Movie Premiere Party Photographs

Last month the Dark Shadows Festival teamed up with Los Angeles' historic Vista Theatre to host a special fan party marking the premiere of the Tim Burton Dark Shadows movie. Nearly 500 fans joined guests from the original series to watch House of Dark Shadows and the new film on the big screen. Courtesy of our friends at the Vista, we are pleased to be able to share some photos from the event.

Shown are Lara Parker (Angelique), Kathryn Leigh Scott (Maggie Evans) and Nancy Barrett (Carolyn Stoddard); Nancy Barrett in conversation with original Dark Shadows scenic designer Sy Tomashoff; Lisa Richards (Sabrina Stuart) and Christopher Pennock (Jeb Hawkes) in high spirits signing autographs; And finally, Roger Davis (Jeff Clark) and other actors settling down to watch the film. Click on the images for larger views. 

Classic Shadows Round-Up

• Hulu has recently made 40 episodes of the original Dark Shadows available to view online, joining Netflix and Amazon Instant Video as official web-based outlets for viewing the show. The instalments begin with the arrival of Barnabas Collins and can be accessed by clicking here.
• The recent 39th Daytime Emmys paid tribute to departed Dark Shadows star Jonathan Frid (Barnabas Collins) as part of last Saturday's awards ceremony. Jonathan was included in the traditional In Memoriam montage, represented with a photograph from House of Dark Shadows.
•  David Selby (Quentin Collins) will appear in the west coast premiere of stage play Divine Rivalry, which runs from July 7-August 5 at San Diego's Old Globe Theatre. For more information and ticket prices, click here. David will also be lending his vocal talents to the new animated feature Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, which is due out in October.
• Dark Shadows featured once again on AMC's 1960s drama Mad Men, following a reference earlier this season. The show's season finale saw character Julia fired from her role on the soap opera after taping just three episodes. Dark Shadows is also featured on the show's accompanying 1960s Handbook blog, which can be read by clicking here.

New Dark Shadows Movie Portraits

Warner Bros. have released some unseen cast portraits from the Dark Shadows movie. Shown are Bella Heathcote as the ghost of Josette duPres; Johnny Depp as Barnabas Collins; director Tim Burton with Barnabas' umbrella; and Burton pictured with Helena Bonham Carter as Dr. Julia Hoffman. Click on the pictures for larger views.

 Images © Warner Bros. Entertainment Ltd.

Elizabeth Eis: 1943-2012

It was with sadness that we received news about the death of actress Elisabeth Eis, who passed away on January 6 at the age of 68. She had been suffering from Parkinson's disease. 

Elizabeth appeared in Dark Shadows throughout 1970 as Nelle Gunston, Buffie Harrington and Mildred Ward. It was as barmaid Buffie that she made her most memorable performances. Recorded at a time when many of the show's regular cast were absent filming the House of Dark Shadows movie, the reduced company gave Elizabeth a chance to shine. Her character's relationship with the maniacal John Yaeger was a high point of the parallel time sequence, and stands as one of Dark Shadows' most adult storylines.

Elsewhere, her credits included roles on Guiding Light and Mrs. Columbo, while on Broadway she appeared in Rosencrantz and Gildenstern are Dead. To read a tribute written by one of her classmates at Carnegie-Mellon, click here. Our condolences go out to all of Elizabeth's family and friends.

Dark Shadows Takings Reach $190 Million

The Dark Shadows movie has now been out for a month and the film's global takings have recently passed the $190 million mark. Box Office Mojo reports that, as of this weekend, the film has taken approximately $72.7 million within the US, with a further $120.5 million overseas.

While performance in the US has been respectable, if a little subdued, overseas Dark Shadows has enjoyed strong business in a number of territories. Key performers include the UK ($9.7 million), Australia ($9.4 million), Russia ($11.1 million), France ($14.2 million) and Japan ($18.6 million). The film should pass the $200 million mark this week, as a second wave of releases begins in South America. Elsewhere in the Dark Shadows world...

• The official making-of book for Dark Shadows has new release date, and will now reach stores on November 27. The Art of the Film is a lavish hardback, gathering unseen photographs and production artwork, and can be pre-ordered by clicking here.
• Website Dexigner goes behind the scenes of the opening titles for Dark Shadows, speaking to designer and frequent Tim Burton collaborator Richard Morrison: "We decided to keep things really simple and work with type to evoke the mood," he explains. "Together with the music score, we arrived at a very simple opening, but one that's quite unsettling, which captures the essence of the film."
• Rocker Alice Cooper is enjoying his new status as the ugliest woman ever encountered by Barnabas Collins. "As soon as Johnny Depp said that... it got a big laugh in the movie theatre," he tells MSN Entertainment. "I went, 'Boy, I just got stuck with a new one. That's gonna be the new catch line... We're going to get T-shirts made!"

Angelique Conquers The World!

Lara Parker's Dark Shadows novel Angelique's Descent has gone global, with the publication of six new international editions, which are available now. 

Shown below are covers for the French paperback, La Malediction D'Angelique (The Curse of Angelique) from Michel Lafon; A British e-book from Canvas Publishing; An Italian hardback, La Maledizione di Angelique (The Curse of Angelique) from Tre60; A Polish paperback, Mroczne Cienie: Narodziny Angelique (Gloomy Shadows: Birth of Angelique); A Brazilian paperback, Sombras da Noite: A Queda de Angelique (Shadows of the Night: The Fall of Angelique); And lastly, a Hungarian paperback, Angelique Hagyatéka (Angelique's Inheritance). Click on the images for larger views.