Johnny Depp as the real Dracula

Vlad III the Impaler (Vlad Ţepeş IPA: ['tsepeʃ] in common Romanian reference; also known as Vlad Dracula or Vlad Drăculea and Kazıklı Bey in Turkish; November or December, 1431 – December 1476) was Prince (voivode) of Wallachia, a former polity which is now part of Romania. His three reigns were in 1448, 1456–62, and 1476. In the English-speaking world, Vlad is best known for the legends of the exceedingly cruel punishments he imposed during his reign, and serving as the primary inspiration for the vampire main character in Bram Stoker's popular Dracula novel. As Prince, he led an independent policy in relation to the Ottoman Empire, and in Romania he is viewed by many as a prince with a deep sense of justice[1] and a defender of Wallachia against Ottoman expansionism.

His Romanian surname Drăculea (transliterated as "Dracula" in foreign languages of the historical documents where his name is mentioned) is a diminutive derived from his father's title Dracul and means "The Devil"; "Son of the Dragon" (see Vlad II Dracul); the latter was a member of the Order of the Dragon created by Emperor Sigismund. Vlad's family had two factions, the Drăculeşti and the Dăneşti. The word "dracul" means "the Devil" in modern Romanian but in Vlad's day also meant "dragon" or "demon", and derives from the Latin word Draco, also meaning "dragon". His post-mortem moniker of Ţepeş (Impaler) originated in his preferred method for executing his opponents, impalement — as popularized by medieval Transylvanian pamphlets. In Turkish, he was known as "Kazıklı Bey" IPA: [kɑzɨkˈɫɨ] which means "Impaler Prince". Vlad was referred to as Dracula in a number of documents of his times, mainly the Transylvanian Saxon pamphlets and The Annals of Jan Długosz.

Post by Francisco Krueger at 9/03/2006 02:49:00 PM

"Depp Steps into Shadows"
by Josh Grossberg

Fri, 27 Jul 2007 04:15:25 PM PDT

Johnny Depp has never shied away from dark films like Dead Man, The Ninth Gate, Sleepy Hollow and From Hell. Now he's really found a role he can sink his teeth into. The actor is teaming with Warner Bros. on a movie version of the classic supernatural soap opera Dark Shadows, with Depp playing lead vampire Barnabas Collins. Depp has long counted himself among the legion of Dark Shadows devotees and has stated in past interviews that he's dreamed of playing Barnabas ever since he was a kid. Through their respective production companies, Depp and Graham King purchased the rights to the spooky ABC serial from the estate of the show's mastermind, Dan Curtis, according to Variety.
The groundbreaking Dark Shadows ran for 1,125 episodes from 1966 to 1971, chronicling the strange goings-on around the mysterious Collins family in their estate in Maine. Populated by myriad macabre characters, including vampires, witches, werewolves, ghosts and zombies, the show spawned a cult following, numerous fan conventions and various attempts to resurrect the program after the network put a stake in it. Curtis directed House of Dark Shadows, a 1970 movie adaptation starring Jonathan Frid, who originated Barnabas in the series. Curtis later updated Shadows in 1990 with a new TV series that lasted one season with Ben Cross in the immortal role. Another short-lived remake, not supervised by Curtis, featured Alec Newman as the head vampire and aired in 2004.
Warners is currently teaming with the Pirates of the Caribbean star on a biopic about the life of Alexander Litvinenko, the former KGB agent and expatriate whose poisoning last November has poisoned relations between Great Britain and Russia. Depp is also working with the studio's art-house arm, Warner Independent, to do his best Hunter S. Thompson impersonation for The Rum Diary. The film, based on the gonzo iconoclast's autobiographical novel about his experiences as a young reporter in Puerto Rico, will be Depp's second go at a Thomspon work, having previously played him in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. King and Depp will produce the film from a screenplay by Bruce Robinson (Withnail and I).
Meanwhile, Depp and frequently collaborator Tim Burton recently wrapped production on the movie adaptation of the Broadway musical Sweeney Todd. Next up for the actor is the lead role in Mira Nair's drug-themed Shantaram.
The Dark Shadows news was just one tidbit to emerge from Warners' presentation at Comic-Con in San Diego on Friday, as the studio offered previews of some of its highest profile 2008 releases.
Steve Carrell and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson were on hand to hype their action-comedy adaptation of the classic Don Adams TV spy comedy, Get Smart.
Nicole Kidman appeared via a taped message to plug The Invasion, a reimagining of 1956's Invasion of the Body Snatchers, directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel and costarring Daniel Craig.
Kate Beckinsale was on hand to fill in the fanboys on her new thriller Whiteout, in which she plays a federal agent hunting a vampire killer in Antarctica as the sun is about to set for six months.
Überproducer Joel Silver turned up to answer questions about Whiteout and his upcoming Speed Racer movie.
Warners showed also trailers for director Roland Emmerich's latest B-movie extravaganza, the prehistoric epic 10,000 B.C.; Anna Paquin's campy horror flick, Trick or Treat; and the supernatural thriller One Missed Call, starring Ed Burns and Shannyn Sossamon.
One highly anticipated Warner Bros. release that was MIA was Batman: The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan's sequel to 2005's box-office hit Batman Begins, featuring Christian Bale as the Caped Crusader. Dark Knight will see him face off against Heath Ledger, playing a youthful Joker, while Aaron Eckhart appears as Harvey Dent, aka Two Face. There were, however, numerous Batman-related viral marketing stunts, such as the mysterious dollar bills that have been showing up around the convention area with George Washington sporting black and blue eyes and a manic lipstick smile above the phrase "Why So Serious?" A number of teaser Websites have also gone up online including whysoserious.com.
Warners execs did give comic book aficionados something of a consolation prize. The studio unveiled the cast of 300 helmer Zack Snyder's big-screen adaptation of the popular graphic novel The Watchmen, including Billy Crudup, Patrick Wilson, Matthew Goode and Jackie Earle Haley, the former Bad News Bear who scored an Oscar nod for his comeback role in last year's Little Children.
Finally, Warner Bros.' sister studio, New Line Cinema, announced that Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon are teaming up for the holiday comedy Four Christmases, about a couple attempting to visit all four divorced parents on Christmas Day. Shooting is expected to get underway this fall.