CATEGORIES Drama, Deals, Warner Brothers, Scripts, Family Films, Remakes and Sequels, Movie News, Cinematical
Oz (as in The Wizard of) is just so hot right now. We already know about the Oz re-imagining in the works where DG (Dorothy) gets swept off to The Outer Zone and goes on a journey with some weird creatures. Now we're going to see another update of Oz in a feature film. Variety has reported that Warner Brothers and Village Roadshow Pictures are teaming up for a flick called Oz -- not based on that sparkly classic film, but directly from L. Frank Baum's books. Well, not directly, but a "revisionist take."The idea comes from Spawn creator Todd McFarlane, and was expanded on and pitched by Josh Olson, who adapted A History of Violence. McFarlane is also the guy behind the "Twisted Land of Oz" figurine series, featuring Dorothy barely-clothed and awkwardly bound while a creepy Munchkin snarls. Before you think of an S&M Oz, Olson has said: "I saw those toys, and Dorothy as some bondage queen isn't something I want to do." McFarlane says: "My pitch was 'How do we get people who went to Lord of the Rings to embrace this?' I want to create (an interpretation) that has a 2007 wow factor. You've still got Dorothy trapped in an odd place, but she's much closer to the Ripley from Alien than a helpless singing girl."
While the plot is being kept under wraps so far, Olson describes it as a remake and says that while a lot of the characters are "all Baum," the plot is mostly his. It'll be interesting to see how the over-sexualized Oz eye of McFarlane and Olson's PG-plan come together. Will it be a mess, a masterpiece or something in between?
