News Bites

• Big Finish Productions have released their new Dark Shadows audio miniseries Kingdom of the Dead on CD and download. The four-part story is available as individual monthly releases and as a special box set. For more information and to order online click here.
• Kathryn Leigh Scott (Maggie) has just re-issued the audiobook edition of The Dark Shadows Companion as a three-CD set read by herself, Jonathan Frid (Barnabas), Lara Parker (Angelique) and Roger Davis (Jeff). For more information, click here.
• David Selby's (Quentin) two new books, My Shadowed Past, a memoir of Dark Shadows, and The Blue Door, an original novel, are now available to purchase from his official website. For more information, click here.
• And finally, Joseph Gordon-Levitt (1991 David) can currently be seen in cinemas in the new Christopher Nolan movie Inception.

Revival Series Soundtrack CD

Screen Archives Entertainment have just released a new album collecting Bob Cobert's music scores from the 1991 Dark Shadows remake. Dark Shadows: The Revival Series is a two-disc collection of the show's original soundtrack cues, made available as a limited edition.

In addition to over two hours of broadcast music cues, the CD comes with a detailed illustrated booklet, featuring rare imagery, plus the bonus track Dark Dream, a re-recording of a classic Dark Shadows cue produced for the show's pilot episode, which was ultimately unused. To hear sample tracks and to purchase online, click here.

Jonathan Frid at the Vista

Over 400 fans gathered at Hollywood's Vista Theatre last Friday for a special gala screening of House of Dark Shadows, which kicked off the Dark Shadows Festival's weekend-long celebration of the series. Guest of honour Jonathan Frid (Barnabas) was there to place his handprints in cement, followed by the movie projected from an original 35mm print. Courtesy of our friends at the Vista, here are some images from the day.

Dark Shadows Festival This Weekend

It's the annual Dark Shadows Festival this weekend, and a host of Dark Shadows stars will be descending on Burbank, California to celebrate the show, including Jonathan Frid, David Selby, Lara Parker and Kathryn Leigh Scott.

I'll be there to promote my work on the Big Finish series of Dark Shadows audio dramas. We'll be launching the new full-cast Dark Shadows box set Kingdom of the Dead, plus there will be great discount prices for the range across the weekend. If you're attending, please stop by at the Big Finish table and say hello.

For more information on the Festival weekend, click here.

New Writer For Dark Shadows Movie

Deadline New York reports that the Dark Shadows movie project has recruited a new writer, as pre-production continues. Novelist Seth Grahame-Smith is now on board to write the screenplay, replacing frequent Tim Burton collaborator John August.

Seth Grahame-Smith is best known for his novels Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, the latter of which has been optioned by Tim Burton. Current reports suggest that production on Dark Shadows will now begin in January.

DVD Bargains

Amazon are having a summer sale, with great discount prices on the Dark Shadows DVD boxsets. For a limited time, the majority of volumes are slashed in price to just $24.99, saving over 50% on the retail price. Here are ordering links:

Dark Shadows: The Beginning (pre-Barnabas episodes): Collection 1, Collection 2, Collection 3, Collection 4, Collection 5, Collection 6

Dark Shadows DVD Collections (episodes from Barnabas' arrival onwards): Collection 1, Collection 2, Collection 3, Collection 4, Collection 5, Collection 6, Collection 7, Collection 8, Collection 9, Collection 10, Collection 11, Collection 12, Collection 13, Collection 14, Collection 15, Collection 16, Collection 17, Collection 18, Collection 19, Collection 20, Collection 21, Collection 22, Collection 23, Collection 24, Collection 25, Collection 26

Compilations: The Vampire Curse, The Haunting of Collinwood

New Dan Curtis Book Published

Dan Curtis researcher Jeff Thompson has just written a new book, detailing the further works of the Dark Shadows creator. House of Dan Curtis: The Television Mysteries of the Dark Shadows Auteur examines Curtis' work beyond Dark Shadows with new interviews, rare photographs and forewords from John Karlen (Willie) and longtime Dan Curtis Productions associate Jim Pierson.

The book weighs in at 196 pages, with over 70 photos. Look out for a review here on the site in the near future. To order the House of Dan Curtis from Amazon, click here.

Dark Shadows Comic-Con Panel

Hermes Press are to launch their hardcover reprints of the Dark Shadows comic strips at July's San Diego Comic-Con with a special panel, discussing the show – past, present and future.

Lara Parker (Angelique), Kathryn Leigh Scott (Maggie) will be appearing in-person, alongside Jim Pierson representing Dan Curtis Productions. Jonathan Frid (Barnabas) will be represented via a special video message. The event takes place on Saturday July 24 in Room 3 from 5.00-6.00pm. For more information on the convention, click here.

Hermes Press have also unveiled the final cover art for Dark Shadows: The Complete Series Volume 2, which is due out later this month. To pre-order the book from Amazon at a discount price, click here.