New Trailer: The Witches of Oz

Are you Ready for WICKED the Movie?

Click your heels three times and get ready for Wicked the movie:

The smash hit stage musical Wicked is taking its first formative steps toward the movie screen. I'm told the musical's producer Marc Platt, book writer Winnie Holzman, and songwriter Stephen Schwartz have begun meeting with filmmakers.

Insiders confirm that JJ Abrams, James Mangold, Ryan Murphy, and Rob Marshall are among the directors who've met or otherwise thrown their hat in the ring. More meetings will take place when the musical's authors come to town in the fall. The film will be made at Universal, which produced the stage musical with Platt.

There's a lot of 'Oz' stuff coming out in the next few years. If we are getting all this crazy stuff, we better get a remake of The Wiz. (I love this trailer, btw)




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First Look: The Cast of Dorothy of Oz

Thanks to SlashFilms.com, I have the character sketches and cast of the new animated film Dorothy of Oz.

This is one of a million "Oz" project coming out in the next couple of years (can you say over-saturation).
Here's some info on the film:

There is trouble in Oz and Dorothy is needed! With Glinda’s help, she and Toto return to Oz. Joined by her old friends the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, the Lion as well as exciting new characters, Dorothy sets out on a perilous journey to stop the crafty Jester from using the power of the Wicked Witch of the West’s wand to turn the people of Oz into puppets. That seems to be the least of Dorothy’s problems as her travels lead her straight into a treacherous maze, a cave full of very hungry dragons and an evil spell that could destroy the Yellow Brick Road. Dorothy has the daunting knowledge that it is up to her to stop Jester’s terrible plan. Audiences will welcome the return of the old Oz favorites and will love meeting new friends like Tugg a gruff talking boat and Wiser an owl with an unlucky attraction to molasses.

New Trailer?: Oz

A odd and strange trailer appeared yesterday. It was titled "Oz".

I found some more info about this, from the blog, The Playlist

With Warner Bros. moving ahead with their big budget "Wizard Of Oz" prequel, "Oz The Great And Powerful" with Sam Raimi in the director's chair and starring Robert Downey Jr., it looks like they will be beaten to the punch by indie auteurs Michael and Mark Polish.

A mysterious teaser titled "Oz" has hit YouTube with the description "Polish Brothers' OZ, based on the beloved children's classic by L. Frank Baum. Hitting screens everywhere in 2011." The project doesn't exist on IMDB and appears to be something the directors of "Twin Falls Idaho," "Northfork" and "The Astronaut Farmer" have been working on in secret. The brief teaser appears to indicate this film will be a prequel of sorts as well, with a very young Dorothy walking with the Cowardly Lion down a hallway. And that's about it.

Sam Raimi hired to direct the OZ prequel

Interesting news! According to Deadline, Sam Raimi was hired to direct Oz: The Great And Powerful.

And Robert Downey could be in it?

Let me confirm that Sam Raimi is set to direct Disney's extravagant 'Wizard of Oz' 3D prequel. I understand that talks to hire Raimi for Oz: The Great And Powerful turned into a deal last night finalized by CAA. It's a coup for new studio bosses Rich Ross and Sean Bailey, who are rolling the dice big-time by hoping that this pic will be a global hit like the billion-dollar-grossing Alice In Wonderland. "Robert Downey Jr. isn't set yet.

They are going to develop for him, if things go right. The script will be rewritten," one of my sources says. "The movie will happen, though." Downey would play the Wizard Of Oz before he became the Wizard Of Oz circa the 1939 iconic film: he's in fact a circus wrangler transported by tornado to the mysterious world of Oz where he gets mistaken for a know-it-all. This will be Raimi's first firm project since he exited Spider-Man 4, which prompted Sony Pictures to reboot the entire franchise earlier this year. Now the only question is whether Sam Raimi can do what Tim Burton just did.

This is could be a good movie. More to come.

Robert Downey Jr. as the Wizard of Oz?

Interesting rumor...

What would you think of Robert Downey Jr. as the wizard of Oz?

Word around town, according to the Los Angeles Times, is that he's talking to producers about the role in the new prequel to the classic Wizard of Oz film.

The wizard, who in the L. Frank Baum books was a charlatan in Kansas before arriving in Oz, is a darker, more complex character than the doddering wizard of the MGM musical.

Could he do it? Will it be fun? I don't know, but I will give a shot.

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Latest on the New Wizard of Oz movie

Remember that post I did about the next movie about the Wizard of Oz? They are still developing it.

Here's the latest working pitch

It’s a modern-day sequel. The story centers on Dorothy Neil, a bright and ambitious young lawyer for a prestigious law firm in Chicago. Neil is the grand-daughter of Dorothy Gale, who is now an old woman living in Kansas and telling her tales about her time in the land of Oz to a new generation of kids. However, trouble is afoot in Oz, as a new witch is destroying the magic that keeps the entire place running. While babysitting her boss’ kid, the kid and Dorothy Neil are brought back to Oz and united with the Cowardly Lion, the Tin Man, and the Scarecrow and tasked with killing an evil witch and restoring order in Oz.

What do y'all think?

Do you know there's a Sequel to The Wizard of Oz coming?

I am floored! A sequel?
Well, there was Return to Oz in the 80s with my favorite witch, Fairuza Balk, but this is totally different.

This story will involve the granddaughter of Dorothy, may be played by Dakota Fanning.

Dakota Fanning could be poised to don the ruby slippers for a sequel to The Wizard of Oz. But be warned, the studio is claiming this new version will be "darker and more action-packed" than the original 1939 musical.

The Wizard of Oz starred Judy Garland as Dorothy, a Kansas farm-girl who finds herself whisked to a technicolor world of munchkins and witches. By contrast, the Warner Bros remake will play out in the present day and chart the adventures of Dorothy's feistier granddaughter.

"You've still got Dorothy trapped in an odd place," explains co-producer Todd McFarlane. "But she's much closer to the Ripley character from Alien, than a helpless singing girl."

Interesting to say the least. I'll keep y'all posted.

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