Jim
Pierson has been involved in Dark Shadows fandom
for over two decades as the director of the official Festival
fan conventions. Working for Dan Curtis Productions, he is
responsible for all Dark Shadows merchandising and
the show's ongoing promotion.
There's
been a lot of speculation recently about the future of the
Dark Shadows Festivals - can you set the record straight?
The original announcement was not meant to instil panic
in the die-hard fans - it was more a desire to freshen things
up. The Festival has been around for 20 years and we've had
such a great level of support from all the people who were
part of Dark Shadows. There are still one or two actors
who haven't graced us, but most of them have contributed in
some way, whether it's an interview or a written piece. We've
lost so many performers and Jonathan Frid (Barnabas Collins),
our head guy, has called it quits. I don't begrudge any of
these of these people - they've all given so much to it.
As
for 2004, we've been to Tarrytown before for bus trips and
I thought it would be nice to have a weekend there - at least
a couple of days, maybe three - and have a Lyndhurst visit.
The setting's less urban like Dark Shadows itself,
which took place up in the wilds of Maine.
My
idea was just to reinvigorate things and do some other special
events, but I think it's still viable to have a convention
as well. I wanted to make people feel that [future events
are] something different, and not just the same old thing.
A lot of the actors have said they'd like to do more different
things. It wasn't trying to pull the rug out from under anybody
- if the support is there, there will be more events.
A
lot of fans have been excited by the new audio drama, Return
to Collinwood. What's made it happen, in a way that a
sequel hasn't previously?
I've
worked for the last 13 years with Dan Curtis, since the Dark
Shadows revival series in 1990, and during that time I've
solidified my relationships with the performers and other
creative people. It's something I've tried to cultivate over
the past couple of years, and David Selby (Quentin Collins)
has been a great catalyst - he's got great love for dramatic
radio and does a lot of work for LA Theatre Works and BBC
Radio.
We
tried to do a special drama, with all the actors doing a serious
attempt to sequelise the show in a regenerate fashion for
the first time, since we were never afforded that luxury on
television or film in the way it really should have been done.
Dan Curtis was really too busy for 20 years after Dark
Shadows with all of his other projects, then the new
Dark Shadows didn't last very long. He had hoped
to use the actors in other roles, but it didn't work out.
Fortunately the actors have gotten to the point where they
can have fun with the show - it's like a lot of things in
life, they now realise how special it was, and how much people
care.
There
have been several opportunities to do Dark Shadows remakes.
Almost every day there's something nibbling, but it's very
hard to get something going. Brainstorming with David Selby,
it occurred that we could do a sequel with a sizeable cast.
Even though we're missing Jonathan Frid and departed members
like Joan Bennett and Grayson Hall, we can work around that,
just like the Dark Shadows movies did. It seemed like
something that the time was finally right to do, and it was
a format that overcame certain issues of age. Basically, you
don't need a big budget to do audio - you need six or seven
figure budgets to do anything on film or video.
What
format will the commercial release of the play take?
MPI
Home Video will be doing a CD release of Return to Collinwood
and we might have some enhanced features on that, depending
on what's available with our production. We're kinda toying
with the final format still, but essentially a CD radio drama.
How
is the show's launch on DVD going?
The
DVD format is the most successful launch of a recording format
ever - it's taken hold of the market even faster than CDs
did. So I was as surprised as anyone that there was an opportunity
to re-release Dark Shadows on a digital format.
VHS release was such a feat - I never thought we'd get all
the tapes out originally, as it was so insane to put something
out on so many tapes! Who has space or patience for all that?
So DVD is a wonderful format for the show. They're doing well
and I'm sure we'll get the whole series out on DVD. I'm dedicated
to finding as many odds and ends we can dig up for bonus interviews
- I just interviewed a couple of publicity guys who used to
work for the network and they had some interesting stories.
We'll also try to get some more of the actors who haven't
done interviews before.
How
is the new novel progressing?
The
next Dark Shadows novel - which Lara Parker is writing
- is being published by Tor Books, which is a division of
St. Martins Press. Tor is one of the most established sci-fi
and horror publishers. It'll hopefully be out for around Halloween
2004.
The
show's 40th anniversary is a couple of years away - how do
you see it being celebrated?
It'll
be interesting - there's a development underway for a possible
new series again. It's always a long shot - development is
a dime a dozen in Hollywood, and the chance of getting something
on the air is so hard. Dark Shadows can keep
alive through new novels, the Sci-Fi Channel or maybe eventually
Soapnet - as long as there's something keeping the show in
people's minds, we'll keep having Festivals and events. As
for merchandising, I think fans want to see comic books again
and new novels. If the CD of Return to Collinwood is
successful, we'll do more of those.
To
sum up, why do you think we're still watching and celebrating
Dark Shadows?
I
think Dark Shadows is too unique to be ignored. Clearly
there's the nostalgia factor for people who grew up with it,
but there's still a few very perceptive first-timers who've
picked up on the show. I think it can still hook those who
strive to find creative, imaginative entertainment - it's
a show that transcends because nothing like it has even been
attempted elsewhere.
Photograph
courtesy of Marie Wallace
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