Dark Shadows Cruise For 2013

The Dark Shadows Festival has confirmed that it host a Dark Shadows-themed ocean cruise in 2013, celebrating of 30 years of events. The cruise will run from October 27-November 3, 2013, sailing from the New York area to Bermuda.

In attendance will be original series actors Lara Parker (Angelique) and Kathryn Leigh Scott (Maggie Evans), with planned activities including "Dark Shadows performances, screenings, autographs, question-and-answer sessions, group activities, games, contests and tours of Bermuda."

More details will be announced soon, with a special discount rate offered for advance reservations for stateroom sleeping quarters, which also covers all meals for the entire week of travel. Unique Dark Shadows souvenirs will also be offered to attendees.

News Bites

• UK Dark Shadows fans can catch Kathryn Leigh Scott (Maggie Evans) at next month's Memorabilia collector's show, taking place from November 24-25 at the NEC Birmingham. Kathryn will be signing photographs and other merchandise. For more information, click here.
• Jerry Lacy (Reverend Trask) is currently appearing at Santa Monica's Edgemar Centre for the Arts in the new play Surviving Mama. The production runs until November 18 and tickets can be purchased online by clicking here.
• Movieline has investigated the mystery surrounding the creation of Barnabas Collins, with original Dark Shadows writer Malcolm Marmorstein staking his claim to having devised the character: "I told [series creator] Dan [Curtis], 'We have to pretend we're doing a vampire for the very first time. Let's get a young, blond guy, because our audiences are very young. They'll fall in love with him." Producer Robert Costello is also interviewed, offering a blunt rebuttal: "I don't think he contributed more than anyone else. He was part of a team and from that team came Barnabas. If he was as good as he seems to think he was, he wouldn't have been fired." To read the full article, click here.
  “I don’t think he contributed more than anyone else," Dark Shadows producer Bob Costello says of Marmorstein. "He was part of a team and from that team came Barnabas. If he was as good as he seems to think he was, he wouldn’t have been fired."
  
  Read More at: http://movieline.com/2012/10/08/who-created-barnabas-collins-dark-shadows-johnny-depp-tim-burton-jonathan-frid-dan-curtis/#utm_source=copypaste&utm_campaign=referral
  I told Dan, ‘Absolutely, but we need different ground rules. No one in the town of Collinsport has heard of Dracula. They wouldn’t recognize Bela Lugosi. We have to pretend we’re doing a vampire for the very first time.
  
  Read More at: http://movieline.com/2012/10/08/who-created-barnabas-collins-dark-shadows-johnny-depp-tim-burton-jonathan-frid-dan-curtis/#utm_source=copypaste&utm_campaign=referral
  I told Dan, ‘Absolutely, but we need different ground rules. No one in the town of Collinsport has heard of Dracula. They wouldn’t recognize Bela Lugosi. We have to pretend we’re doing a vampire for the very first time.
  
  Read More at: http://movieline.com/2012/10/08/who-created-barnabas-collins-dark-shadows-johnny-depp-tim-burton-jonathan-frid-dan-curtis/#utm_source=copypaste&utm_campaign=referral
• And finally, we were sorry to hear the news that Sharon Smyth's (Sarah Collins) mother passed away on October 24 at the age of 99. Our condolences go out to Sharon and her family.

Picture of the Week: Necking In The Afternoon

This week, it's a 1982 TV Guide advertisement for Dark Shadows, promoting Barnabas' new lease of life in syndication. Throughout the 1980s, distributors Worldvision scored a hit with the show's huge back catalogue and Dark Shadows soon became a fixture on many PBS stations, as The Los Angeles Times reported in 1987:

"'It has really made our late night,'  said Larry White of KFME-TV Channel 13 in Fargo, N.D." Others were in agreement. "'It's our top membership program,' said Neal Hecker of public television station WNYC Channel 31 in New York."

If you would like to submit an image for Picture of the Week, email webmaster@collinwood.net.

Dark Shadows Movie Effects Revealed

Digital effects house The Senate have released a promotional reel dissecting their work on the recent Dark Shadows feature film. To discover how shots of Collinsport, the Collinwood mansion and the ghostly vision of Josette were achieved, check out the video in the window below.

Meanwhile, Dark Shadows has continued to do good business on the US home video market following its release earlier this month. Industry website The Numbers reports that the film shifted 428,000 units during its first week in stores. Dark Shadows is available now on Blu-Ray at a discount price by clicking here and on DVD by clicking here.

Get Well Wishes For Marie Wallace

We are sad to report that actress Marie Wallace (Eve) has suffered an injury while performing theatre in Connecticut. Marie was appearing in The Last Romance at the Seven Dials Theatre on Saturday night when she fell from the stage, breaking her shoulder.

In a message to fans earlier today, Marie said: "Thank you to all my wonderful friends and fans who have sent me so many healing and loving messages. I'm in great hands in a New York hospital with a great surgeon who will be operating on my smashed right shoulder this afternoon."

On behalf of Dark Shadows fans everywhere, we wish Marie a very speedy recovery. If you would like to write her a get well message, you can do so via her official website.

Movie Visual Companion Preview Pictures

The long-awaited behind the scenes guide for the recent Dark Shadows movie, The Visual Companion, is finally released next week and, courtesy of Titan Books, we're delighted to share some exclusive preview images from the book. 

Shown below are director Tim Burton posing with actors Gully McGrath, Jonny Lee Miller, Michelle Pfeiffer and Chloe Grace Moretz, along with early concept artwork for Widows' Hill and Collinwood. Click on the pictures for a larger view.

Dark Shadows: The Visual Companion by Mark Salisbury is published on 26th October 2012, by Titan Books priced £29.99, and will be released in the US in November. UK readers can order the book now at a discount price by clicking here. US readers can pre-order the book at a discount price by clicking here.

 
Photographs are ™ & © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

Dark Shadows Complete Series Half-Price DVD Bargain

The Dark Shadows: The Complete Original Series DVD box set is now available for today only at an amazing 50% discount, saving over $300.00 from the recommended retail price. The 131-disc set contains all 1,225 original episodes in a coffin-shaped box. To order now, click here.

Additionally, the individual Dark Shadows DVD volumes are currently available at a 44% discount. Each four-disc set contains up to 40 episodes, with bonus interviews and other special features. To order any volume, click on the hyperlinked titles below:

Pre-Barnabas episodes: Dark Shadows: The Beginning DVD Collection 1, Collection 2, Collection 3, Collection 4, Collection 5, Collection 6; Barnabas' arrival onwards: Dark Shadows DVD 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

Win The Dark Shadows Movie On Blu-Ray!

The Dark Shadows movie is out on Blu-Ray and DVD in the United Kingdom today, and Warner Bros UK have released some special online content to mark the release, which can be viewed in the panel below. Courtesy of Warner, we have a copy of Dark Shadows on Blu-Ray to give away to one lucky reader. For your chance to win, just answer the following question:

What is the name of the rival cannery business Angelique runs in the film?

Send your answer with your name and postal address to webmaster@collinwood.net by October 28. This prize draw is open to UK residents only.

UK readers can order Dark Shadows on Blu-Ray by clicking here and on DVD by clicking here.

Angelique on Exhibit

As we reported yesterday, the Lyndhurst Estate in Tarrytown, New York is running a month of special Dark Shadows-themed tours. The historic property was used as a location in both 1970s Dark Shadows feature films. Actress Lara Parker (Angelique) has made a very special donation for the event, and has given the estate a full-size replica of her portrait from Night of Dark Shadows. 

Lara received the canvas as a gift after filming wrapped in 1971 and still has it after 40 years. The portrait can be seen at Lyndhurst throughout October, along with other Dark Shadows exhibits. For tour details, visit Lyndhurst's official website.

Both original Dark Shadows movies will be released on Blu-Ray and DVD for the first time later this month. For more information and to order online, click here.

October Events

• The Lyndhurst estate in Tarrytown, New York (Collinwood in the 1970s Dark Shadows spin-off movies) is hosting some special events this month. Lyndhurst After Dark is a series of nighttime tours with a Dark Shadows theme, raising vital funds for the upkeep of the house. In addition to special exhibits and atmospheric live music, actors Sharon Smyth (Sarah Collins) and Jim Fyfe (1991 Willie Loomis) will be appearing as guests on October 20 and October 27 respectively. For more information, click here.
• Newport, Rhode Island's Seaview Terrace, the original exterior location of Collinwood, is to host a special ballet version of Bram Stoker's Dracula, taking place from October 17-21. For more information and to reserve tickets online, click here.
• Actress Marie Wallace (Eve) is appearing on stage throughout October in The Last Romance. The production runs from October 18 to November 11 at the Seven Angels Theatre in Waterbury, Connecticut. The will also be a cast party on October 20. For more information and to book tickets online, click here.
• And finally, the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion, the Norwalk, Connecticut property which featured in the finale of House of Dark Shadows, is holding a Halloween Party on October 27, featuring spooky decor and music. Places are limited and ticket information can be found by clicking here.

John August Discusses Unused Shadows Script

Screenwriter John August has spoken for the first time about his unused Dark Shadows screenplay. August wrote the first draft of the film's script, before the assignment was taken over by Seth Grahame Smith. "It was before Twilight had come out and before True Blood," he tells ShockTilYouDrop. 

"They said, 'Let's make a big gothic, vampire drama.' I pitched that and I wrote a Godfather-like saga of the Collins family and Barnabas was at the centre of it all... but it played itself straight." Citing delays in production and the current proliferation of vampires in films for the change in direction, he concludes: "I think it's one of the best scripts I've written. But I totally get why, at the time they went off to make it, they didn't make that version."

Meanwhile, the Dark Shadows movie has just been released on DVD and Blu-Ray and is performing strongly in the US marketplace. PhillyBurbs reports that the film is currently the number one film home rental and number two retail title, behind The Avengers. Dark Shadows can be ordered on DVD by clicking here and special edition Blu-Ray by clicking here.