Dark Shadows Hits London!

•  As we reported yesterday, the UK premiere of the Dark Shadows took place last night, with the film's stars braving a drizzly Leicester Square to meet fans and and walk along a Dark Shadows-themed purple carpet. Among the celebrities in attendance were Paloma Faith and director Terry Gilliam. 
• TV Guide looks at the enduring appeal of Dark Shadows and the new film, speaking to director Tim Burton and others. "Dark Shadows is a part of my DNA," says Burton proudly. "I discovered it when I was a pre-teen feeling very awkward... I was crazy about its mash-up of vampires, witches and werewolves all swirling in this weird melodrama – there was nothing like it on TV! It formed who I am and the kind of films I would go on to make."
•  Elsewhere, Music maestro Danny Elfman speaks to website The A.V. Club about his Dark Shadows movie soundtrack and the influences of the show's original composer Robert Cobert: "Tim [Burton] really did like the tone of the music to the TV show, and he got me listening to it... we're going to use an ensemble that's very much like the ensemble might have been in 1970. A very, very small orchestra, mostly just three solo instruments – a bass clarinet, bass flute, and vibes. There were these riffs that they did that I really liked, so I did pull some music from the TV show into the score, and Bob Cobert... is credited in the cue sheets for those moments where it kind of becomes a co-composition." 
• Original series actress Lara Parker (Angelique) is full of praise for the new Barnabas Collins: "Johnny Depp has his own presence and mystery that is so superb," she tells The Boston Herald. "He understands the poignancy of the character, the desperation... and the guilt. They didn’t wipe the slate clean, all the motivations are the same."
• And finally, the Dark Shadows: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack album is now available to download, mixing highlights of Danny Elfman's orchestral score with archive tracks from Alice Cooper, The Moody Blues and others. To purchase it online, click here.