Cool News
Some Clarity on The WIZARD OF OZ Project Being Developed At Warners...
Merrick here...
Pajiba has some insight regarding shenanigans surrounding the oft-mentioned WIZARD OF OZ project currently being developed at Warners.
You may recall that, in the past, there's been confusion as to whether the OZ concept being mulled was Olson's take on L. Frank Baum's source material - or an adaptation of McFarlane's TWISTED LAND OF OZ reinvention/franchise. This article answers such questions. In short: sounds like Todd's TWISTED LAND OF OZ pitch was edged out by a more family-friendly interpretation from Olson.
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.
The existing Josh Olson script, however, is still not up to snuff, so the project is currently out for a rewrite — ironically, Warner Brothers is now looking for a slightly darker version of what Olson provided, which itself seems to be a much lighter version of what McFarlane originally pitched.
...says Pajiba HERE.
There are some interesting details in the articler, including how McFarlane's OZ intended deploy a colorless-vs-color conceit similar to the 1939 original. Check out the article for some insight.
If you haven't gotten a chance to take a look at it yet, the recently issued WIZARD OF OZ Blu-Ray is pretty damn amazing looking. You can find it HERE
, then ask yourself why they're bothering with this new project to begin with.
An answer which most of us already know...
--- Follow Merrick on Twitter! ---
The existing Josh Olson script, however, is still not up to snuff, so the project is currently out for a rewrite — ironically, Warner Brothers is now looking for a slightly darker version of what Olson provided, which itself seems to be a much lighter version of what McFarlane originally pitched.
-
+ Expand All
-
Jesus loves a remake!
-
Everyone needs to go to their local comic shop and pick up the newest Marvel redo of the story, and give it to a child.
-
couple of changes here and there and the fools will pay 8.00 or more to see the same old tired stories
-
Might as well hit the brick wall, head and all...peeps will compare this flick to the Judy Garland classic.
-
With so many Oz books written by L Frank Baum, why not just go back to the source for your story. It's working for Marvel with their OZ books. With all the book adaptations coming out these days, I'd love a series of Oz movies following the books. Hell, it would even be cool to see a new Wizard of Oz movie that followed more closely to the book.
-
Why not mine one of those instead of coming up with something "new?"
-
Disney already made a "darker" version of a sequel (sorta) to the original, and it bombed - and it wasn't even a bad movie. Some movies will never have a successful sequel, because they are perfect. My kids are watching Wizard of Oz, six or seven decades later, because it was one of the few "perfect" movies. To consider making a sequel to it is a perfect example of studio stupidity, which I generally do not gripe about.
-
... and not Seth.
-
The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz (1900), The Marvelous Land Of Oz (1904), Ozma Of Oz (1907), Dorothy and The Wizard In Oz (1908), The Road To Oz (1909), The Emerald City Of Oz (1910), The Patchwork Girl Of Oz (1913), Tik-Tok Of Oz (1914), The Scarecrow Of Oz (1915), Rinkitink In Oz (1916), The Lost Princess Of Oz (1917), The Tin Woodman Of Oz (1918), The Magic Of Oz (1919) and Glinda Of Oz (1920). I've only read the first few but as seperate tales they work beautifully and would make wonderful film adaptations, rather than keep remaking the original story. The later books work more as addendums to the characters featured in the first few books, which is why they condensed some of them down into a single story for the movie Return To Oz. That worked just fine, but I still say that doing straight adaptations of the first 4-5 books would be the way to go with an Oz film series.
-
Um, Oz is a pretty twisted place to begin with. We don't need you jackass, Nu-metal listening, emo-goths, giving us "your" interpretation of a classic. What fucking hubris. Yes, I'm talking to you McFarlane. Same goes for Tim Burton.
-
nuff said
-
Although I did kind of like HOOK. I have a weak spot for it... But still, I wish they would maintain the spirit of the old OZ books. And really, I agree with all of you when I say there are many of books they could have done a sequel to....
-
Problem with a property like this is most people don't know there even is source material. Wizard of Oz has become THE vision of the books. To do anything closer to the real source material would confuse the general public -- and let's face it, they're the ones shelling out the $50 to take their 2.5 children to it, not the nerds buying Oz comics.
-
Just doing the opposite and making it look like a Rob Zombie music video (or movie, they're the same, right?) is not ground-breaking art at work.
-
The female offspring of an important character from a beloved children's book? Check. Main character who is a lawyer? Check. The idea to return to the fantasy land where the story began? Check again. This definitely sounds like "Hook," which by my scoreboard, fared horribly. Why can't they leave well enough alone? Better yet, why can't they leave great enough alone? This is a bad, bad, bad idea. Unless they decided to go with a non-musical adaptation of the book, I see no reason to move forward with this project.
-
Jan 05, 2010 9:00:08 AM CST
What's the betting they'll wait until Alice does well...
by thunderpeel2001
before continuing? :)
-
Stop with the remakes every two seconds. Dear Hollywood types, I've got 3 GREAT scripts (And not the Jett-type...real ones) for sale. And they would cost you less than remaking Oz. I'll be waiting for your call...
-
WHY?
-
Make it 3-D and people won't realize, or care, it's a rip-off of Hook and will go and see it over and over...
-
Just without the period setting, re-issue that movie so it gets the credit it deserves.
-
I wonder what's up with John Boorman's CGI adaptation of Wizard of Oz? I haven't heard about that in awhile.
-
They'd probably be able to buy the rights for peanuts and anything they did with it couldn't be any worse than this sounds anyway.
-
imdb is telling me Boorman's version (The Wonderful Wizard of Oz) has a 2011 release date in France.
-
Jan 05, 2010 9:25:06 AM CST
What they OUGHT to do is make a film version of "Land of Oz"
by feralangel
That's the second book in Baum's Oz series, and it's pretty awesome. It's written like no other Oz book - it's extremely witty and funny (apparently Baum was greatly influenced at the time by a vaudeville version of his "Wizard of Oz" book, in which two vaudeville comedians played the Scarecrow and the Tin Man, and Baum thereupon wrote those characters in his "Land of Oz" book with a vaudeville sensibility). It has great characters like the Sawhorse, Jack Pumpkinhead and the Woggle-Bug, and a very good story. True, Dorothy isn't in it at all, nor is the Lion, but both could probably be inserted without too much difficulty. It'd be a NEW Oz film, not a re-make or re-imagining, and it could be as visually rich as the new Wonderland film. Just a thought.
-
..."a modern-day sequel".
Sounds like a wonderful, enlightening pre-tween indoctrination flick.
I would like to see a whole hearted attempt at bringing Baum's story to the screen as a trilogy, or quadra-ology even. Makig it sound like a made-for-tv movie just hurts. -
"tasked with killing an evil witch and restoring order in Oz." So, It is a retelling of the Iraq invasion? Seriously, this is the time of Obama! The tale should be how Dorothy goes to the Emerald city with an open hand and tries to open the fist of the witch through kindness and understanding, and then leaving the witch still in charge with promises of changing her ways. Now that would be a fantastic fantasy!
-
Jesus Fucking Christ
-
Fan trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eItXS0a0y10 -
Just stop. Drop it. Move on.
-
Come on guys. L Frank Baum wrote fourteen Oz books, and there were at least a dozen unofficial ones later. There's masses of material than nobody's touched yet. Walter Murch turned Books 2 and 3 into Return to Oz which was awesome, so why do filmmakers keep limiting themselves to Book 1?. The only reboot or retelling I'm interested in seeing filmed is "Wicked" - hey, you want the female audience? THERE IT IS!
-
That's waaay more bankable & fun. Cast MJ's scarecrow w/ Usher & BOOM!
Watch the emeralds roll in!Dorothy=Kerry Washington, Tin Woodsman=Jamie Fox, Cowardly Lion= 147 from The Prisoner 2009, The Wiz=Denzel. Yeah I said it. Directed by Spike Lee yall'! -
Who thinks this is a good idea? Why would anyone want to dumb this classic down?
-
...for Travolta. Exactly the same.Mark my words, she's going to come roaring back into the hearts of geeks everywhere...
-
"slightly darker version"? I was told that they were looking for a fresh start and that Olson's script was a miss.
-
Some are available on the new DVD, I imagine, as they were in the previous "Oz" Special Edition. These were prior to the better-known 1925 silent version. There have been some horrendous versions - check out IMDB.
-
Jan 05, 2010 10:24:26 AM CST
NOW THEY'RE RAPING MY GRANDPARENTS' CHILDHOODS!??!?!
by bringingsexyback
Grammy is NOT going to stand for this. I know it.
-
Is that still a live project?
-
Sorry and all that, chaps. As you were.
-
...thirty six year old Atlantic City hooker...Hollywood craves fresh meat.
-
And I don't mean the musical. There's actually 3 books in the series but I don't know how good the other 2 are.
-
Jan 05, 2010 10:41:36 AM CST
Doesn't this also have a "Narnia" ripoff stank all over it?
by harrycalder
Has that been mentioned already? Didn't see it...
-
Although I hear good things about Wicked.
-
That just made me gurgle up some of my breakfast ...
-
yay : /
-
Wiz was first filmed (as far as I know) in 1925 with Hardy (of Laurel and Hardy) as the Tinman.
-
Have Johnny Depp play the Scarecrow, who's now some sort of mentor figure. Have Helena Bonham Carter play the evil witch! Have Alan Rickman be the voice of something snarky and British! Anne Hathaway as a flying monkey! This thing casts itself ...
-
...Thai, or Bangkok...but I thought to myself..."don't be xenophobic...I'm sure we produce plenty of used-up hookers right here in the good ol' US of A. Keep it close to home."
-
They should make a movie adaptation of the musical Wicked instead... with the original Broadway Cast.
-
since its the grand daughter who gets taken, how is she taken back if its her first time there?
-
Jan 05, 2010 11:20:14 AM CST
I INTERPRETED WIZARD OF OZ AS DOROTHY'S RAPE TRAUMA NIGHTMARE
by bringingsexyback
My teacher agreed with me. Gave me an A for my report.
-
-Lizza Milleni is being considered to play an older Dorothy Gale. Lizza wants script approval and that may hold up her being cast
Amy Adams is the currently the only choice for the dorothy Neil role
WB is interested in using a blue screen set for most of the OZ scenes similar to the way 300 was filmed. infact the film might shoot at the same Montreal studio that 300 did back in 2006
-
A non-oz classic by L. Frank Baum. That's the movie they need to be making.
-
-Eddie Izzard is rumoured to have done a screen test for the cowardly lion, although he has not been cast yet
- The characters of scarecrow, tinman and the lion will be heabily redesigned, and it will be explined within the film as to why themselves and Oz look so different to the OZ Dorothy Prime has told stories about -
Why not do an Oz reimagining, not unlike the Wiz, but have A.C. stand in for Oz and cast all the roles with actual pimps, hookers and johns?
-
Love that movie. Except for Diana Ross's hair. Was that an afro-wig? But the musical numbers were da bomb. "He's the Wiz and he Lives . . . in Oz!" And who can forget "Ease on Down the Road"? Certainly not me! And the subway scene . . . Richard Pryor as the Wiz. And wasn't the Oz Plaza the World Trade Center Plaza? . . . Sigh.
-
I control the sequel copyright. It is such a pain to get the project off the ground. "They" always want to mutate it into something that isn't Oz.
Take a look at some early concepts: www.dementedent.com -
If this film has to happen, I'd be quite happy to have Eddie in that role... C'mon, JettL, pull some strings...
-
and as far as i know he is the only actor to do so, which basically means the producers and eddie himself are interested in him as the lion. Nothing's been singed though so it's not a done deal but based on my hunch i'd say Eddie izzard will portray the cowardly LionBesides izzard, along with Lizza Minelli as dorothy Prime and amy Adams as dorothy jr i can't seem to dig up any other casting info, I do know that the studio has no set names for the other roles (at least none that they will admit) but at least the roles of Scarcrow and tinman will likely go to name actors
-
Please for the love of all things holy give it up. NOBODY BELIEVES YOU.
-
At this point, we must assume that JettL93 knows that nobody believes him (or her - I secretly hope it's a chick messing with fanboys). Which is what makes his (or her) posts more a form of performance art than an attempt to actually fool people. Look at them that way, and they're very entertaining.
-
like the Eddie Izzard casting...
-
Will Farrel will be the Scarecrow.
-
The Ozbooks are now public domain. That s a full series worth of beloved childrens tales free for the taking. Couple this with a good cgi animation house (I can only dream of pixar's oz) and you could have a juggernaut for the next decade.
-
Jan 05, 2010 1:07:51 PM CST
...Re: JettL93. I recently argued that he doesn't exist....
by flickapoo
...that I can't see his posts...that only those who believe in him can even see his posts. I argued that a JettL93 can't possibly exist in a universe that subjects us to movies like J.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA.That was before I saw AVATAR...I know now that I was wrong.Only an all knowing, all powerful, and all loving JettL93 could have made a movie I thought was going to suck so mediocre-ally kick so much ass.Oh JettL93, please forgive me...I knew not what I was saying. Please continue to bestow your 3D bountiful goodness...forever...
-
at the amount of money they pour into shit like this, and meanwhile the spec market is all but dried up. And studios option or buy the rights to every fucking book that sells more than 100 copies, but hardly ever make any of them. Or like the person above me said, the Oz books are in the public domain if you want source material! Original is a dirty word now in Hollywood. Forget selling a script with nobody attached beforehand. Just un-fucking-believable. I must say, though, that there is hope for putting together a 'dvd extra' style pitch reel to get something original made... or at least TALKED about being made. More indie filmmakers should stop trying to write their own stuff and partner up with struggling writers (some of whom have even had stuff sold) and do that sort of thing... but MAKE SURE IT'S GENRE: comedy, sci-fi, or horror. You're not fuckin' P.T. Anderson walking in with Daniel Day-Lewis attached, they don't want to tell your navel-gazing story... yet!
-
All is well between you and I
-
For fuck's sake Universal's development of the Wicked movie is taking longer than one of Abe Vigoda's bowel movements. Piss on this contrived Oz sequel dogshit and give me my Elphaba and Galinda!
-
You know, this would be a great 3D IMAX vehicle for Zooey. Okay, I'm on board.
-
straight up adaptation of the first book? Seriously? Then if it's successful you have a 5 film franchise.
-
it's not something I can watch anymore. I guess the novelty of seeing Oz in color isn't as amazing as it was in '39.
-
is apparently going to be flat film to 3d film in this film. The movie will be shot nornal but as soon as dorothy Jr goes to Oz the film will erupt into 3d. My source at WB's 3D department says tyest are already underway to change the face of digital 3D as we know it
-
... but that flat to 3D transition would probably be a decent homage to the classic as well as a gimmick to get butts in seats.
-
2D to 3D... that's really pretty cool... if you can find a way for the onscreen characters to cue the audience to put on the glasses at the right moment... "Oh, my the sun is so bright in Oz today!!!" Something like that, only not so full of suck...
-
Jan 05, 2010 1:54:13 PM CST
why not just do a 3D re-release of the '39 film?...
by littlemanfromanotherplace
... as soon as it goes to colour it goes to 3D. In fact, instead of just remaking films why not just re-release the originals in 3D instead & then take all the money you would of wasted on shitty remakes & make original films instead. An old fashioned idea but original films still make money. Avatar is an original film rather than a remake & it isn't doing too badly from what I've heard.
-
the Tinman screamed, "or you'll end up like that white knight strawman"; it had been decades since Dorthy had left Oz and Tin wasn't about to let the cowardly feline feline ruin his one chance at fulfilling his darkest desires. Dorthy writhed below him...pinned on top of what was left of her once best friend Scarecrow...she tried to call out to Glenda, Toto, anyone...but it was no use for her mouth stuffed with the bits of oil tinged straw that Tinman had stuffed there after his brutal attack on her protector. "Thats right baby...Tin has waited a looong time for this..and no pile of weeds is gonna save you now" Tinman cooed as his cold metal hands ran up the backs of her milky Kansas bred thighs...the oil from his brow dripping onto her exposed flesh. Above her..Lion whimpered as he sat on her pinnin her arms...his tale flicking uncontrollably as he fought to quell his own fears; for if Glenda ever found out, it would be a life in the lolipop caves of Munchkin land for him, if he was lucky. "Whoo-whooooot"...the sound of Tins whistle snapped Lion out of his fear laden daydream. "Ok you furry fuck...keep this bitches feet apart, and you better not let her click those fuckin heels...or you'll be taken her place..understand?" With that Tin took a key dangling from his funnel hat...Dorthys eyes widened with terror and anticipation as she watched him turn the key on his lower torso an opened the door to his mechanical lust.
-
guess i wasn't the only one.
-
ive been saying this for over a year now, Tim Burton to direct, Depp = Scarecrow and Wiz, Jack Black = Cowardly Lion, Ellen Page = Dorothy, Ewan McGregor = Tinman, Helena Bonham Carter as both Witches.
-
Jan 05, 2010 2:03:52 PM CST
...that is deeply fucked up. And funny. I hope the Tim Man...
by flickapoo
...had the decency to oil up that key first...
-
I just saw it in Tampa. It's about a lady who is a descendant of the Alice it was based on, and her and her daughter get sucked into Wonderland. It really sucks and the way it's structured with a 30 year old woman in this world instead of a girl really kills all of the fun and wonder. Would you make a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory where all the kids are 30 years old?
-
...not me, that's for sure......or anybody I know.
-
Dorothy's SON enters Oz in a biplane, boinks a Good Witch, and fights LOTR size battles, good stuff.
-
while no actor has screen tested for the Scarecrow role and as far as we know no acgtor is in a must have list, apparently Jude Law's name was thrown around by a studio exec for the scarecrow roleNow this is nothing official (or even close to being official like Izzard as the lion is) but it's the first name i've heard that someone at WB would like to see attached to the role
-
with his "mechanical lust." Yup, that'll work...
-
As frightening as that post is, you get an A and a gold star.
-
You filthy, professional genius.
-
...yet?Because Pandora IS a battlefield. And I love it.
-
the slang in the business is still the same, the term "Bluescreen" is styill very much in use and it covers blue, green or even the experimental Fusha screen. It's similar to how those int he biz still say home video even though now current studio rleleases movies on video tape anymore
-
Jettl93 has been taking ideas from flickfilosopher.com for a long time.... go there and you will see the exact same people mentioned as "ideas" for a new film.... christ JettL, give it the fuck up, you were kinda funny and a mild annoyance, what with the spelling mistakes and all your shit (course maybe you have dyslexia), but now that there is proof you are a stealing ass fuck crack head, please just go away......... oh, and Jack Black for Scarecrow would suck.... same as Farrell..... Black needs to go away for awile....... and Conspiracy, that shit was great, i also give it an "A".......
-
those people and ideas were mentioned OVER A YEAR AGO..... get a fucking life, dueschebag.
-
That's really great.
-
Seriously. The famous musical is a nice *musical*, but it's a pretty terrible adaptation of the first Oz book. Burroughs' Barsoom is finally getting a film treatment by folks who've actually read the books. Why not Baum's Oz?
-
No one cares about another "alternative OZ" movie unless it's Gregory Maguire's/Stephen Schwartz's! Quit dicking around and start filming the one OZ movie everyone wants to see (and please keep the awful Anne Hathaway - who is too old now anyway -- away from it!). I'd say Glee's Lea Michelle would make a killer Elphaba...
-
A script that depicts Dorothy Gale as "an old woman living in Kansas" cannot seriously be considered a "modern day sequel". Anyone who has actually read these books knows that Dorothy and her family MOVED TO OZ later in the series, and that since people do not age in Oz, Dorothy is still a little girl. Is it really too much to ask for a respectful adaptation of the material?
-
The 1939 film isn't really a "remake" of the 1925 one because the '25 one had almost nothing to do with the orginal story at all
http://tinyurl.com/y9kyh82
-
http://www.aintitcool.com/node/4613
-
We all hear that Hollywood has no soul and they will do anything for a quick buck, BUT HOLYSHIT! I am SO tired of Hollywood constantly raping my ass with my own childhood memories! STOP MAKING SEQUELS, REMAKES AND FUCKING "REBOOTS"!....man did I have a lot of coffee this afternoon or what?
-
A bunch of "Twlilight" - aged actors and an "ethnic" child w/ "Avatar" environment & characters. This won't be a Baum story.
-
blah, redo, yada yada whatever we call it now, of Oz. Love the Wizard of Oz....but I'll say this... If the new "Alice" is a hit, than the gates will open to an entire new library of remakes, reboots, re-imaginings and sequel/prequels.... bank on it.
-
JettL hasn't said shit since I called him/her/it out..... course, i'm like the 20th person to do so.......
-
I think, but not as a musical. Use the story and all, keep the three tunes damn_dirty mentioned as well as some instrumentals and what not. I think it could work real well. If you haven't seen "Wicked" you should treat yourself, it is quite good, and very entertaining, and that's coming from a guy who normally wouldn't see something like that... but i enjoyed it.
-
It is illogical since there is nothing of which to be called out on
-
you actually sent a complete and accurate sentence that all words were spelled correctly.... and you were called out. read again
-
I like everyone else on the internet have never been to it, let alone ever even heard of it. And if it's news and my posts share something in common then odds are they took the info I scooped and posted it as thier ownSee the great thing about being me, is that i don't have to prove anything to anyone, i know who i am, do you know who you are?
-
With so much material, and people only know the Wicked witch. BTW, wicked sucks, girls have Twilight, I don't need to hear about a Wicked movie. I've only read the book, haven't seen the play, but based on the book, no thanks. WHy don't people move forward with the Oz material, everything has been remake and rehash. http://tinyurl.com/y94mh8t
-
a website, and flickfilosopher.com has been around longer than you have been posting, from some woman in New York... but I feel you know that, and that is why you have taken the offensive. Oh, and the posts on that site are BEFORE yours by leaps and bounds, check it out, but i'm pretty sure you already have!!!!
-
There is just too much good material in this series. And it doesn't have to cost a fortune. This new motion capture tech the WETA is using for Jane and the Dragon would work well. They would need a lot more sets so that it didn't feel as small as Jane but after that it should be easy to keep them under budget. I would love to see a fantasy series that is painterly. Meaning saturated colors and huge vistas. Think the Mana games only OZ.
-
I'm not into Gay Porn..It's cool that you are but your Inteprid need to push it on others really makes me sad that you don't have any friends
-
This sounds like a completely stupid idea. With the rich history of source material from Baum's books and the books that followed to just do some shitty sequel with a granddaughter sounds like complete shit.
-
You're not George's biological son, so fuck off and die.
-
i'm looking more into it but consider that a Bonified Jett Scoop!
-
Based on the graphic novel series. A great twisted take on some old standards that is actually worth pursuing.
-
...replaced by Tim Burton's Wizard of Oz in 2012, starring Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, and Mia Wasikowska. Music by Danny Elfman.
In 2D when they're in the real world, and 3D when in OZ.
It's not impossible. -
Jan 05, 2010 7:04:07 PM CST
HEADGEEK! What's happening w/ the John Boorman Version???
by planetran_fan
-
it would be sweet. But this idea of lawyer modern day dorothy sounds ridiculous. I picture a pitch to executives over too many lines of cocaine. And stop synching Dark Side of the Moon with the old movie! The original concept is fine about the pressures of modern life. The animated clocks are less stupid than Judy Garland miming David Gilmour. however Gilmour does a good Judy garland. Watch his royal albert hall concert dvd in the extras...friggin hilarous.
-
hanging from the rafters in the background?
-
Or, if there is something that appears to be such, and the actors notice, maybe they could improvise and make like they're suddenly doing another version of Excalibur and somebody can say, "*They* were looking for it, too, but *they* weren't good enough."
-
...idea typed around here before...are you really the first?If so, keep banging that drum.
-
As for Wizard of Oz being public domain, I'd like to see a true science fiction version done someday. Dorothy could land on the planet OZ in a spacecraft, while the Tin Man could obviously be a robot. The cowardly lion could be a half human-half lion hybrid. The Wizard is an advanced AI. The Wicked Witch is obviously a green skinned alien with an army of flying monkey-bat hybrids. Maybe Earth is OZ, but in the far distant future?
-
Baum, himself, started Oz films around 1910. Google it. He created an entire studio, and made several silents. I did a paper at USC Film in the 1980s, back before the footage was available on DVD. It took a while to find it, along with a lot of paperwork on the studio itself. The Oz Film Company. However, beware that some sources I Googled, have incorrect "facts."
-
I was trying to find recent information on the Boorman version and while I haven't succeeded, I did find a cgi fan-made movie in several parts on youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqFZyy-es38
This Variety article from December on animated movies http://tinyurl.com/ydmj7yr says "In France, John Boorman is directing the $25 million-budgeted "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz," produced by Laurent Rodon and Claude Gorsky of Films Action, and Boorman's longtime associate Kieran Corrigan. Pic is co-financed by SND."
Some sources said 2010 for a release date, but since imdb said 2011, maybe it was pushed back, or imdb could be mistaken.
-
Huh. Imagine that. This is FUCKING RETARDED... and I don't even LIKE the original.
-
can you imagine what a script is like when they think it's not up to snuff?
-
in the right hands this could work.
-
What can I say? Then again, I never want to re-watch that movie, nor do I want to watch the same conceit used in a different fantasy universe.
-
to get grown up Peter Pan back to Never Never Land. Once he gets there the movie is not nearly as exciting. Spielberg really nailed the magic and suspense in that first act though.
-
Jan 05, 2010 10:41:47 PM CST
For crying out loud, kill this motherfucking thing off...
by burnhollywood
"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."
Can you fucking BELIEVE that shit? Isn't that just jaw-droppingly horrid? I mean, don't you want to just curl up and fall asleep at that shit-awful premise? A "young lawyer"...yeah, that's a REALLY inspiring choice of protagonist. Maybe for fucking HOSTEL 3, that is.
Burton doesn't even have ALICE in the can, and these unimaginative fucks are trying to rip off plot elements. Would you cunts either adapt LAND OF OZ fully in the style of the MGM classic, or pony up the funds to buy WICKED and bring it to the screen at last? Otherwise, fuck off with your "bold new directions". There's already a CGI OZ in development...that's more than enough. Fucking schmucks. -
Yeah, I'm sure WICKED could never work as a musical, especially since it's probably the biggest Broadway show since the turn of the century and breaking box office records around the world.
Better make sure you do the Hollywood thing and "tweak" it. To death.
We'll start by making Glinda a young lawyer. -
I saw Hook when I was about 10 years old and enjoyed it.
-
The book is cool, but crazy too dark. The average movie go-er will freak out enough as it is with the version of the story in the Musical And the Musical has the official blessing of the original author. There is plenty of room for other Ozian tales to be told, but by god they have to do Wicked now so the original cast can all participate.
-
I can envision a true adaptation of Baum's work. A moving emotional journey with danger and hardships and loss. Dorothy is an orphan, lonley and out of place. the farm is rough and gritty gray like in the book. Oz would be like a roger dean painting from Yes album covers. scarecrow, woodsmen, and lion would be performance capture creations not stage performers in costumes. Examples, Billy Bob Thorton, woody harrelson, or Sam rockwell as the scarecrow. Vin Diesel, Ray Winstone, or Sean Bean as the woodsman, Michael Clark Duncan, John Rhys Davies, or James Earl Jones as the lion. Dorothy could be played by Jodelle Ferland (silent Hill, Tideland).Weta for the effects, Winton studios for character and creature design. Howard Shore or John Williams for the score. Stay true to the book and this could be an awesome epic movie!
-
I agree...it's inarguable that any movie should be the musical. The plot and tone is a vast improvement over the source material...
I thought the original WICKED novel was dreadful: Oz is a gloomy, miserable place with little to no magic or personality (it sounds more like industrial revolution England), Elphaba is a completely unfocused, confused and confusing central character and Maguire leaves so many dangling plot threads by novel's end, you just feel like you're being rooked into investing in an entire book series of his ghastly prose (SON OF A WITCH even manages to be gloomier, with an even less engaging protagonist, if you can believe it). -
While I agree that any possible remake should focus on the source material as much as possible, I would argue that the '39 MGM classic is in a tiny minority of movies that shouldn't be touched (like CASABLANCA, CITIZEN KANE, THE THIRD MAN, SINGING IN THE RAIN, etc). I saw it on TV a few weeks back, and it still holds up, same as it did when I first saw it as a kid in the 70s.
My opinion is that any new OZ movie should either be the aforementioned WICKED musical (which really is the movie's true heir) or a version of THE MARVELOUS LAND OF OZ that leans heavily on the design elements and tone of the '39 version...if it's a success, there's another dozen Baum books to work through.
The original children's novel is an entertaining read, but has an anticlimactic, post-Wicked Witch sequence detailing Dorothy and Co.'s journey to Glinda that the movie wisely jettisoned. -
...seems like a good read...and btw...fuck off JettL93, you preening douchebag!
-
So based on your lie, should I just keep the 3D glasses on my face like a moron while the film is 2D, or should I just go 'Oh shit, it's time to put them on'? Or perhaps an Intermission? Fuck you.
-
In the last ten years, CHICAGO did $300 million, while MAMMA MIA rang up $600 million. Given that WICKED has been a huge hit around the globe I could easily see it doing respectable business, to the tune of a half $billion.
I agree with you to the extent that the songs would have to be chosen carefully, and reworked for the big screen...I find them a little too Lloyd-Webber "popular" myself. -
and also keep writing those brilliant short stories.
3 "men" and a pretty girl, am sure we can guess what really went on along the yellow brick road. -
You are like Santa and The Bible, completely made up but fun and entertaining.
-
Guess they could just show Return to Oz on the right and Hook on the left at the same time on the same screen, to save us all some time and money.
-
WB is currently working on how to sucessfully jump between the 2 during a movie. the current method is to simply have the audience wear the glasses the entire movie, but then of course that isn't optimul as the 2d section could take upwards of 15 to 20 minutes of the films first act. The most likly altyernative would be to open the film with a message instructing the audience to put on their glasses when the screen goes white. When dorothy gets to OZ the film will fade out to white for 3-5 seconds and when the film fades back in the audience will have their glasses on and the land of Oz will be in 3D. But like i said the film is esentially in pre-production and at the earliest won't see a release untill december of 2011 (more likley it will be an early summer 2012 release) so there is plenty of time to finalize the 2D to 3D procedure
-
...has a bizarre psycho-sexual surprise ending you really won't believe...
-
The original is PERFECT, we don't WANT or NEED a SEQUEL you Hollywood LEECHES! (And Return to Oz SUCKED!)
-
I know its an all time great. However the story could go so much further. We love film. Hollywood has screwed so much up that its easy to doubt a pictre like this. But I also know that out there somewhere are talented artists, writers, filmakers that love stories and fiction and spectacle as much as any of us. As film lovers its our wish to see great stuff realized on the screen. For me this is no exception. The world of Oz is bigger than the limits of the 1939 classic.
-
Theres never been a good adaptation of Baums material.
-
It takes nothing away from the original--but still, who cares? Sequels can get financial backing, but how many of these bastard offspring have been really succesful?
-
...when there's already an entire series of books? Odd. Maybe Baum's estate won't allow such things. Regardless, I would rather have seen the McFarlane version.
-
sounds like a retarded JettL93 post.
-
Aka fuck you all.
-
I loved the Oz books when I was a kid. They're still fun. All those books, in print continuously for over a hundred years, and STILL people can't see past the '39 musical. Dorothy has to be an adult...the Cowardly Lion has to be a guy in a lion costume...etc. etc. I think Return To Oz really got it right - cast an actual little girl as Dorothy, kept it in the original time period, kept it somewhat dark, and the look was awesome - Tik-Tok looked great! Although I would have been just as happy to have had it just be Land of Oz and not two books combined, and could have done without the framing device implying that, again, the whole thing was a dream...when in the books it's clearly not.
Makes me wonder if, had the '39 musical never been made, we might be much more likely to get a big, fancy, fairly-faithful film version trilogy or some-such. Or maybe not...they're kind of odd stories to modern sensibilities, probably. -
All of Baum's Oz books are now in public domain.
-
...then what's the hang up with using that material? There's surely an entire generation (or two) who didn't grow up with them. Also, Hook (messy and all) is quite good.
-
Jesus Christ Super Star, Fiddler on the Roof, Greese, Little Shop of Horrors, The King and I, The Music Man, Chicago, Mamma Mia, The Sound of Music, The Producers, West Side Story, Evita and Man of La Mancha and of coure the wizard of Oz... all beg to differ.
-
...Complete with the John R. Neill illustrations. In case anyone's curious about the true sequel to WIZARD:
http://etext.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/BauMarv.html
Tip, Mombi and the four-horned cow (all in the first chapter) have a cameo in SON OF A WITCH, the WICKED sequel... -
Has been filmed a few times, both in live action and animated. There is a rather faithful videotaped 1981 version available at Youtube: go to http://tinyurl.com/yaepklv
-
I don't think it would work. Fables is a little overrated to begin with, but it works (just barely) because of the characters and the writing. I have a feeling they'd overemphasize the background story (the exiled storybook characters) and it would just be weird or come across as gimmicky.
-
Don't forget Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog ;) Juuuust kidding.
How about Phantom of the Opera? Or is that one too easy :)
Readers Talkback
User Login
Top Talkbacks
- G.I. JOE: RETALIATION Delayed Nine Months...Thanks To A Force More Sinister Than Cobra!! -- 214 total posts 213 posts
- THE DARK KNIGHT RISES TV Spot Has New Footage And Dialogue! UPDATED To Add Second Spot! -- 160 total posts 160 posts
- Who Is The Voice Of Batman In WB's Animated Two Part THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS? -- 154 total posts 154 posts
- Cats Beware!! An ALF Movie May Soon Come Our Way... -- 148 total posts 147 posts
- UPDATED!!! A Six-Pack Of New Character Posters For THE DARK KNIGHT RISES Forecast A Lot Of Gotham Rain And Snow!! -- 269 total posts 80 posts
- Gary Oldman Joins The ROBOCOP Remake! -- 76 total posts 76 posts
- AICN COMICS REVIEWS: INCREDIBLE HULK! DANGER CLUB! CLiNT 2.1! JAMES BOND! BATMAN INC.! AND MORE!!! -- 67 total posts 67 posts
- Baz's THE GREAT GATSBY explodes with one helluva dazzling trailer! -- 187 total posts 63 posts
- The Behind the Scenes Pic of the Day… the horror… the horror… -- 49 total posts 49 posts
- Zach Galifianakis Is Ignatius J. Reilly? -- 84 total posts 49 posts