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Dark Shadows is really a 2012 American horror comedy film, based on the gothic soap opera of the identical name that was produced for television between 1966 and 1971. The film is directed by Tim Burton and stars Johnny Deep as Barnabas Collins, a 200-year-old vampire who has been imprisoned in a coffin. Collins is eventually unearthed and makes his way back to his mansion, now inhabited by his dysfunctional descendants. Collins also discovers that his jealous ex-lover, Angelique Bouchard, played by Eva Green, has taken within the town's fishing business that was once run through the Collins family (Bouchard is really a witch who had been responsible for transforming Collins into a vampire). Michelle Pfeiffer also stars as Collins' cousin, Elizabeth Collins Stoddard, the reclusive matriarch from the Collins family.Synopsis: In the year 1752, Joshua and Naomi Collins, with young son Barnabas, sail from Liverpool, England to start a new life in the use. But even an ocean wasn't enough to flee the mysterious curse which has plagued their loved ones. 2 decades pass and Barnabas has the world at his feet -- or at best the town of Collinsport, Maine. Online resources Collinwood Manor, Barnabas is rich, powerful and an inveterate playboy...until he makes the grave mistake of breaking the heart of Angelique Bouchard. A witch, in each and every sense of the word, Angelique dooms him to a fate worse than death: turning him into a vampire and then burying him alive.
Two centuries later, Barnabas is inadvertently freed from his tomb and emerges into the very changed world of 1972. He returns to Collinwood Manor to find that his once-grand estate has fallen into ruin. The dysfunctional remnants of the Collins family have fared little better, each harboring their very own dark secrets. Matriarch Elizabeth Collins Stoddard has called upon live-in psychiatrist, Dr. Julia Hoffman, to assist together with her family troubles.
Also residing in the manor is Elizabeth's ne'er-do-well brother, Roger Collins; her rebellious teenage daughter Carolyn Stoddard; and Roger's precocious 10-year-old son, David Collins.
Production: Dark Shadows is directed by Tim Burton based on a screenplay by Seth Grahame-Smith. In July 2007, Warner Bros. acquired film rights for that gothic soap opera Dark Shadows from the estate of their creator Dan Curtis. Johnny Deep had a childhood dependence on Dark Shadows, calling it a "dream" to portray Barnabas Collins, and wound up persuading Burton to direct. The project's development was delayed by the 2007-2008 Writers Guild of America strike. Following the strike was resolved, Tim Burton was mounted on direct the film. By 2009, screenwriter John August was writing a screenplay for Dark Shadows. This year, author and screenwriter Seth Grahame-Smith replaced August on paper the screenplay. August, did, however, receive story credit with Smith for his contribution to the film. Filming began in May 2011. It was filmed entirely in England, at both Pinewood Studios and on location. Deep tried to emulate the "rigidity" and "elegance" of Jonathan Fred’s original Barnabas Collins, but additionally drew inspiration from Max Scheck’s performance in Nosferatu.
Additional crew members and Burton regulars are production designer Rick Heinrichs, costume designer Colleen Atwood, Editor Chris Lebenzon and composer Danny Elfman. French cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel - known for his work in Amelia, A long Engagement and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - worked on the project.
