[UPDATE] Warner Bros. Remaking Wizard of Oz From Original Script

[Elizabeth Grunewald]

[UPDATE] Warner Bros. Remaking Wizard of Oz From Original Script

In a move that's sure to bother no-one, Warner Bros. is planning to remake The Wizard of Oz from the original script.

In a cinematic landscape filled with remakes, reboots, and reimaginings, it seems as though nothing is new. Warner Bros. intends to take things one step further, and remake the classic 1939 film The Wizard of Oz using the original script.

Deadline notes that "Warner Bros owns the screenplay because Ted Turner bought it along with the MGM library before Warner Bros bought Turner's empire," so we should maybe expect this to happen. Back to the Future director Robert Zemeckis is attached to the project, which seems oddly appropriate. Zemeckis has been recently encamped in the uncanny valley, working on holiday-themed action-capture animation (The Polar Express, A Christmas Carol), so it's nice to see him poking his head out to work with humans again.

This is apparently not the only Wizard of Oz-based film in the works. A feature-film adaptation of the 2003 Broadway musical Wicked has been kicked around for years. Disney is looking to land Robert Downey, Jr. (Iron Man, Sherlock Holmes) to star in Oz: The Great and Powerful, presumably a tale about the wizard himself. Sam Raimi (Drag Me To Hell, Spider-Man) is "developing" that project, which could mean writing, directing, or producing, as he's known for all three.

Source: Deadline [http://www.deadline.com/2010/11/warner-bros-wants-robert-zemeckis-for-wizard-of-oz-remake-based-on-original-script/]

UPDATE
Robert Zemeckis's representatives released a statement today to Entertainment Weekly [http://popwatch.ew.com/2010/11/17/robert-zemeckis-not-directing-wizard-of-oz-remake/] insisting "The reports that Robert Zemeckis is doing The Wizard of Oz are absolutely false." It's unclear whether this denial is a reaction to the internet exploding over his being attached to direct.

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[WinterOrbit]

Please don't be as bad as the Psycho remake.

 

[duchaked]

original script? any notable differences?

 

[TheBoulder]

Bad Warner Bros.! BAD! The Wizard of Oz is one of the sacred movies you're not allowed to make. Even the biggest of dipshit ass-hat directors know better than to remake it. It's sacred! SACRED!

 

[megs1120]

SON OF A *****! How many Wizards of Ozzes do we need? Also, which script? There were a million versions of The Wizards of Oz made back in the day.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Warner, Remakes and Zemeckis, oh my!

 

[Adzma]

I knew it was only a matter of time before Hollywood began to rape the real classics. What's next masterpiece they're lining up to ruin, Casablanca? Gone with the Wind maybe?

Also yes I am aware that there were more than one Wizard of Oz movies. This however is the one most people know and love.

 

[Celtic_Kerr]

INteresting...re-making a movie from the original script... A.K.A not butchering the movie with bullshit and idiotic linesthat make no sense... Then again I'd love to see the corny dialogue you'd expect from a 1939 movie in a modern film...

 

[Swaki]

that sounds good, i love the original but maybe with the exception of tinman the costumes are really outdated and some even ugly, so if they follow the script and dont miscast everyone, i can just imagine some idiot wanting to cast miley cirus *shiver*.

but if they treat it with respect and keep the modernization to a appropriate level it will be great.

 

[Aqualung]

Bad Warner Bros.! BAD! The Wizard of Oz is one of the sacred movies you're not allowed to make. Even the biggest of dipshit ass-hat directors know better than to remake it. It's sacred! SACRED!

So true. How dare they! If they decide to remake Singin' In The Rain after that, or White Christmas... Consequences will never be the same. D:<

 

[Orenji]

...why not an original movie adaptation of Wicked instead of this? Seriously, most would be against a remake. But one of my favorite musicals on the big screen? I'd go opening night.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Then why the hell remake it at all if you're using the same fucking script?

Still, it'll be nice to see Zemeckis return to live-action again after his CGI misadventures.

 

[irani_che]

oh god, kill it with fire

 

[mattaui]

A serious crime against humanity, really. But people will pay to see it, so humanity has only itself to blame!

 

[Green Tentacle]

Bad Warner Bros.! BAD! The Wizard of Oz is one of the sacred movies you're not allowed to make. Even the biggest of dipshit ass-hat directors know better than to remake it. It's sacred! SACRED!

So apparently Warner Bros has to follow your rules now? If it wants to remake every film, then let them. Its THEIR choice.

 

[BenzSmoke]

They did it to Willy Wonka, and now The Wizard of Oz?! Does nothing hold sacred against money anymore?! :-(

 

[Eclipse Dragon]

Just.... why?

What's the point, the big draw was the fact the movie started in black and white then suddenly turned the viewers on their heads by switching to color. Unless WB has the ability to reverse engineer technology, this will never be as good as the original and therefore worthless as a remake.

 

[RatRace123]

This will suck, plain and simple. The Wizard of Oz is one of those films you don't ever remake.

 

[Dectilon]

...why? Did someone catch whatever George Lucas has and decided it needs more CG?