FIRST LOOK

Johnny Depp stars in 'Dark Shadows'

[April 25, 2012]  LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Johnny Depp is portraying the undead in his latest movie.

With some fake blood on his lips, Depp bites into the role of a wronged vampire who awakens 200 years in the future to discover disco, television and microwaves in "Dark Shadows."

Depp and director Tim Burton presented footage from their remake of the 1960s TV show Tuesday at CinemaCon, a conference for theater owners in Las Vegas.

The preview shows Depp's character, Barnabas Collins, trying to get acquainted with his modern relatives, who live in his 18th century mansion. They include Michelle Pfeiffer and Chloe Moretz, who plays a bored teenager. An immortal witch portrayed by Eva Green threatens to destroy Collins' family if she can't have him.

Burton said as a boy, he used to race home from school to watch the show.

"I wasn't doing my homework. I was watching this weird TV show," he said.

Burton said he, Depp and Pfeiffer were the only people on set who watched the TV show when it aired from 1966 to 1971.

"Try to make sense of it," he said as the preview began.

Depp barely spoke as Burton introduced the movie. He appeared on stage looking like a modern Jack Sparrow, the free spirit he portrayed in Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise. He wore all black, a vest and an assortment of necklaces and bracelets.

The film begins in 1760 Liverpool, England, with the Collins family preparing to move to the New World.

After Green condemns him, Depp's vampire is found buried in his coffin by construction workers. He returns to his family home to find he is living in a different era. At one point, he challenges a neon McDonalds sign.

He vows to restore his family to its former glory, but Green's fatal attraction threatens to stand in the way.

"If I can't love you, I will destroy you and your family," the witch says.

Pfeiffer plays the family matriarch and Moretz is her daughter. Rocker Alice Cooper has a cameo. Depp declares Cooper "the ugliest women I've ever seen."

The movie is part of Warner Bros. summer lineup. It is slated to be released in May.

Depp and Burton first collaborated in 1990's "Edward Scissorhands." They also worked together on "Corpse Bride," "Sweeney Todd," and "Ed Wood," among other flicks.

[Associated Press; By CRISTINA SILVA]

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