Four New Behind-the-Scenes "Dark Shadows" Photos

The Dark Shadows News Page has posted four new images from behind the scenes of Dark Shadows. Click the photos below to enlarge them:

Q&A with "Dark Shadows" Costume Designer Colleen Atwood

Adam Tschorn of the Los Angeles Times conducted an interview with acclaimed Dark Shadows costume designer Colleen Atwood:

Between the original series, the vampire genre and the not-so-distant '70s, there was no shortage of source material, so where did you turn for inspiration?

Some of it was from reference materials and some of it I remember from growing up in the '70s. Then there was also a nod to the old show. I tried to pay homage to that with things like Johnny's little cape coat that he wears.

In costume on the cover of Entertainment Weekly, Depp looks like he's wearing a forest green cape. Is Barnabas Collins a vampire of a different color?

It's actually a very, very dark green wool, but that tends to actually [show up on screen] as black with a little bit of highlighting, which sometimes works better.

Was that made for him or was it a vintage find? It seems like there might be a lot of '70s stuff at vintage shops and flea markets.

We made it; about 75% of the principals' costumes were made. For the day players and the crowd scenes, it was mostly rental stock that came from the U.S. because it's an American story and the clothes had a different feeling from the British stuff.

Was this a fun movie to costume?

It's a period that when you look back on it, you can't kind of believe that people really did it. Most of us could remember what it was like, so we had a good laugh when people came to set.

Where did you source the fabrics — the paisleys, the velvets, the laces — for the pieces that were made?

There's a great textile fair in London called the Hammersmith Textile Fair that takes place once a month or so, and I was a regular visitor to that on my Sundays because they had some great stuff.

What was the inspiration for some of the principal characters' costumes?

For Johnny's character, we wanted to keep him really simple and singular but also have a nod to the period. I had fun with finding all the potential things that crossed over from the 18th century to 1972 — there ended up being a lot of emphasis on the collar.

One standout piece Barnabas Collins wears is a silk smoking jacket covered in a wavy pattern that looks almost like feathers or flower petals. What's the story behind that?

I loved that because it was so Tim [Burton]. It's a weird swirly pattern that from far away I suppose could be feathers, but when you see it close up it's more like those weird bull's-eye things Tim likes. It's actually an original piece — probably from the '40s — that I found at a flea market.

What about for Eva Green, who plays a witch named Angelique Bouchard?

A line in the script described Eva's character as looking like she'd stepped out of a Virginia Slims ad, so we went with a sleek, businessy look when we introduced her into the story. She's a totally modern woman, so we didn't want the sort of witchy look you would expect.

The most eye-catching piece Angelique wears is a floor-length, bosom-baring, body-hugging, blood-red dress covered in sparkling paillettes. Was that a vintage find?

Oh, no, that was made. You don't find a dress like that that fits the way it does on the rack, honey.

And Michelle Pfeiffer's family matriarch Elizabeth Collins Stoddard? Was there a kind of Karen Carpenter vibe going on there?

She was a marriage of a few different influences, including a David Bailey book called "Birth of the Cool" that has all these ultra-glamorous girls with that big hair and that look. It was a combination that fit Michelle to a T.

Judging by the assortment of macramé owl earrings she wears — and a secret that's revealed in the movie — are we to assume the family matriarch has a '70s-appropriate appreciation of the fiber arts?

I had these girls on my team who took great joy in making them for Michelle — they were very crafty. Michelle got really into the macramé too. She would ask if we could make some in a certain color or with eyes or sitting on a branch. She became part of the process.

She also favors a lot of very large and very ornate necklaces. Where did those come from?

The necklaces were these weird copper and enamel crafts people made back then. I remember these jewelry classes — I was way too little to take them, but my mom did — that taught everybody how to make this kind of wire and enamel pieces. We figured that if [her character] was into macramé, she probably would have branched out into making metal pieces as well. The pieces she's wearing are actually vintage ones I found on Portobello Road in London.

Videos: Eight New Interviews with "Dark Shadows" Cast & Crew

The heyuguysblog YouTube channel has posted eight new interviews with cast and crew members of Dark Shadows:

Tim Burton:




Producer Richard D. Zanuck:




Helena Bonham Carter:




Michelle Pfeiffer and Chloe Moretz:




Jackie Earle Haley:




Jonny Lee Miller:




Gully McGrath:




Eva Green and Bella Heathcoate:

Video: Depp Doesn't Dance

While appearing on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Dark Shadows cast mates Michelle Pfeiffer and Chloe Moretz entered the stage like most guests of the day-time talk show: by dancing. Johnny Depp, however, did not.

"I fear it more than anything," Depp said of dancing. “When I’m doing the film and it’s choreographed and you’re in character, it’s alright. But in life, I’d rather swallow a bag of hair,” he said of his decision.

The three actors did talk about their new film, Dark Shadows, of course, as well as Pfeiffer's role as Catwoman in Batman Returns, and not just dancing and eating hair. See the video clip below:

Burton, Depp on "Dark Shadows"

Collider recently spoke with Tim Burton and Johnny Depp. In this interview, the two discussed numerous topics relating to Dark Shadows, including how they decided to make this project, Depp's role as a producer, whether or not they might do a sequel, playing a vampire and Depp's influences in taking the part, and much more:

Question: Tim, can you talk about Johnny Depp bringing this to your attention and getting this project going?

TIM BURTON: We’ve talked about it for many years, but this was the first project that I ever remember Johnny saying that he’d wanted to play this ever since he was a little boy.

JOHNNY DEPP: Just a wee tike.

BURTON: He knew Barnabas Collins before he knew his own father.

DEPP: Pretty much.

BURTON: It was one of those things where the show had a lot of impact for some of us. Johnny, Michelle [Pfeiffer] and I were there at the time it came out, and we just recall it being a very strong, interesting property. This was something that Johnny had had for a long time.

Johnny, as a producer, what did you want to make sure you got across with this film?

DEPP: It’s impossible to consider myself a producer. I can barely produce an English muffin, in the morning. That’s the producer [in me]. But, just as a fan of the show, our initial conversation about the thing was during Sweeney Todd, where I just blurted out, in mid-conversation, “God, we should do a vampire movie together, where you have a vampire that looks like a vampire.” Dark Shadows was looming on the periphery, and then Tim and I started talking about it. When we got together, Tim and I started figuring out how it should be shaped. And then, (screenwriter) Seth [Grahame-Smith] came on board and the three of us just riffed. One thing led to another, and it basically dictated to us what it wanted to be, in a sense, certainly with Tim at the forefront, leading the troops.

What were the key elements from the original series that you wanted to carry over to this film?

BURTON: It’s a tricky tone and we all recognize that. When we talked about Dark Shadows, part of its appeal was the weird nature of all the elements that went into it. It was very serious, but it was on in the afternoon, on a daily basis. There were certain reasons why we loved the show, but you couldn’t necessarily adopt to a film. It was the weirdest challenge to get the acting tone and the soap opera nature of the tone. That’s a weird thing to go for in a Hollywood movie. It’s not like you can go to a studio and go, “We want to do weird soap opera acting.” They go, “Oh, great! Whatever that means.” That’s why I was so grateful to all of the cast. Even the ones that didn’t know the show, got into the spirit of it. What made it Dark Shadows was trying to capture the spirit of what the show was.

Johnny, what was the key to playing Barnabas Collins?

DEPP: There is some kind of thread throughout all these characters. The idea of this very elegant, upper-echelon, well-schooled gentleman, who was cursed in the 18th Century and is brought back to the most surreal era of our time – the 1970s, with 1972 – and how he would react to things and how radically different things were, not just with regard to technology and automobiles, but actual items of enjoyment for people, like pet rocks, fake flowers, plastic fruit, troll dolls, lava lamps and macrame owls. Those were my favorite.

What do you think people find so tempting about vampires?

DEPP: It’s a strange thing because, as a child, I certainly had a fascination with monsters and vampires, as did Tim. There’s this darkness, this mystery, this intrigue. And then, as you get older, you recognize the erotic nature of the vampire and the idea of the undead. What was most interesting, in terms of Barnabas, was the combination. It was a real challenge, probably more for Tim than me, to make that vampire, who is clearly a vampire, fit back into this odd society and this dysfunctional family, and I think he did it rather seamlessly.

Tim, what was it like to re-team with Michelle Pfeiffer, for the first time in 20 years, since Batman Returns?

BURTON: It was weird because it reminded me how much I loved working with Michelle. It was a long time ago, but it just flooded back. I never really watch the movies again, but how impressed I remember being with Michelle just flooded back. She learned how to use a whip and jump around on roofs in high-heeled shoes, let live birds fly out of her mouth, and let cats eat her. It was very impressive stuff. So, it was a real joy to get a call from Michelle [before there was even a script] and find out that she was a closet Dark Shadows fan. I knew she was weird, but that confirmed the whole situation. It was great. Michelle and Johnny and I, we were the only ones of the cast that knew Dark Shadows. You can’t really show Dark Shadows to anybody else that doesn’t know it ‘cause they’d probably run screaming out of the room. It was nice that Michelle, playing the head of the family, was a fan. It just made me realize how much I enjoyed working with her. But, she did have trouble walking down the stairs in this movie. Some people’s powers diminish, at some point.

Johnny, what was it like, the first time you had to bite someone in the film?

BURTON: Yeah, how was your bite on that big construction worker? Did you enjoy that?

DEPP: Well, going back to the erotic nature of vampires, I felt as though I was biting one of the Village People.

BURTON: And then, he went on to the biker and the cowboy.

DEPP: And the cop. No. When I had the fangs in, I wanted to be a little bit careful that I didn’t actually pierce the jugular. It was kind of like my experience shaving Alan Rickman (in Sweeney Todd), which, by the way, neither of us want to do again, especially Alan.

Johnny, actor Chris Sarandon said that he felt sorry for you for having to wear the vampire nails because he had such a hard time with it when he did Fright Night. How was it for you to have to wear them?

DEPP: There are many more reasons to feel sorry for me. We can go through them now, or we can just cuddle after. We can have a big group cuddle, and all get greasy and weird. In every film that I’ve been lucky enough to do with Tim, there’s always some form of torture. The nails were Tim’s idea. They were the length of the fingers. But, it was okay because I had a troupe of people who would help me go to the bathroom. They had to have treatment afterwards, but they’re okay now. That is true.

How much of your physicality for Barnabas came from watching Jonathan Frid, and was there also some Nosferatu influence?

DEPP: Approaching Barnabas, even in the early days of trying to explore the possibilities of the character, no matter where you went in your head, if you tried to veer away from the original Jonathan Frid character, it was apparent to both Tim and myself that it had to be rooted in Jonathan Frid’s character of Barnabas. It just had to be. It was so classic, in the classic monster, Fangoria magazine way. In terms of that, when Jonathan was playing Barnabas, there was a rigidity to him, like he had a pole of the back and this elegance that was always there. Tim and I talked early on that a vampire should look like a vampire. It was a rebellion against vampires that look like underwear models. There was a bit of Nosferatu in there, too.

What was it like to use a cane for this character?

DEPP: The cane was one of the left-over things from the series. It’s pretty much the same design. It’s slightly altered. It’s not a silver-tipped cane because my hand would have burst into flame.

How was it to have the original cast on the set?

DEPP: Well, it was great! It was great of Tim to bring them into the fold. It was our way of saluting them, and Jonathan was terrific. He had written me a letter, a couple of years before, and signed a photograph to me, passing the baton to Barnabas, which I thought was very sweet. He had his original Barnabas cane with him and I wasn’t sure, when he actually saw me, if he was going to attack me with it, but he didn’t.

BURTON: It’s like having the Pope come visit. For us, part of the reason we were there was because those people inspired us, so it was nice to see them back in their early ‘70s clothing.

Tim, with such a big cast, what deleted scenes might be on the DVD?

BURTON: There’s stuff that we cut out. Each actor will have all of their best scenes that I’ve cut out of the film in there. No. I think there will be some stuff on it because, with the nature of it being a soap opera, we cut out stuff, but all the actors were great, so I think I’m going to look at having scenes that aren’t in the film. Because the actors did such a great job and because of the soap opera nature of it, we’ll probably have some stuff on there.

Johnny, after working on Dark Shadows, was the influence of Dan Curtis what led you to want to do The Night Stalker?

DEPP: From Dark Shadows, The Night Stalker appeared, and it was a show that I really loved. Again, there’s this weird tone to it. This reporter becomes a detective in these really odd situations. Yeah, Dan Curtis was a great, great influence.

Since this is not material that current movie audiences are familiar with, did you worry about whether the interest would be there?

BURTON: Going into this movie, you don’t go into it going, “Oh, Dark Shadows, what an easy peasy idea.” It’s not like you go into it thinking that. It’s actually a much more strange challenge.

There’s always a lot of pressure for summer movies to perform. Do you hope this film reaches beyond its specific niche audience and is seen by a larger group of people?

BURTON: There are Dark Shadows fans, and then there’s everybody else. You can’t really make it with projecting what you think it’s going to be. First of all, we made a movie that we wanted to see, and then you just hope for the best.

The ending of this lends itself to a possible sequel. Did you always think that this could be a possible start to a franchise?

BURTON: No. Because of the nature of it being like a soap opera, that was the structure. It wasn’t a conscious decision. First of all, it’s a bit presumptuous to think that. If something works out, that’s one thing, but you can’t ever predict that. That had more to do with the soap opera structure of it.

Johnny, people have said that you’re in this Marlon Brando phase of your career, making these very eccentric characters come to life. Having directed and worked with Marlon Brando, do you see that as a valid comparison?

DEPP: I couldn’t imagine my name and Marlon’s in the same sentence, in terms of the work. He was a great friend of mine, and certainly a great inspiration and a great mentor. I don’t know.

If you had to stay one of your characters for the rest of your life, who would it be?

DEPP: Probably the Earl of Rochester (from The Libertine).

Video: Interviews with Burton, "Dark Shadows" Cast

Kevin McCarthy from NerdTears.com sat down with director Tim Burton and actors Michelle Pfeiffer, Chloe Moretz, Bella Heathcoate, Jonny Lee Miller, Jackie Earle Haley, and Eva Green to discuss Dark Shadows:

Video: New "Dark Shadows" Featurette on Tim Burton

A new Dark Shadows featurette, "Man Behind the Shadows," focuses on director Tim Burton:

Bonham Carter on Working with Burton, "Dark Shadows"

Actor Daniel Radcliffe recently interviewed Helena Bonham Carter for Interview Magazine. You can read the interview in its entirety here, but here are some relevant excerpts from the conversation about working with her director/partner Tim Burton on Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and Dark Shadows:

RADCLIFFE: ...What's your relationship with musicals? Did you listen to them growing up?

BONHAM CARTER: I love musicals. Honestly, I'd always wanted to be in a musical, and I'd always wanted to be Mrs. Lovett [her role in Sweeney Todd], so when Tim said, "I'm going to make it, but you can audition if you want, you know . . .

RADCLIFFE: I remember you practicing singing.

BONHAM CARTER: Yes, again, you were there!

RADCLIFFE On the fifth [Harry Potter] film. I remember thinking, What is going to happen to Tim if she doesn't get this part? I think it's important to say you were also auditioning for [Stephen] Sondheim [a co-author of the original musical who was consulted for Burton's film]. And that's incredibly tough. What was that experience like?

BONHAM CARTER: It was one of the worst humps in our marriage. Not that we're married, but it's really hard—

RADCLIFFE: That's so brilliant. So can you talk about Dark Shadows? 'Cause I don't know the series really—

BONHAM CARTER: I didn't know it. I knew that Tim used to race home when he was a school kid and watch Dark Shadows, which was this really crappy soap opera-sort of Gothic soap opera, but it's all set around 1970. It's basically about Barnabus Collins, an unhappy vampire—a reluctant vampire.

It’s Tim Burton. He’s a genius. You can’t turn him down just because you go out with him and have two children together.

RADCLIFFE: Oh, cool! And you play Dr. Julia Hoffman?

BONHAM CARTER: I play the resident psychiatrist, who's an alcoholic. There's this sort of odd family . . . Barnabus Collins is resurrected from his coffin, and he comes back to his family. He's been away for 200 years. And Michelle Pfeiffer is, I guess, his great-niece by seven times.

RADCLIFFE: Excellent.

BONHAM CARTER: It was kind of worrying when I read it, because there's a sexy witch part. At the beginning of the film, before casting, Tim said, "I think we should take a break, because you get to work with all these other directors and I never get to work with other actors." I said, "Fine, absolutely understand it. Let's just be grown-up about it." And then [producer] Dick Zanuck—he's the most amazing man. He's 77, he's Daryl Zanuck's son, and he has produced flops, sensations—Jaws, The Sound of Music. I mean, he's a legend. So I'm on the Golden Globe red carpet, unfortunately dressed as usual, and Dick comes up to me—

RADCLIFFE: Oh, was this the different shoes?

BONHAM CARTER: Yeah. But you know, it was good because how do you do the carpet for an hour and half? So I thought, [forget] it. I looked at the dress and I thought, It's not gonna be well received, so let's just distract. At least you've got some control, you know?

RADCLIFFE: That's, frankly, inspired.

BONHAM CARTER: So Dick comes up to me and says, "Have you read it?" And I said, "Yeah, but he doesn't want me to be in it." He said, "No, no. You're the doctor . . . " I said, "Angélique, the sexy witch, right?" He said, "No, not Angélique. You're Dr. Hoffman." Doctor Hoffman! An alcoholic psychiatrist.

RADCLIFFE: Right, so you had pictured other actresses?

BONHAM CARTER: Well, I had, but I also thought, What is it about an alcoholic psychiatrist that makes you naturally think Helena?

Burton on "Batman" Movies, Michelle Pfeiffer

With Christopher Nolan's highly anticipated The Dark Knight Rises coming to theaters this summer, Tim Burton was asked to compare his two Batman movies with this new generation of films.

"I always get told that my material is dark," the filmmaker said, "but nowadays my version of Batman looks like a lighthearted romp in comparison to Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight."

Burton also talked about collaborating with Michelle Pfeiffer on Batman Returns in 1992, with much praise. "For me, her version of Catwoman was one of my favorite performances on any movie I had worked on," Burton stated. "I remember how she impressed me by letting a live bird fly out of her mouth, learning how to use a whip and dancing around on rooftops with high-heeled shoes on. She did all that stuff for real."

Burton and Pfeiffer are working together for the first time in two decades with their latest project, Dark Shadows. "I hadn't really talked to her for about 20 years, and she called before I had started working on Dark Shadows, and she told me how much she loved the old TV series and she wanted to be involved."

Video: Behind-the-Scenes Look at "Dark Shadows"

Entertainment Tonight shared some unique footage from the set of Dark Shadows, offering an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the making of the new film:

Video: New "Dark Shadows" Featurette, "Strange Family"

Yahoo! Movies has posted a second Dark Shadows featurette, "Strange Family." Tim Burton, Johnny Depp, Bella Heathcoate, Chloe Moretz, Eva Green, Helena Bonham Carter, and Michelle Pfieffer all offer their insights into the Collins family. There is plenty of new footage and also plenty of potential SPOILERS:

Videos: Depp, Bonham Carter, Chloe Moretz on "Dark Shadows"

HollywoodTeenTV has posted three videos with cast members discussing Dark Shadows and working with Tim Burton: Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, and Chloë Grace Moretz.  Here they are, and watch out for a few potential SPOILERS:

Johnny Depp:



Helena Bonham Carter:



Chloë Grace Moretz:

Photos: 16 New Stills from "Dark Shadows"

UPDATE:  You can find high-resolution versions of these images, and without a watermark, at this link.

Dread Central has posted sixteen new stills from Dark Shadows, including shots of Tim Burton directing his cast. Click the images below to enlarge them:

Video: Burton on "Frankenweenie," "Dark Shadows"

Tim Burton talked about Frankenweenie and Dark Shadows on the red carpet at CinemaCon in Las Vegas. In this video interview, the filmmaker talked about why he's making the very personal, unique Frankenweenie film now after so many years, the balance of honoring the classic Dark Shadows while making his own vision of it, working with Johnny Depp, and much more.

Pfeiffer on "Batman Returns," Burton's "Catwoman" Movie

Michelle Pfeiffer, who will be appearing in Dark Shadows, spoke with Empire Magazine and looked fondly back to twenty years ago -- when she first collaborated with Tim Burton, playing Catwoman in Batman Returns. When did she take the iconic role? "Immediately," the Dark Shadows star said. "I was halfway through the script when I said yes. Someone else was cast in the part and I remember being absolutely devastated and calling my agent and saying, 'How have I not had a meeting about this? Why have I not heard about it?' It was one of those things where Tim had someone in mind and went directly to them. So I was really bummed, but it was okay. When she [Annette Bening] fell out of it I was just leaving the country and got a call to say Tim wanted to meet me. So I went and he gave me the script and I got halfway through and said yes. But you know, honestly, I would have done it anyway, even without reading the script. But I was very happy that she was actually very well written."

"I think that she was someone so dark," added the actress on what it was that made the character so appealing to her. "Dark characters are always more interesting and she's really very dark. That whole split personality is interesting." Pfeiffer went on to reveal that she very nearly played Catwoman in a solo film helmed by Burton. "For a while, like a brief time, Tim was interested in maybe doing a Catwoman movie, but that didn't really last very long."

Nine New Full-Body "Dark Shadows" Character Posters

Apple has posted nine new full-body character posters to promote Dark Shadows. Click on the images below to enlarge them:

Photos: Pfeiffer, Burton, Depp on "Dark Shadows" Set

The website Gorgeous Pfeiffer has posted two scans from the newest issue of W Magazine, featuring notes from actress Michele Pfeiffer and photos of her, Tim Burton, Eva Green, and Johnny Depp making Dark Shadows:




LEAH GALLO; PETER MOUNTAIN/COURTESY OF WARNER BROS. PICTURES

New "Dark Shadows" Character Posters

Empire Online has posted a series of new Dark Shadows character posters. Click the images below to enlarge them:

Photos: Over 20 New "Dark Shadows" Images

Over twenty brand-new, high-resolution images from Dark Shadows have surfaced, thanks to Kino Gallery. Click the images below to see them in their original sizes: