Wizard of Oz sequel in the works.

**Frogacuda** · 22 Aug 2007, 07:34 PM

Shitty article from Variety. Not to be taken at face value:

Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow Pictures are teaming on "Oz," a revisionist take on the L. Frank Baum books that hatched "The Wizard of Oz."

Project was acquired based on an idea by Todd McFarlane that was fleshed out and pitched by Josh Olson ("A History of Violence").

Olson will write and McFarlane will produce with Thunder Road’s Basil Iwanyk. Rick Benattar ("Shoot ’Em Up") is exec producer.

Conversations with McFarlane and Olson make it clear that they are still working out the tone of the film. They have plenty to work with. WB has owned the rights to the original "The Wizard of Oz" since buying Ted Turner’s empire, whose assets included the film and other plum titles in the MGM library. There are also 15 novels in the Oz series written by Baum, most in the public domain.

McFarlane has a vision of Oz that is a dark, edgy and muscular PG-13, without a singing Munchkin in sight. That was clear with a toy line he launched several years ago that featured a buxom Dorothy and Toto reimagined as an oversized snarling warthog. Olson has something a little tamer, and PG, in mind.

"I saw those toys, and Dorothy as some bondage queen isn’t something I want to do," Olson told Daily Variety. "The appealing thing about the Baum books to me is how wildly imaginative they are. There are crazy characters from amazing places. I want this to be ‘Harry Potter’ dark, not ‘Seven’ dark."

Both McFarlane and Olson are on the same page when it comes to the promise of marrying the Baum story with benefits of visual effects advancements.

"My pitch was ‘How do we get people who went to ‘Lord of the Rings’ to embrace this?’ " McFarlane said. "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."

Olson was keeping plot specifics to himself but said the film will be closer to a sequel than a remake.

"We still want to take advantage of the first film, which might be the most beloved of all time, and rely on its place in your cultural memory to bubble beneath the surface," Olson said. "A lot of the plot is mine, but the characters are all Baum."

McFarlane, a former Marvel Comics animator who created "Spawn," is working on several producing projects, such as Paramount’s "The Torso," which has David Fincher attached to direct. McFarlane is producing with Bill Mechanic and Don Murphy.

Josh Olson has made it clear that McFarlane is not involved creatively with this project at all. He furthermore made it clear that he would sooner die than work with McFarlane, and that he sucks A LOT.

He doesn't want to make it a dark adult American McGee thing, he wants to keep it pretty true to the classic books.

**YellerDog** · 22 Aug 2007, 07:35 PM

Return to Oz was pretty decent.

They should do a film version of Wicked.

**Dolemite** · 22 Aug 2007, 08:17 PM

Is Wicked any good? I've been interested in seeing the play.

Originally Posted by Frogacuda

Josh Olson has made it clear that McFarlane is not involved creatively with this project at all. He furthermore made it clear that he would sooner die than work with McFarlane, and that he sucks A LOT.

Josh Olson is right. Well, at least about the McFarlane of today.

**YellerDog** · 22 Aug 2007, 10:41 PM

Originally Posted by Dolemite

Is Wicked any good? I've been interested in seeing the play.

The soundtrack's alright. Haven't seen it live.

**Saint of Killers** · 22 Aug 2007, 10:52 PM

McFarlane, a former Marvel Comics animator who created "Spawn," is working on several producing projects, such as Paramount’s "The Torso," which has David Fincher attached to direct. McFarlane is producing with Bill Mechanic and Don Murphy.

Off topic, but what the fuck is McFarlane doing involved with adapting a Bendis graphic novel? From what I remember Bendis REALLY doesn't like McFarlane because of his treatment of Bendis when Bendis was writing Sam & Twitch.

Torso is awesome though and I think Fincher could make a really cool movie out of it.

Also, McFarlane is a fucking hack. Dude made one hell of a rep for himself with Spawn by hiring some of the greatest writers comics have ever seen to create and write it for him.

**Type Ryan** · 22 Aug 2007, 11:12 PM

Originally Posted by YellerDog

Return to Oz was pretty decent.

I thought that movie was kind of creepy, but good. I wonder what it would be like if Tim Burton got his hands on something like that.

If this actually turns out to be movie they better have these guys...

and this shit better be epic.

**Space Pirate Roberts** · 23 Aug 2007, 04:18 AM

I hope you're right, Frog. Oz by way of MacFarlane would be just about the worst thing ever.

**Frogacuda** · 23 Aug 2007, 05:46 AM

Originally Posted by The Gas

I hope you're right, Frog. Oz by way of MacFarlane would be just about the worst thing ever.

Don't worry. I'm 100% on this one.

**JBNagis** · 23 Aug 2007, 07:51 AM

A Tim Burton Oz would be really creapy. I actually liked return to Oz.
Agreed on the McFarlane comment. He would probably try and make it like the Twisted Land of Oz figures. Where Dorothy was a hooker and the tin man looked like a reject from a spawn comic.

Off topic:
Weren't they supposed to do a American McGee's Alice?
I know they did the game but i thought a movie was in the works.

JBNagis