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)

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)

Apparently, Heigl just adopted some poor kid and was looking for a project that wouldn’t require a huge time commitment. New Year’s Eve fits the bill, since as a follow up to Garry Marshall’s surprise hit Valentine’s Day it’s a big ensemble piece. Just a couple pinches of Heigl, as opposed to a whole dish. Dunno why I went with a food metaphor but whatever. New Year’s Eve will also star (deep breath) Robert De Niro, Sofia Vergara, Russell Peters, Hilary Swank, Ice Cube, Ashton Kutcher, Lea Michele, Michelle Pfeiffer, Zac Efron, Josh Duhamel, Sarah Jessica Parker, Abigail Breslin, Seth Meyers, Jessica Biel and Til Schweiger. (via Deadline)

Michelle Pfeiffer, who’ll always be remem-purrrrrrred for her role as Lamia in 2007′s Stardust, was cast in the film Welcome To People. She’ll join Chris Pine, Olivia Wilde and Elizabeth Banks in a movie about a man (Pine) whose father dies. When he returns home, he uncovers a family secret. And the secret is… wait, I don’t know. The film starts shooting next week, so we’ve got a ways to wait.

Meanwhile, I’ve never seen a full episode of “Gossip Girl,” but there’s a British dude on it named Ed Westwick. So, yeah, that guy’s got a major supporting role in a cool sounding bio pic called J. Edgar, about the life of power-grabbing, cross-dressing FBI director J. Edgar Hoover. Leonardo DiCaprio plays Hoover, and Westwick plays the straight-laced FBI agent who ends up writing his biography. DiCaprio gave an awesome performance in Catch Me If You Can, so you don’t need to tap our phones to know we’re intrigued by this project. (Deadline)