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)

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)

And for whatever reason, these parts are being sought by a variety of actresses in Hollywood. For the first part, the one originated by Sharon Stone, Kate Bosworth and Diane Kruger (Inglourious Basterds) are said to be reading. For the second part, real love-interest, has Eva Mendes and Paula Patton rumored to be interested. Keep in mind this is all just rumor, and these names aren’t the only ones in contention for these parts. The article at Deadline also mentions Eva Green and Jessica Biel. So, yeah, if you’re looking for a way to impress girls, stage a remake of a Phillip K. Dick adaptation from years ago. Blade Runner would make the chicks go wild!

“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)

Arbitrage is an indie film written and directed by Nicholas Jarecki (“The Outsider”), and Drake may co-star with Eva Green and Susan Sarandon. The film is about a shifty hedge fund manager trying to pawn off his about-to-collapse empire to an unsuspecting bank before it’s too late, and a lot of bad shit happens to him.

No word yet on what character Drake plays, but we bet he’s described in the script as “smooth.” When you want so smooth, you kinda get drowsy looking at him, you go to Drake. If he got Bill Murray to mentor him though, that might be a game changer. (TheWrap)

As they fall in love, for one reason or another the world begins to lose its collective sensory perception, and the couple face crises of self, which should probably take a backseat to losing your actual senses, but to each their own. The downplayed disaster movie angle here shows some real restraint, with the director, David MacKenzie, seeming to opt to tell the story of the two lovers, rather than the world’s reaction. A disaster movie sans disaster.

In addition to the two leads, the supporting cast boasts longtime McGregor costar Ewen Bremner and Connie Nielsen. The film premieres next week at the Sundance Film Festival. While it doesn’t look very fun, it does look intriguing, so expect some news about release and distribution shortly thereafter. (Playlist)

The Dark Knight Rises

Rumor has it — and since director Christopher Nolan keeps all Batman scripts and information in a vault, inside a bigger vault, inside a crocodile, inside his private backyard zoo, inside an underground tunnel guarded by lasers, take these rumors with a big grain of salt — that two of the new female leads have been cast. Eva Green and Naomi Watts have supposedly been cast as Ra’s al Ghul’s daughter Talia and reporter Vicki Vale, whose character was featured in Tim Burton’s Batman.

There’s also gonna be a sleeker, but still weapons-packing new Batmobile in the film. It might just be available as an action figure too, if we all wish hard enough on the same magical star. Oh, and if you read the leaked script that went around the internet, that’s apparently a fake. No wonder the villains in that script were Dick Dastardly and his dog Muttley from the Wacky Races. The scene where Batman has sex with Penelope Pitstop was pretty great though.

Shooting will almost certainly begin this May, with post production starting in November. (Collider)

Until 1:08, when the 30 Seconds To Mars song “This Is War” kicks in. Yeah, the title is “This Is War,” but let’s face it, “This Is A Seriously Lame Song Choice For A Medieval Period Show.” It took me out of the stor faster than a bunch of actors riding horses through a series of outdoor locations. Whoever invited Jared Leto‘s band into Camelot, please kindly throw him into the moat outside the castle.

King Arthur’s reign over Starz begins April 1st. (Hollywood Reporter)

Director: David Mackenzie

Cast: Eva Green, Ewan McGregor, Connie Nielsen, Ewen Bremner, Stephen Dillane

Synopsis: A chef and a scientist fall in love as an epidemic begins to rob people of their sensory perceptions.

Release Date: Januar 24, 2011