'Oz, the Great and Powerful'

[Tom Morrow]

Disney's Wizard of Oz

Toto Recall Disney now in the Wizard of Oz game too Los Angeles Times Warner Bros. has two Wizard of Oz remakes in development. Universal has the Oz-inspired Wicked. And now Disney has an Oz movie too — from the producer of Alice in Wonderland, no less. Joe Roth, the studio-executive-turned-producer, is developing a movie called Brick that delves into how the Wizard of Oz came to sit behind the curtain (like Dorothy, he's apparently from Kansas). Mitchell Kapner, the writer on the mob comedy The Whole Nine Yards, has written a draft of a screenplay, basing it on pieces from several other L. Frank Baum "Oz" books as well as his original ideas. Some critics may bray, but if it's done well, the movie could be kind of brilliant, a deepening of the mythology that started with The Wiz and continued with Wicked. As conceived in Kapner's script, the wizard is a charlatan who's part of a traveling circus but goes on a similar odyssey as Dorothy when he mysteriously lands in Oz. The project has heat: Roth met with Disney production president Sean Bailey on Tuesday to discuss directors and details. by Steven Zeitchik and Claudia Eller complete article

Submitted by Ezra

[cap10hook72]

Hmm. Hmm... HMM...

This'll be interesting. I'll reserve judgment until more information is made available.

[Executioner]

Yes, I agree. I am going to reserve judgment till more is known. Like they said, if done right, it could be kinda brilliant.

[jawknee]

My vote's for the darker movie.

[dancegurl71689]

Oooh, this could be really cool. I'm a huge Wizard of OZ and Wicked so anything adding to that world could be really great if pulled off well!

[Disneyland_DHI]

So it'll be like the new Alice movie? Existing properties, existing characters- new story?

[Space Mountain]

A bit skeptical here. But, need more details to really prejudge it haha

-SPACE

[ShrunkenNed]

I just keep thinking of the Rainbow Road to Oz....




Really a shame it never got made, since the idea of Darlene Gillespie as Dorothy was promising.

[Ezra]

I just keep thinking of the Rainbow Road to Oz.... Really a shame it never got made, since the idea of Darlene Gillespie as Dorothy was promising.

Well, Darlene was the odds-on favorite mouseketeer. She had a beautiful singing voice: Her Alice in Wonderland album is my favorite Disneyland Record. ...but, all the fan mail started coming in for a dark-horse candidate for stardom: Annette. The studios could have traded the roles of Dorothy and Ozma (Darlene would make a wonderful princess), but opted for Victor Herbert's Babes In Toyland instead. There were still plans for Rainbow Road to Oz (also Englebert Humperdinks' Hansel and Gretel), but Toyland wasn't exactly a critical success so Oz was cancelled.

[kimballw]

Don't know how to feel about this one. While the "Wicked" music is quite incredible, the book takes a stark departure from the original world. I liked the the political intrigue it introduced, but change of moral attitudes was to strong of a contrast from the original. This is one that could go either way.

Of course, I also had my misgivings about "Alice", and found it to be quite an enjoyable story.

[Wedbliss]

It's only natural to have misgivings about a project like this. Hollywood has messed up more than one classic tale.

But there is so much more to the world Baum created than has ever been shown on film. It would be great to explore that world a bit more at the local cinema.

[lpetiti]

I really don't care what they do as long as the 1939 Oz remains uncomprimised.

[DaddyB]

If Joe Roth is behind it, it'll have heat, and likely get done as long as he wants it done. But you can bet if he loses interest, it won't happen.

[CostaFreak]

Kind of a curve ball, but we'll see.

[Tom Morrow]

Sam Mendes & Robert Downey Jr may go to Oz

Sam Mendes tipped to direct Robert Downey Jr in new Wizard of Oz film Oz the Great and Powerful, a prequel in which Robert Downey Jr is considering taking the title role as the wizard, is just one of a legion of Oz films in the works UK Guardian Sam Mendes may not be kicking his heels for long in the wake of yesterday's announcement that the next James Bond film has been delayed indefinitely. According to Production Weekly, he's in talks to shoot Oz the Great and Powerful, an origins tale revealing how L Frank Baum's wonderful wizard ended up at the Emerald City. Mendes would most likely be working with Robert Downey Jr, who is considering taking on the title role. Mitchell Kapner's screenplay details how the wizard arrived in Oz as part of a travelling circus when still a young man, then tricked his way to attaining the status of wisest man in the land. The film was previously known as Brick, and is one of a number of Wizard of Oz projects currently being considered in Hollywood. by Ben Child complete article

Submitted by Ezra