'Dark Shadows' premiere: Johnny Depp and crew keep it creepy

‘Dark Shadows’ premiere: Johnny Depp and crew keep it creepy

By Amy Kaufman

May 8, 2012 12 AM PT

Johnny Depp and Tim Burton are longtime collaborators, having worked on eight films together. Their latest,”Dark Shadows,” follows in the quirky, comedic vein of many of their movies, with Depp starring as an 18th century vampire awakened in 1972.

Because of their familiarity with one another, the eccentric filmmaker and actor sometimes appeared to be in their own world on set.

“You can kind of tell that they seem to have a shorthand,” Depp’s costar Jackie Earle Haley said at the film’s premiere in Hollywood on Monday evening.

PHOTOS: ‘Dark Shadows’ premiere

“It’s fun watching them clown around late at night when they kind of get tired and a little bit giddy. They start cracking up and telling stupid little jokes, and pretty soon the entire crew is doing it.”

So what does one of the most famous men in the business find funny? Fart jokes, apparently.

“[Johnny and Tim] are like best schoolyard chums in a way. They bring out this very excitable, boyish quality in each other,” explained Seth Grahame-Smith, who wrote the screenplay for the film, based on the 1960s soap opera of the same name. “They become 10-year-old boys and laugh and make fart jokes.”

Depp seemed anything but boyish at the movie’s premiere, where the leading man graciously greeted legions of fans on Hollywood Boulevard for the better part of an hour. Later Monday evening, the actor elicited screams from a different crowd at the after-party for the premiere, where he joined rockers Alice Cooper and Steven Tyler on stage as they performed.

Cooper, 64, plays himself in “Dark Shadows,” which takes place during the year his group was at the apex of its popularity.

“They decided that they were going to do a computerized thing where they make me [look like I’m from] 1972,” the musician said on the carpet. “And I said, ‘Well, don’t make me look younger. In ‘72, I was a mess. I looked 20 years older in ’72 than I do now.’”

Also spotted: Director Tim Burton and actresses Michelle Pfeiffer, Bella Heathcote, Eva Green and Chloe Grace Moretz from the new “Dark Shadows” cast, plus Lara Parker, David Selby and Kathryn Leigh Scott from the TV series.

The movie opens Friday.

Johnny Depp offers ‘heartfelt’ apology for rape comment [update]

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Amy Kaufman

Amy Kaufman is a columnist at the Los Angeles Times, where she writes the A-1 column “For Real With Amy Kaufman.” The series examines the lives of icons, underdogs and rising stars to find out who the people are shaping our culture — for real. Since joining The Times in 2009, she has profiled hundreds of influential figures including Stevie Nicks, Nick Cannon, Drew Barrymore and Lady Gaga. She is also an investigative reporter and was part of the 2022 Pulitzer Prize finalist team that covered the tragic shooting on the “Rust” film set. Her work often shines a light on the darker side of the entertainment business, and she has uncovered misconduct allegations against Randall Emmett and Russell Simmons. In 2018, her book “Bachelor Nation: Inside the World of America’s Favorite Guilty Pleasure” became a New York Times bestseller.

‘Dark Shadows’ premiere: Johnny Depp and crew keep it creepy

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