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.

Wolf Moon Rising Synopsis Released

Tor Books have released a teaser synopsis for their new Dark Shadows original novel Wolf Moon Rising, which is written by Angelique actress Lara Parker. The book will be released in paperback this October:

When a portrait is lost that has maintained Quentin Collins’ youthful appearance for over a century – and has also kept his werewolf curse at bay – Quentin begins to dread the full moon.

Meanwhile, David, the sixteen-year-old heir to the Collins fortune, has fallen in love with Jacqueline, a young girl living at the Old House who is the reincarnation of Angelique. David and Jacqueline are swept back in time to the prohibition era of the Twenties, where David uncovers the dark secrets of the Collins family history.

Most threatening of all, Dr. Nathanial Blair, an expert in the paranormal, has come to Collinwood because he suspects they are harboring a vampire. Fortunately, Barnabas Collins has returned to his coffin after a disastrous flirtation with life as a human. Nevertheless, what Blair discovers places the entire Collins family in jeopardy. 

Wolf Moon Rising can be pre-ordered at a discount price by clicking here. To read our recent interview with Lara Parker about the book, click here.

New Dark Shadows Production Design Featurette

• Warner Bros have released a new video featurette for the Dark Shadows movie, this time exploring the film's production art, with contributions from director Tim Burton and production designer Rick Heinrichs. It can be viewed in the window above and eagle-eyed fans should look out for Brewster's department store and Braithwaite & Sons, as featured on the original Dark Shadows episodes.
• Danny Elfman's Dark Shadows: Original Score album entered the Starpulse album chart at number 35 for the period ending May 14, making it that week's highest-placed soundtrack release.
• Website VFX Snapshot go behind the scenes of visual effects house The Senate's work on Dark Shadows, which include the digital exterior of the Collinwood mansion, which fascinating before and after shots. To read the feature, click here.
• Meanwhile, FX Guide speaks to Dark Shadows visual effects supervisor Angus Bickerton, who discusses the film's retro-styled imagery and special effects work with more unseen images. To see more, click here.
• And finally, Dark Shadows screenwriter Seth Grahame Smith is interviewed by Harry Knowles of Ain't It Cool about vampires in movies. To view the chat online, click here.

Picture of the Week: David Daydreams

This week, it's a candid 1969 shot of David Selby (Quentin Collins), rehearsing out of costume on the Collinwood foyer set. "My life has changed so much since I became a regular on Dark Shadows that I seldom have time for thought," David told 16 Magazine in 1970. "But when I do, I welcome a moment of silence to contemplate things."

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

Dark Shadows Takings Reach $130 Million

Box Office Mojo have published revised global takings for Dark Shadows, revealing that the film has generated over $132 million in less than two weeks in cinemas. As of May 20, the US domestic total is estimated at $50.9 million, with $81.3 million for overseas territories. 

In addition, The Hollywood Reporter have noted that Dark Shadows' opening weekend in Japan has generated another $5 million not included in these figures, which also omit the $5.3 million Russian takings reported earlier in the week. When these sums are factored in, as it enters its third week of release, Dark Shadows' combined earnings stand at over $142 million.

While the US box office for the film has been sluggish compared to the stellar business enjoyed by The Avengers, Dark Shadows has performed strongly in a number of foreign territories. In France, it beat The Avengers for a second week and has additionally opened as the number one film in Belgium, Finland, Italy, Japan, Portugal and Spain. In the US, Dark Shadows slipped to fourth place, but was still estimated to generate $12.7 million over the course of its second weekend.

Three New Shadows Movie TV Spots

Warner Bros. have released three new TV spots for the Dark Shadows movie, which have been broadcast on US television over the past week. The film is now on general release and can be seen in cinemas everywhere, with Imax screenings at selected outlets.

Classic Dark Shadows Updates

• Dynamite Comics will be pitting Barnabas Collins against one of their other vampire properties, Vampirella, in a new crossover beginning in August. The story sees the pair forming an alliance to hunt for a murderer in the Big Apple.
• The Dark Shadows Festival are now accepting memberships for July's Day at Collinwood event, taking place in Tarrytown, New York on July 28. The itinerary will now include a tribute to Jonathan Frid (Barnabas Collins) and the premiere screening of his final video interview. For more information, click here.
• Fans in New York City can catch Marie Wallace (Eve) and Larry Storch in a charity performance of Love Letters, taking place on June 24 to benefit the Manhattan Actors Temple. For more information, click here.
• Lara Parker (Angelique) is interviewed by the Memphis Commercial Appeal about the enduring popularity of Dark Shadows: "Longing for immortality is the source of religion – we want to live forever. Barnabas got to do that, but on the other hand, he's dead. Would we choose immortality if we had to be monsters? It's a fascinating idea."
• A few readers have emailed in asking if the recently-reissued Dark Shadows DVD volumes feature the restored footage included in the new Complete Series DVD Box Set; As we reported previously, the opportunity was taken to reinstate some sequences that were accidentally removed from the original discs. We can confirm that episodes 451 and 695 are now included as broadcast on Collection 6 and Collection 12.

Jonathan Frid: Nancy Kersey Remembers

As a writer for Clunes Associates, Jonathan Frid's production company, Nancy Kersey worked closely with Jonathan for over a decade on his one-man shows. She shares her memories of a loyal employer and dear friend...

Jonathan Frid was one of the funniest people I have ever known. That fact befuddles those I have said this to... "Barnabas? Funny? Really?" Yes, really. And then some. John (I called him 'John', 'Uncle Gaunty' and 'Friddlesticks') was like a multi-layered banana; you could peel and peel and never quite pin him down. Forget trying to predict him. He was a complex individualist, disliking going with the flow for the sake of just keeping the status quo. He had no interest in keeping the status quo.

He refused to capitalise on his fame as Barnabas Collins when Dark Shadows was in its heyday and that refusal cost him work. He wanted to explore being a talk show host, a nod to his constant curiosity about world and national affairs. That didn’t pan out. He could have taken the many horror roles offered to him, but Jonathan disliked the genre in general and didn’t pursue that kind of work either. Most actors would say that was kind of dumb, but that's how Jonathan was – he did what he wanted. If other people understand why, fine, if they didn't... well, that was fine too.

Dark Shadows Movie Digest

• The Los Angeles Times has interviewed Colleen Atwood about her costume designs for the new Dark Shadows movie, discussing the influences she drew upon for the production. "Some of it was from reference materials and some of it I remember from growing up," she explains. "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."
• Many news sources have picked up on The Killers' surprise contribution to the Dark Shadows soundtrack. The band produced a cover version of the Raspberries' Go All The Way heard during the film's closing credits. The track isn't included on the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack album, but may be released at a later date.
• Website DigitalArts goes behind the scenes of the MPC's visual effects work on Dark Shadows. The company produced over 100 shots for the film, including a virtual Widows' Hill and the Liverpool docks seen in the film's opening sequence. To read the full article, click here.
• And finally, AMC have denied that the Dark Shadows reference on Mad Men in last week's episode was planned as a promotion for the movie; The sixties-set drama featured a scene of Don Draper's wife Megan helping a friend prepare for an audition for the soap: "[It] has absolutely nothing to do with [the] film and is definitely not any kind of tie-in," a spokesperson tells The Wall Street Journal.

New Backstage Shadows Movie Pictures

Warner Bros. have released another batch of publicity stills for the Dark Shadows movie, going behind the scenes of the production. Shown are director Tim Burton with Eva Green (Angelique Bouchard); The cavernous foyer of Collinwood constructed at Pinewood Studios; And finally, filming Barnabas' arrival with Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer (Elizabeth Collins Stoddard) and Jackie Earle Haley (Willie Loomis). Click on the images for a larger view. And to see all our photo posts from the film, click here.

Images © Warner Bros. Entertainment Ltd.