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> March 2004
| Shadows
Over Germany |
March
31 2004 |
Variety
reports that the projected WB Dark Shadows series
has been pre-sold to German broadcaster and distributor
Tele Munchen, as part of a $220 million deal. The
acquisition is included in a major sale encompassing past
and present Warner Bros film and television productions.
The two-year agreement was announced at this week's Mip
TV trade show in Cannes.
| Decisions,
Decisions... |
March
30 2004 |
According
to TVTome,
the WB will unveil its fall lineup to advertisers
on Tuesday May 18, 2004, at the Sheraton Auditorium in New
York City, for which Dark Shadows will
be competing for a timeslot. Given
the delays in filming the pilot, it seems very unlikely
that a completed version of the production will be available
in time for that date, though the slated six extra scripts
suggest that this will not be a setback for the show's prospects.
With thanks to James Marco
| Pilot
Cast Announced |
March
27 2004 |
A
number of cast signings for the WB Dark Shadows
pilot have been confirmed as filming begins in and around
Los Angeles this week. Shooting was delayed slightly from
the original March 22 start due to casting and production
issues.
British
actor Alec Newman has been cast as Barnabas Collins.
The 29 year old has just finished filming the title role
in the upcoming Frankenstein miniseries, along with
guest spots on Angel and Tru Calling. His
past work includes starring in the Sci-Fi Channel's recent
Dune
miniseries, along with a number of roles for UK television
and film.
Prolific
stage and screen actor Martin Donovan will play Roger
Collins. 46 year old Donovan's past television work includes
the acclaimed miniseries Traffic, along with guest
spots in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and Law
& Order: Special Victims Unit. His film credits
include Malcolm X, The Opposite of Sex, Agent Cody Banks
and Insomnia.
Matt
Czuchry will play the role of Willie Loomis. The
27 year old's past work includes recurring roles on the
television shows Hack and Young Americans,
along with guest spots on The Practice and Freaks
and Geeks. His film credits include Swimming Upstream,
Eight Legged Freaks and the television movie Jake
2.0: The Tech.
David
Collins will be played by nine year old Alexander
Gould, who has been acting since the age of two.
Alexander's most prominent role to date has been as the
voice of Nemo in the animated feature Finding Nemo.
For television, he has guested on Ally McBeal, Freaks
and Geeks, Malcolm in the Middle, 7th Heaven and daytime
soap Port Charles.
Jessica
Chastain will play Carolyn Stoddard, her first
leading role for television. Jessica is primarily known
as a stage actress, with past roles including The Seagull,
Trojan Women, The Grapes of Wrath and Sir Patient
Fancy, along with several Shakespare productions. Her
other work includes a guest spot on E.R.
Six
scripts for future Dark Shadows episodes
are currently being prepared for the network, suggesting
that it is already gearing up for ongoing production. Elsewhere,
it seems unlikely that director P.J. Hogan
will helm the regular series, as he has just signed to direct
Let's Make Friends, a comedy feature for Paramount.
With thanks to ShadowGram
and James Marco
| News
in Brief |
March
27 2004 |
•
MPI Media Group are to publish Produced &
Directed by Dan Curtis, a hardcover retrospective
of the Dark Shadows creator's career, including
300 rare photographs. The book is due out this summer. MPI's
CD release of Return to Collinwood is currently delayed
and is likely to debut around the time of the August Dark
Shadows Festival.
•
Our friend Craig Hamrick over
at Dark
Shadows Online has written The TV Tidbits Classic
Television Trivia Quiz Book, which includes a chapter
of Dark Shadows conundrums. It can be ordered from
Amazon by clicking
here.
•
While not working on the Dark Shadows Journal
Online, your editor has been moonlighting writing
about Dark Shadows elsewhere. Be sure to check
out the recent columns on BarnabasUndead
and Popthought.
•
August's Dark Shadows Festival will feature
a star performance of Art Wallace's The House, a
lost television play which he drew upon extensively while
developing Dark Shadows. No copies of its original
broadcast survive. Nancy Barrett (Carolyn) plans
to present a new cabaret act over the same weekend.
With thanks to Dark Shadows
Online and ShadowGram
| Ivana
on CSI |
March
24 2004 |
US
fans were able to get a glimpse of newly cast Angelique
actress Ivana Milicevic guesting in the March 23
episode of the CBS drama CSI Miami. Here are some
images of Ivana in action.
. 
. 
Screengrabs
courtesy of DSBoards
| Angelique
is Cast |
March
22 2004 |
Variety
has reported a new cast signing for the WB Dark Shadows
pilot. The evil witch Angelique will be played by Bosnian
born Ivana Milicevic.
The 25 year old's previous form includes working as a model,
stand-up comedienne and actress. Her television credits
include Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Friends and Charmed,
along with a regular role on HBO's The Mind of the Married
Man. Her films include Vanilla Sky, Love Actually
and Mail Order Bride.
| Collection
12 Artwork |
March
19 2004 |
Shown
right is the cover art for the May 25 release Dark Shadows
DVD Collection 12. Click on the image for a larger view.
We should have a clearer image on the site soon.
Bonus
interviews are confirmed as Jonathan Frid (Barnabas),
Denise Nickerson (Amy), cameraman Stuart Goodman
and
former ABC network executive Les Schecter. Amazon.com
are still offering the title at a 30% discount with free
shipping:
Pre-order
Dark Shadows DVD Collection 12 from Amazon.com
| Director
Changes as First Cast Announced |
March
12 2004 |
ShadowGram
reports that Australian writer and director P.J.
Hogan will helm the Dark Shadows pilot. Rob
Bowman was previously slated to direct, but has withdrawn
due to commitments on the feature film Elektra.
Hogan's
past work includes directing the motion pictures Muriel's
Wedding, My Best Friend's Wedding and last year's live
action adaptation of Peter Pan. Dark Shadows will
be the first project he has directed for television.
Elsewhere,
the Hollywood Reporter confirms that Marley Shelton
has been cast as Victoria Winters, following hints earlier
this week on the Futon
Critic website. 29
year old Marley is the daughter of director Christopher
Shelton. Her past work includes the big-screen features
Pleasantville, Never Been Kissed and Uptown Girls.
With thanks to ShadowGram
| Event
Round-Up |
March
11 2004 |
•
Kathryn Leigh Scott (Maggie) will be signing
autographs at the Grand Slam Sci-Fi Summit, held
on March 26-28 2004 at the Pasadena Center, Pasadena, California.
Mark Verheiden (writer and executive producer for
the WB pilot) will be a panel guest at the same event on
March 28. For more information, click
here.
•
Kate Jackson (Daphne) will be a guest at the
Motor City Comic Con, held on May 14-16 2004 at Michigan's
Novi Expo Center. For more information, click
here.
| Six
Episodes? |
March
6 2004 |
The
March 13 edition of Entertainment Weekly notes the
new Dark Shadows project, claiming that: "The
WB [has] already ordered six scripts, so it's pretty
safe to say it's going on the air."
Although
this information is not officially confirmed, it's worth
noting that the magazine is published by Time-Warner, the
WB network's parent company.
With thanks to Fran Robert
| Pilot
Date and Location |
March
5 2004 |
The
film industry information website My
Entertainment World reports that the WB Dark Shadows
pilot begins filming on Monday March 22 in the
Los Angeles area. Please note that this information
is based on a tentative production announcement, and may
be subject to change.
With thanks to James Marco
| Casting
Shadows |
March
5 2004 |
In
an interview for Backstage.com,
Dark Shadows casting director Matthew Lessall
comments on finding a new Collins clan for the WB
pilot:
"[Dark
Shadows is] wonderfully written drama [with] a lot of
characters and storylines, flip-flopping between the 1700s
and the present," he enthuses. "I hope that Dark
Shadows turns out to be my favorite."
The
piece also profiles Matthew's other work: To read the full
article, click
here.
| David
Selby Honoured |
March
5 2004 |
Congratulations
to David Selby (Quentin), who is to receive an honourary
doctorate as part of the West Virginia University's
135th Commencement Ceremony. David will also deliver the
commencement address to an audience of 12,000. The event
takes place on Sunday May 16 at 1.30pm at the West Virginia
University Coliseum.
With thanks to Criseyde
In
a recent interview with TelevisionWeek,
Carolyn Bernstein, executive VP of drama
development at WB, touched briefly on the
network's Dark Shadows pilot:
"We
hear a lot of pitches every year of these existing brand-name
properties," she said. "We [only] buy the ones
where we have tremendous faith in the writer's ability to
reimagine and reinvent that material for our younger contemporary
audience."
"We
have had some successes and some failures with this kind
of approach," she said of the pitfalls of remake projects.
"It really always comes back to putting our money on
the writer and their visions of what the show could be."
To read the full article, click
here.
March
2 Update: TV
Guide pundit Matt Roush discusses the WB Dark
Shadows in this week's edition of his Ask Matt
column; to read it, click
here.
With thanks to James Marco
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