Tim Burton to direct DARK SHADOWS? That's the latest rumor . . . .
Deppheads jumped for joy when Johnny Depp’s production company, Infinitum Nihil, acquired the rights to make a feature film of the classic gothic TV drama, DARK SHADOWS, last summer, along with Graham King’s GK Films and Warner Bros. Since then, all has been quiet on the DARK SHADOWS front, but now IESB’s Robert Sanchez reports that Tim Burton has been signed to direct the film, and John August is on board to write the screenplay. Mr. August has written the screenplays for several previous Burton projects: BIG FISH, CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, and CORPSE BRIDE.
No official announcement from Warner Bros., IN or GK Films has been made regarding DARK SHADOWS, although it has been generally assumed that Johnny Depp would play Barnabas Collins, DARK SHADOWS’ charismatic vampire; Johnny has frequently told interviewers of his love for that character. IESB got their information in a roundabout way, as an aside in an interview about another project, as Robert Sanchez explains: “While interviewing GET SMART director Peter Segal this past weekend in Beverly Hills, he spoke briefly about writer John August. Segal says August, who is writing BILLY BATSON AND THE LEGEND OF SHAZAM for Segal over at WB, is jumping back and forth between Tim Burton’s DARK SHADOWS and his SHAZAM script trying to work on both films at the same time due to a back log of work after the writers’ strike earlier this year.”
We thank Mr. Sanchez for his detective work and for passing along this information–it’s fun to mull it over. Sanchez concludes, “[W]hile we can’t confirm the rumors of Depp starring as Barnabus Collins in DARK SHADOWS, the IESB has confirmed that Tim Burton is attached to direct and John August has been brought in to write the adaptation for the film.” Thanks to Emma for sharing the Sanchez article; hopefully this is only the first of many DARK SHADOWS reports to come. You can read the IESB article here. –Part-Time Poet