Dark Shadows, a gothy new Tim Burton / Johnny Depp love-fest, opens May 11, 2012. Michelle Pfeiffer, Eva Green and Helena Bonham Carter also star in this 60′s cult TV show turned feature film. Get ready to see vampires, ghosts and ghouls during the scariest time of the year: mid-May. oooOOOooo.

Rivals, starring Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis as two guys who I’m sure will not being competing against one another, opens Aug. 10, 2012. It’s the story of two rival political candidates, directed by Jay Roach. I would have hoped they’d be running together on the Frat Party ticket. Ah well.

However, before all that, you and Dwayne Johnson are going on a journey together. Specifically, a Journey 2: The Mysterious Island 3D journey. Michael Caine, Josh Hutcherson and Vanessa Hudgens will be along for your crazy ride come Jan. 27, 2012. It’s sure to be a journey… into pure cinematic genius. (Deadline)

Moretz will play Carolyn. She’s the daughter of Michelle Pfeiffer‘s Elizabeth Collins Stoddard, who is the reclusive matriarch of the Collins clan and owner of the Collinwood mansion where the story is set. Moretz should fit in nicely on set considering her resume is already heavy with genre films. She’s used to be bloodied up between Kick Ass, Let Me In, and the tween gladiator battles she likely had to win to earn so much success at such a young age. (Deadline)

The lad was previously up for the lead in Martin Scorsese’s The Invention Of Hugo Cabret but accepted a lesser role when he wasn’t selected for the part. As previously reported, Michael Sheen has been approached for the film and it’s believed he’ll play David’s father, Roger Collins. In the series, David was quite often terrorized by all manner of ghost, werewolf, and immortal phoenix. Seeing as this is a Tim Burton production, we can only assume that will hold true for Gulliver McGrath. And that’s not to mention the frights he’ll be receiving once the cameras roll. (Deadline)

Actor Thomas McDonell, who will star in Disney’s Prom – which I assume will expose prom after-parties as the lame, chastity guarding shams they really are – is now set to join the cast of Tim Burton‘s Dark Shadows. He’ll join Johnny Depp, who Burton is surgically attached to, along with Eva Green and Michelle Pfeiffer (Tim Burton: “So… does the catsuit still fit?”). Meanwhile, Michael Sheen and Helena Bonham Carter are in talks to play roles.

The film is based on a British 60s TV series of the same name, with a script by The Mashup Magician (TM) behind Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Seth Grahame-Smith. (Deadline)

Director Tim Burton is in talks with actor Michael Sheen (Twilight: New Moon, Tron: Legacy) to join the Dark Shadows ensemble. The adaptation of the 60s British TV series stars Johnny Depp (as required by Burton Law), Eva Green, Michelle Pfeiffer and Helena Bonham Carter. Seth Grahame-Smith (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies) wrote the script, which makes sense. Werewolves, ghosts, vampires and time-travel all play a part in the Dark Shadows universe, so Grahame-Smith didn’t even have to mash those elements into it. It’s like the mashing up was done for him.

The story centers around a vampire, Barnabas Collins, who searches for Josette, his lost love. No word yet on who Sheen would play. The film is expected to open in 2012. (The Playlist)

“Pfeiffer would play Elizabeth Collins Stoddard, the reclusive matriarch of the Collins family which runs the Maine town. The character has not left the mansion since the disappearance  of her husband a decade earlier.”

“Reclusive matriarch”? Don’t these people know that vampires are supposed to be sexy now? I’d be hard-pressed to come up with a less sexy phrase than “reclusive matriarch.” “Cronenbergian,” maybe. (via The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline)

“Jonathan Frid did with that character with that classic iconic look he created, I find it difficult to stray very far from that,” Depp tells MTV.

Well, surely there’s a way to give him a silly voice or have him licking the curtains or something. ANYTHING!

“There’s something about the idea of this vampire coming back after 200 years into this modern world. With a touch of the poetic, with the tendency to wax a little poetic now and again. I have a good feeling about it. But Jonathan Frid’s Barnabas was so special.”

Aahhhhh…. That’s much better. Would be nice to see Depp with that hairstyle that Gary Oldman rocked in Dracula though. You know, the one that looked like a butt. Fingers crossed, fingers crossed.

Not sure where I was going with that last sentence, but one actress is stepping into the spotlight today: actress Eva Green has been cast opposite Johnny Depp in Dark Shadows, beating other contenders like Bella Heathcote for the role. Green was a Bond girl in Casino Royale, and she’s in the “Camelot” mini-series that unforgivably used 30 Seconds To Mars in the trailer. That’s not Green’s fault though, so Miss Green and I – we’re cool.

Green will play Angelique, a witch who turns Johnny Depp into a vampire. If box office trends are any indication, Depp was going to have to become a vampire at some point anyway. Might as well be with the help of a pretty Bond lady. (/Film)

Heathcoate, who was previously up for Snow White and the Huntsman, is Burton’s top choice for Victoria Winters, the young governess of the Collins Estate. Haley is in talks to play Willie Loomis, a grave-robbing conman who becomes Johnny Depp‘s bitch after discovering the vampire in his crypt. But honestly, who can blame him? Those eyes!

This combination of beauty and beast is textbook Burton. We’ve seen this juxtaposition in Edward Scissorhands, Beetle Juice, and all those years that Burton dated Lisa Marie. (Deadline)

In order to make room for John Carter of Mars, the Mouse has moved their original offering that weekend, Tim Burton’s Frankenweenie, to October 5th, 2012. October dates always seem like a good fit for Burton’s fare, but the move was more likely made as he prepares to shoot Dark Shadows next. Plus, Helena Bonham Carter and Johnny Depp have lives too, so maybe they asked Timmy to space that shit out. Frankenweenie is an animated feature-length adaptation of a short Burton did a number of years back, so while it may not be a blockbuster, it will probably appeal to Americans who have gotten to know and love Burton’s recent watered-down type of creepy.

Burton directs Depp on the fine art of pointing.

Johnny Depp has officially locked himself in for the big screen adaptation of Dark Shadows with his best friend in the whole wide world Tim Burton directing. Filming has been slated for April, which means it’s a big no can do from Depp to Snow White and the Huntsman. I believe Treat Williams is next on the casting list for that film.

Depp will play Barnabas Collins in the adaptation of the supernatural soap, which ran on ABC from 1966-1971. Seth Grahame-Green, of adding scary elements to classic novels and historical figures fame, rewrote a draft by John August. Burton will now take that draft and do a spiral staircase pass. You really can’t have enough of them in a one film. (Deadline)

^{Depp and Burton are the next Sad Keanus.}

The days of nobod knowing what the hell Tim Burton is directing next have come to an end. Dark Shadows starring Johnny Depp (and probably Helena Bonham Carter) will be inked in next to sketches of mawkish bats in the director’s day planner. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter author Seth Grahame-Smith is taking over scripting duties from long-time Burton collaborater John August, to adapt the spooky 1960′s soap opera. Filming begins in February with Johnny Depp playing the vampire Barnabas Collins. We’ll keep you updated on which goofy wig he’ll end up in this time. (Deadline)

^{Depp and Burton are the next Sad Keanus.}

The days of nobod knowing what the hell Tim Burton is directing next have come to an end. Dark Shadows starring Johnny Depp (and probably Helena Bonham Carter) will be inked in next to sketches of mawkish bats in the director’s day planner. Seth Grahame-Smith is taking over scripting duties from long-time Burton collaborater John August, to adapt the spooky 1960′s soap opera. Filming begins in February with Johnny Depp playing the vampire Barnabas Collins. We’ll keep you updated on which goofy wig he’ll end up in this time. (Deadline)