The Wizard of Oz

Wear This: Oz Wars T-Shirt

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: December 27th, 2010 at 11:03 am

Not to be confused with the animated movie that’s in development, Teefury has released the t-shirt mash-up “Oz Wars”.  The shirt has Leia, Chewie, Threepio, and R2 off to see the Wizard, while Toto has clearly given into the dark side of the Force.  Hit the jump to check out the t-shirt.

CORPSE BRIDE Co-Director Mike Johnson to Direct OZ WARS

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: December 15th, 2010 at 11:00 am

Because the world needed yet another freaking Wizard of Oz re-imagining/sequel/prequel, director Mike Johnson (Corpse Bride) has signed on to helm the CG/stop-motion flick Oz Wars for Vanguard Films.  Variety reports that the script (written by Rob Moreland and Athena Gam), “is a transformation of the Oz narrative, with Dorothy caught up in a whirlwind of warrior witches, black magic, martial arts and monsters against a contemporary backdrop.”  Johnson (who also worked as an animator on The Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach) says his take on the Land of Oz re-imagines the world as “dark, slick, sexy and dangerous.”  Throw in the word “sticky” and Oz Wars may as well take place on the floor of a nightclub.

Hit the jump for what Vanguard chief John Williams had to say on the film and a refresher on the other Wizard of Oz projects in development.

Robert Zemeckis NOT Directing THE WIZARD OF OZ Remake

by Ramses Flores    Posted: November 17th, 2010 at 5:53 pm

Yesterday, we reported on the news that Robert Zemeckis was in negotiations to direct a remake of The Wizard of Oz for Warner Bros, which would use the original script from the 1939 classic as its screenplay.  Thankfully, Zemeckis has now denied that that he’ll be involved in this terrible sounding project.  According to TheWrap, Zemeckis will not be directing the proposed remake and will instead continue to focus on his upcoming 3D motion-capture film based off of The Beatles 1968 movie/album Yellow Submarine.  Zemeckis also recently signed on to direct his first live-action film in years with the time travel film, Timeless.

It’ll now be interesting to see if Warner Bros will continue to toy around with this idea while talking to other directors or if the studio will just choose wisely and move on.  As always, more as we hear it.

Robert Zemeckis in Talks to Direct THE WIZARD OF OZ Remake

by Ramses Flores    Posted: November 16th, 2010 at 6:56 pm

There are some movies that should never be remade.  One of those films is The Wizard of Oz.  However, it looks like nothing is sacred anymore in Hollywood since Warner Bros is now in early talks with Robert Zemeckis to direct a live-action remake of the beloved 1939 classic.  The proposed film will be so true to the classic film that Warner Bros is even planning on using the original script from the movie.  I hope that everyone is in agreement with me when I say that I think that this sounds terrible and completely unnecessary.  You can hit the jump to find out why Warner Bros might go through with the film along with a recap of what other Wizard of Oz films are in the works.

Screenwriters Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz Interview TRON: LEGACY

by Tommy Cook    Posted: October 30th, 2010 at 9:44 am

The other day I had the opportunity to watch the twenty minutes of “Tron Night” footage and then participate in a round table interview with the writers of Tron: Legacy, Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz. Tron: Legacy, the sequel to the cult classic Tron, follows Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund) as he searches for his missing father Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges – protagonist of the first film) into the depths of a digital computer world. What stuck out most about the twenty minutes of footage shown wasn’t the oft talked about dazzling action scenes, of which you can see glimpses of in the trailer and the recently released short clip, but rather the focus on character and relationships. Often times in big budget tent-pole films, the set pieces take precedence over the characters within them. This does not appear to be true of Tron: Legacy. It is revealing that the climax of the Tron Night footage was not something blowing up or people fighting one another or a razzle dazzle chase scene but instead a reunion between father and son. It is this emotional core at the heart of the Tron sequel that gives me hope as to its possible merit.

During the interview, scribes Kitsis and Horowitz, best known for their work on the television show Lost, expanded on the emotional core at the heart of Tron: Legacy as well as discussed how they pitched the film to Jeff Bridges, what Tron and The Wizard of Oz have in common and the potential for a Tron 3.0 — among many other topics of conversation. Hit the jump to check out the interview.

New Details on Sam Raimi’s OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: October 14th, 2010 at 2:38 pm

New details have emerged on Sam Raimi’s Oz the Great and Powerful.  As we previously reported, the film is a prequel/re-imagining of The Wizard of Oz and would tell how the Wizard (which Robert Downey Jr. is unofficially attached to play) came to the merry old land of Oz and land the title of Wizard.  Since these new details could be considered spoilers, I’ve put them after the jump.

Hit the jump to read more about Oz the Great and Powerful.  Principal photography is expected to begin next summer.

Sam Raimi’s Next Film Will Be OZ: THE GREAT AND POWERFUL

by Jason Barr    Posted: October 6th, 2010 at 11:04 am

It’s been a topic of discussion since this summer.  Now, we finally have confirmation that Sam Raimi’s next stint in the director’s chair will come via Disney’s Oz: The Great and Powerful.  Raimi, who has two other projects on his table in addition to Oz, committed to the Disney project with production set to begin next year on the 3D film.  In addition to Raimi’s commitment, Disney has also brought David Lindsay-Abaire on board to perform re-writes on the Mitchell Kapner (The Whole Nine Yards) script.  Lindsay-Abaire recently adapted his Pulitzer Prize-winning play Rabbit Hole for the silver screen.  That film stars Nicole Kidman and was picked up by Lionsgate at the Toronto International Film Festival last month.

For more on Robert Downey Jr.’s involvement with Oz,  Raimi and Lindsay-Abaire’s previous collaboration, and Raimi’s “other two” projects, hit the jump.

Sam Raimi Confirmed to Direct OZ, THE GREAT AND POWERFUL with Robert Downey Jr. to Star

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: June 15th, 2010 at 8:27 am

Last week, we reported that Disney had offered Sam Raimi the director’s chair for Oz, The Great and Powerful.  Today, Deadline reports that he’s taken it.  Furthermore, they report that Robert Downey Jr. has signed on to star as the wayward circus wrangler who would become the Wizard of Oz.  Disney is hoping that they can land another billion-dollar-hit as they did this year with Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland.  Oh, and Oz is going to be 3D (the movie we’re talking about right now, not the HBO prison drama, although that would be interesting/terrifying).

Hit the jump for more on Raimi and Downey’s schedules.

Sam Mendes and Robert Downey Jr. May Team-Up for OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: April 20th, 2010 at 1:47 pm

Director Sam Mendes may direct Oz The Great and Powerful with Robert Downey Jr. in talks to play the Wizard.  Production Weekly tweets that the two are circling the project written by Mitchell Kapner (The Whole Nine Yards).  According to a 24 Frames article last month [via Pajiba's Twitter], the project (originally titled Brick), is, “based on pieces from several other L. Frank Baum “Oz” books as well as his original ideas.  In this version, 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.  This Wizard of Oz project is set up at Disney and is competing against two projects at Warner Bros. (Oz, and a second project about Dorthy’s granddaughter who returns to Oz to fight evil) and Universal’s adaptation of the musical Wicked.

Mendes now has free time after Bond 23 was put on ice, although he may go back to do an adaptation of the comic book Preacher.   As for Downey, he’s set for Sherlock Holmes 2 and may star in Alfonso Cuaron’s sci-fi film Gravity.

THE WIZARD OF OZ 70th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray Review

by Andre Dellamorte    Posted: October 15th, 2009 at 2:29 pm

I had a friend who had done some jail time. I was always very curious about this because I knew that it would be hugely unlikely I would ever see the inside of a cell (knock on wood). He told that one of the most beloved movies by prisoners was Wizard of Oz. This made all the sense in the world. Wizard of Oz is the ultimate escapist fantasy, which betrays the film’s original message. My thoughts after the jump.

Dakota Fanning Set To Drop A House on the Sequel To THE WIZARD OF OZ

by Nicole Pedersen    Posted: August 23rd, 2009 at 10:05 am

Just in time for the seventieth anniversary of MGM’s “The Wizard of Oz” comes news that a sequel is in the works… or rather, another sequel.  Producers have been trying for years to modernize the classic film, including a rumored 2002 version that would have starred Drew Barrymore.  So who’s on tap to try on those ruby slippers this time?  Young Dakota Fanning, who else?  Hit the jump for details.

Copyright ©2005 - 2012. All Rights Reserved. California web design