Helena Bonham Carter Talks Dark Shadows

Actress Helena Bonham Carter was out at last night's Oscar ceremony, where she was nominated for her role in The King's Speech. Wearing a black corset dress created by Colleen Atwood, she confirmed speculation that she is in talks to appear in the new Dark Shadows movie. MTV's Movie Blog caught up her to talk briefly about the Dark Shadows script, and a new direction for her character, Dr. Julia

Remembering Joan Bennett

As it's Oscars night, here are some rare photographs of Dark Shadows' very own link to old Hollywood, actress Joan Bennett. These images were taken for Life magazine in 1940 during her filmmaking heyday, picturing the future mistress of Collinwood at home fielding calls, catching up with correspondence and signing autographs while taking lunch. Coincidentally, today would have been Joan's 101st

More Movie Personnel Announced

IMDB continues to report on the recruitment of the upcoming Dark Shadows movie, currently in pre-production. The project's animatic artist will be Dan Maslen, working on the film's key visuals ahead of shooting. His previous credits as an animatic and storyboard artist include Elizabeth: The Golden Age, The Wolfman and Green Zone.Sheena Wichary has been announced as costume co-ordinator. Her

Colleen Atwood Talks Movie Costumes

TheDishRag website caught up with Colleen Atwood earlier this week at the Costume Designers Guild Awards, where she was awarded for her work on Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. At the event, she spoke briefly about her role as costume designer for the new Dark Shadows movie, on which she has just started work:"I just had a fitting today, my first one, with Johnny [Depp], so I'm happy about that.

Merchandise News

Hermes Press' second hardback volume of classic Dark Shadows comic strips was due out this month, but has now been postponed until the end of April. To pre-order the book at a discount price, click here.Big Finish have released trailers for May's Dark Shadows audio dramas The Blind Painter and The Death Mask. To listen online, click here.Race With the Devil, starring Lara Parker (Angelique) is

Movie Editor Announced

ComingSoon.net has confirmed that Chris Lebenzon will be the film editor for Tim Burton's Dark Shadows movie. His previous credits include many past Burton projects, including Sleepy Hollow, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Alice in Wonderland, plus Oscar-nominated work on Top Gun and Crimson Tide. Speaking to the website, Lebenzon describes the script for Dark Shadows as "terrific", adding

Movie Concept Artist Announced

IMDB is reporting that James Carson has been appointed as concept artist for Tim Burton's Dark Shadows movie, as pre-production continues. Carson has worked with the film's production designer Rick Heinrichs on several projects, including Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, The Wolfman and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. His other credits include the Spider-Man series and

Dress Up as Barnabas!

Costume specialists Elope are to release a range of officially-licensed Barnabas Collins costume pieces, allowing anyone to dress up as Collinsport's resident vampire at an affordable price. The set launches with a deluxe Barnabas Inverness cape, wig, cane and ring available to buy separately. Prices range from $78.99 for the cape to just $3.99 for the ring. At $39.99, the wolf's head cane

David Henesy Checks In

David Henesy, who played young David Collins on the original series, recently got in contact with this site to give an update on his current activities. Since leaving acting in the early 1970s, David has remained one of the most elusive members of the Dark Shadows cast. For over 25 years, he's worked in the hospitality industry, overseeing many successful restaurant and hotel projects and is now

From the Archives: February 1967

Here's an interesting press cutting from February 7 1967, published in Kansas' Fort Scott Tribune. In a piece titled Hope's Christmas Show Tops Neilsen, Cynthia Lowry of the Associated Press discussed advertiser prices for commercial airtime, touching on Dark Shadows. "Daytime charges for commercial time are much lower... The [per] minute cost for CBS' As the World Turns, the most popular soap

More Movie Cast Revealed

The MTV Movie Blog reports that casting for Tim Burton's Dark Shadows movie is continuing apace, with two major names currently in discussions for the roles of Elizabeth Collins Stoddard and Dr. Julia Hoffman.Oscar-nominated actress Michelle Pfeiffer is linked with the part of Collinwood matriarch Elizabeth Collins Stoddard, a character originally played by Hollywood legend Joan Bennett. Pfeiffer

Johnny Depp Praises Jonathan Frid

During an interview for MTV promoting his new animated feature film Rango, Johnny Depp has spoken about his upcoming role as Barnabas Collins in Tim Burton's Dark Shadows remake, paying tribute to original actor Jonathan Frid. As recently reported, Jonathan has confirmed he will be contributing to the project."What Jonathan Frid did with that character and that classic look he created, I find it

Movie Crew at the BAFTAs

The British Academy of Film and Television held their annual BAFTA awards in London this evening, and some personnel from the upcoming Dark Shadows film were in attendance. Director Tim Burton accompanied his partner, Helena Bonham Carter, who scooped a Best Supporting Actress award for The King's Speech. Costume designer Colleen Atwood was awarded for her work on Burton's Alice in Wonderland.

Unseen Pilot Clip

A clip from the little-seen 2004 Dark Shadows pilot has surfaced online, as part of a showreel on actor Alec Newman's official website. The sequence features Alec as Barnabas alongside Marley Shelton as Victoria. To view the video click here and select the media section.Since the making of the pilot episode, Alec has maintained his Dark Shadows ties by recording several audio dramas for Big

Movie Recruitment Begins

Industry website IMDB is reporting a number of crew appointments for Tim Burton's Dark Shadows feature film, as pre-production continues. Derek Frey is now listed as associate producer, having previously worked alongside Tim Burton on several film projects. Katterli Frauenfelder, another frequent Burton collaborator, is the project's first assistant director. On the visual side, Andrew Bennett

Actor Updates

Bunny girls are set to be big in 2011 with the production of NBC's 1960s-set drama Playboy. Dark Shadows fans will be aware of the show's connection with the famed clubs; Susan Sullivan (ghost) worked as a Bunny girl alongside Kathryn Leigh Scott (Maggie). Kathryn wrote the definitive history of the clubs, The Bunny Years, based on her own experiences and numerous original interviews.Marie

Movie Production Designer Speaks

Rick Heinrichs, production designer of Tim Burton's upcoming Dark Shadows movie, has spoken briefly about the project in an interview with website Blog of Dark Shadows. Discussing his creative vision for the film, Heinrichs confirms that the visual style of the original show will influence the new production: "The reason we're doing Dark Shadows... is to explore what was great about the series

2011 Dark Shadows Festival Update

ShadowGram reports that the 2011 Dark Shadows Festival will be held at the New York Marriott Hotel at the Brooklyn Bridge in Brooklyn, New York from August 19-21, celebrating 45 years of Dark Shadows. A limited number of rooms are available at the special discount price of $159.00 per night plus tax. To make a reservation, call 1-800-266-9432, quoting the reference 'Dark Shadows Festival 2011

Movie Angelique Cast?

Hot on the heels of yesterday's casting news for the Dark Shadows movie, website Deadline New York is reporting that French-born actress Eva Green is in negotiations to play the role of the witch Angelique, Barnabas' eternal nemesis, first portrayed by Lara Parker.Green is best known for the recent James Bond film Casino Royale, along with appearing in Kingdom of Heaven and The Golden Compass. To

Movie Casting Begins

Variety reports that casting is underway for Tim Burton's Dark Shadows movie, with Australian actress Bella Heathcote in discussions to play the role of heroine Victoria Winters, first portrayed by Alexandra Moltke. Heathcote's previous credits include the films Acolytes and Beneath Hill 60, plus a stint on soap opera Neighbours. Most recently, she has been cast to appear alongside Justin