following Tim Burton’s ‘Dark Shadows’ film, you already know that this movie is a project that is close to Johnny Depp’s heart. Years ago when the rights to ‘Dark Shadows’ was up, Depp made sure he snapped it up right away. Not only will this film be his first to play a vampire, ‘Dark Shadows’ will also be the first time he wears a producer’s hat for a Tim Burton film.
The film will be the eighth collaboration between Burton and Depp and one that Depp has been wanting to see made since he bought the rights. In an interview with the LA Times, Graham King (‘World War Z’, ‘Hugo’), who is also a producer on the film said, “(Depp) started telling me all of this, with a lot of excitement. I was thinking, “What is he talking about?” He was absolutely a man on a mission to play this role. He loved it when he was a kid and obviously it shows in the film. Johnny loved every minute of being Barnabas.”
He goes on to say that the film is not really a remake of the old ABC series but a film that should be judged on its own. “I feel it’s a very commercial, accessible film for people to go to and have a really fun time,” he explains, “Tim and Johnny put their stamp on it and when that happens it’s special and, for me, to be involved in that — and in a movie that is pure entertainment — is really nice.”
Burton and Depp’s stamp on the film can be seen in these two new featurettes that were released earlier today. The first one called “Man Behind the Shadows’ has Burton talking about how important the year 1972 is to the film and the cast is seen talking about the incredible mind of Burton and how he has managed to put his own twist on the soap opera.
In the second featurette, ‘Constructing Collinwood,’ the building of the sets for the movie is discussed as scenes of the enormous sets and the blowing up of a factory is shown.
Both featurettes show a lot of scenes not previous shown in the trailers and clips so it’s worth a look. As with all movies that seem to release a lot of promotional videos before its release, I’m hoping that we haven’t seen the best that ‘Dark Shadows’ has to offer. I guess that will soon be known when the film comes out in theaters next week.
‘Dark Shadow’ Clip – Man Behind the Shadows:
‘Dark Shadow’ Clip – Counstructing Collinwood:
Tim Burton’s ‘Dark Shadows’ stars Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham-Carter, Michelle Pfeiffer, Eva Green, Chloe Moretz and Jackie Earle Haley. The film will be in theaters May 11th, 2012.
