Oz in the News 10.28.10

Meinhardt Raabe Wizard of Oz Archive We are currently offering for sale the personal Wizard of Oz archive of  Meinhardt Raabe, the “Coroner of Munchkinland”. The material consists of  8 original lobby cards and many signed and inscribed original photographs including Judy Garland.

MarVista Spotlights Witches of Oz Mini-Series Event The six-movie slate MarVista Entertainment is touting for AFM includes the fantasy adventure Witches of Oz, a two-part mini-series that puts on a modern twist on L. Frank Baum’s classic tale.  The mini-series stars Christopher Lloyd as the Wizard of Oz, with Sean Astin, Billy Bod, Lance Henrikson, Mia Sara, Jeffrey Combs and Ethan Embry rounding out the cast. Paulie Rojas plays Dorthy Gale.

Oz in the News 10.25.10

‘Wicked’ author explains methods “When I am writing a book, everything in life seems to be related to the story — everything I see seems to speak about Oz,” Maguire explained. “Once I start working and start playing with matches, I can’t get out of it.”  Maguire explained that authors “play with matches” in their creative process of writing a book to give readers permission to enter the world of the story and open up the imagination.  “A book is always open — you can always go home to it,” Maguire said. “And we all know there’s no place like home.”

Oz in the News 10.24.10

Lloyd Webber Forks Out Millions On New Production Lord Lloyd-Webber said: “The auditorium is being changed so when the theatre opens for the production in March they won’t recognise it. I can’t say how we are going to replicate the yellow brick road but it will be spectacular.”  Manchester schoolgirl Danielle Hope, 17, was chosen to play Dorothy by viewers of the BBC reality show Over The Rainbow. Michael Crawford will play the Wizard.  But the creator of Cats has raised doubts about Toto the dog.  Dangerous Dave pawed his way into the hearts of viewers for the role but the producer said: “I am afraid the dog will not behave.”

Oz in the News 10.23.10

Joe Maddalena interview, Hollywood Treasure on Syfy delivers the goods I mean the ruby slippers to me are like van Gogh’s Starry Night. They are the most symbolic thing of film history. So,  there are four pairs that survived.  There’s a missing pair that we think existed that no one knows what happened to it. There’s the rumor Toto might have eaten a pair. And then 2005 a pair was stolen out of the Judy Garland museum so one of the themes of the show is we’re searching for the ruby slippers everywhere.  I think the touring pair belonged to Michael Shore and in 2005, the week of Katrina, the Judy Garland museum was robbed and the slippers were stolen.  It didn’t get very much news because it was the week of Katrina and it wasn’t a big news story obviously, so we’re basically picking up that trail of 2005 and we’re actively searching and trying to source that. We’re offering a $10,000 cash reward to anybody with the leak that leads to the recovery of these slippers.  And, there’s a rumor that the Tin Man’s costume is in Colorado.

Oz in the News 10.21.10

Oz exhibit fun for Munchkins — and book has lessons for today On loan from the Great Exploration Children’s Museum in St. Petersburg, Fla., the exhibit brings the original novel to life, by having children walk through what amounts to a larger-than-life-size pop-up book, where they build their own yellow brick road, model tornadoes, study brains and hearts, and launch winged monkeys.  The show is timed to run over the Halloween and Christmas season to keep our local munchkins and wicked witches entertained. But as our election dust settles, as the wizards of Edmonton and Calgary embark on their idealistic quests to transform their dusty prairie towns into veritable Emerald Cities, it’s an opportune time to take a fresh look at the real, original Oz.

The sci-fi and fantasy 25 The U.K.’s Guardian guide to the greatest sci-fi and fantasy films of all time, part of the Guardian and Observer’s Film Season 2010.  The Wizard of Oz comes in at #5.

Wizard of Oz: Redux’ a hilarious take off on the original “The Lion is still cowardly, but the Tin Man now has a computer processor that goes wacky and makes him a real ladies’ man when a switch is hit,” Rauschenberger said. “He doesn’t know how to love. The Scarecrow needs a brain. He uses a very large vocabulary, but doesn’t understand a word he’s saying. As for Dorothy, she isn’t so much lost as she is unable to get cell phone service.  “There are so many elements of today in it,” she added. “The kids absolutely love it. They were hooked right from the first read-through.”

Film legends meet new talent at horror fest Legends of Hollywood mingled with some of the best new directors and actors during memorable parties at the Big Bear Horror Film Festival last weekend.  Jerry Maren, who handed Judy Garland a lollipop in “The Wizard of Oz,” told me that the stories of Munchkin orgies during the making of that film were simply not true and he worked hard for his $50 per week in 1939.

Oz in the News 10.20.10

THE WIZARD OF OZ Blog: Casting Wizard… In the first of a series of video blogs with The Wizard of Oz Casting Director David Grindrod, he tells us all about his role in the early audition stages of Over The Rainbow and the other BBC TV talent shows he has worked on with Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Paul Miles Schneider at the Lawrence Public Library will be a participating author in their Second Annual Book Club Night, which will feature Author Speed Dating, as well as handouts, prize drawings, refreshments and more! If you are in a book group or want to be, you will enjoy this program featuring the author of “Silver Shoes”.

Oz in the News 10.18.10

Wiyos, oh wiyos, can’t I? Weber explained that in 2009 the group performed in Kansas with a dance troupe that had adapted material from the band’s last album, “Broken Land Bell,” to a piece loosely based on “The Wizard of Oz.” In response, the group has decided to create their own new song cycle, dubbed “The Wiyos of Oz.”  Many of the pieces — including “Mary” and “Mama Had a Baby and Its Head Popped Off” — directly quote parts of the classic Harold Arlen/Yip Harburg score, while upending them at the same time.

Comic book convention hits Minn. While Ethan Tarshish was telling a group of six about his comic book, a man dressed as Iron Man walked by and the group’s attention immediately wandered from what Tarshish had to say. “It happens,” Tarshish said while shrugging his shoulders.  Tarshish and co-creator Kelly Brown were there to promote their series “Woe is Oz,” a re-telling of L. Frank Baum’s the Wizard of Oz.

Warner Bros. Consumer Products Announces Launch of Wizard of Oz Kids and Online Destination To kick off the The Wizard of Oz Kids efforts, WBCP, in association with KidsWB.com, will introduce wizardofozkids.com, a brand new interactive site for kids 2-11, featuring games, activities, downloadables and more. The site will continue to roll out fresh, innovative content for kids over the next year to fully bring the world of Oz to fans everywhere. Fans can also visit WBshop.com to discover and own an array of The Wizard of Oz products and merchandise.

Oz in the News 10.17.10

Tribute song for snooker star Alex Higgins Now her version of the song, which was made famous in the Wizard of Oz film, has been released as a special edition CD with a six-page booklet containing pictures of the 1972 and 1982 snooker champion.  It goes on sale on Monday, with 1,000 copies made available exclusively through HMV shops in Belfast.

Oz in the News 10.16.10

The Wizard of Oz: A Man Behind the American Dream Enchanting, joyful and magical are the words that describe the film, The Wizard of Oz. After its release in 1939, it became a classic and one of America’s most beloved films. Based on the 1900 novel by Lyman Frank Barns (sic), in some ways it seemed to have shaped the cultural consciousness of America. It is now even more significant, not only for revealing the development of theatrical fantasy within American life, but also for shedding light on a hidden narrative behind major current events around the world.

Oz in the News 10.14.10

Preview ‘Ozma of Oz’ #1 and its Awesome Aquatic Variant Cover “Eric is probably the world’s foremost Oz expert, having written so much on the subject before he came on the Marvel project. He knows exactly what needs to be included in these adaptations, and is so good at determining what should be cut out for the sake of clarity. He’s a well-paced, excited, perfectly cast storyteller.”

Rooms By ZoyaB Supports the Kips Bay Decorator Show House for Charity With a Video of Their 2009 ‘Wizard of Oz – Dorothy’s Room’ To show support for the Kips Bay Decorator Show House to benefit the Kips Bay Boys and Girls club, designer Zoya Bograd has released a video showing the inspiration and final design of her 2009 ‘Wizard of Oz – Dorothy’s Room’ from the house.

Merry parody of ‘Oz’: Local celebs will ‘Act Up’ for Fort Wayne Civic Theatre fundraiser Those local celebrities and more will parody “The Wizard of Oz” — and their own public personas — during the Fort Wayne Civic Theatre’s “Celebrities Act Up” fundraiser Saturday night at the Grand Wayne Convention Center. “It’s like a bad Carol Burnett skit,” said Phillip Colglazier, Civic Theatre executive director and the one-hour script’s author. “If people break up and laugh, all the better.”

‘Glee’ Star Lea Michele is ‘Dorothy of Oz’ “The ‘Wizard of Oz’ film was definitely a household film for me — it was one of the, like, four on rotation I made my mother play over and over again for me,” says Lea. “To have the opportunity right now, at 24, to be making an animated version of the movie is just so cool.”

New details on Sam Rami’s “Oz The Great And Powerful” “The Wizard — a snake-oil salesman posing as a magician — enters Oz via a hot-air balloon, which he uses to escape an angry husband who has found out that Oz slept with his wife. There, Oz — a fast-talking huckster who wears a velveteen frock coat — falls in love with Glinda (the Good Witch), and the two combine forces to fight the evil witches Evanora and Theodora. Theodora starts out as a good witch, but after Oz jilts her sexual advances, Evanora — the truly evil witch — convinces Theodora to become an evil witch with her and help her to rule all of Oz.”

Interview With the Cowardly Lion From The Witches of Oz 3D “I am not even supposed to tell you I am the Lion, it is the worst kept secret on the film, because, well, Bryan rhymes with Lyon. As far as what I am up to, I start out very cowardly, just a goofy lovable lawyer — if there is such a thing, ha, ha. And I turn as the characters start to appear, as Dorothy needs us.”