First 'Oz: The Great and Powerful' Teaser Poster

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Grand Master

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Director Sam Raimi has finally found his all-powerful wizard. James Franco just finalized a deal to star as the title character in Oz The Great and Powerful, Raimi’s Disney 3D prequel to the classic 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. The role was originally going to be played by Robert Downey Jr., and then was offered to Johnny Depp, but Franco is ultimately going to portray “a young illusionist with a grandiose attitude who is forced to flee a traveling circus. His hot air balloon is swept up by a tornado to the land of Oz, which is run by two magical wicked witches.” Read more about the film after the jump.

Deadline reported the news of Franco’s deal closing, making this weekend quite the memorable one for the actor. Friday he signs a deal to star in the biggest movie of his career (sorry, Rise of the Apes), Saturday he premieres two brand new films that he created based on the film My Own Private Idaho by Gus Van Sant and Sunday he’ll stand in front of hundreds of millions of people to hose the Oscars.

Oz the Great and the Powerful is scheduled to start shooting in July and is rumored to star Mila Kunis as one of the wicked witches, though that has yet to be officially confirmed. Now that Franco as been cast, odds are that Disney will spill all the beans on the film very soon. The script is written by Mitchell Kapner and David Lindsay-Abaire.

http://www.slashfilm.com/james-franco-oz-great-powerful-sam-raimi/

  • 4 weeks later...
Grand Master

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In the Variety story, they describe the plot as follows:
Kunis will co-star opposite James Franco, who portrays a fast-talking snake oil salesman and illusionist who flees a traveling circus and winds up whisked away in a hot air balloon by a tornado to Oz where he must face off against real magic and the sisters battling for control of the land. Theodora starts out as a good witch, alongside her beautiful sister Glinda, but after her sexual advances are jilted by Franco?s salesman, she?s convinced by Evanora to switch sides and help her older sister rule Oz.
  • 1 year later...
Grand Master

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Disney?s fantastical adventure ?Oz The Great and Powerful,? directed by Sam Raimi, imagines the origins of L. Frank Baum?s beloved character, the Wizard of Oz. When Oscar Diggs (James Franco), a small-time circus magician with dubious ethics, is hurled away from dusty Kansas to the vibrant Land of Oz, he thinks he?s hit the jackpot?fame and fortune are his for the taking?that is until he meets three witches, Theodora (Mila Kunis), Evanora (Rachel Weisz) and Glinda (Michelle Williams), who are not convinced he is the great wizard everyone?s been expecting. Reluctantly drawn into the epic problems facing the Land of Oz and its inhabitants, Oscar must find out who is good and who is evil before it is too late. Putting his magical arts to use through illusion, ingenuity?and even a bit of wizardry?Oscar transforms himself not only into the great and powerful Wizard of Oz but into a better man as well.

When small-time magician Oscar Diggs (James Franco) pulls one flimflam too many, he finds himself hurled into the fantastical Land of Oz where he must somehow transform himself into the great and powerful Wizard?and just maybe into a better man as well.

  • 2 weeks later...
Grand Master

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Alice was way too short. I would imagine this movie would suffer from being way too short as well.

Why would you say that? The original children's books are quite long (if I remember correctly) and there are 13 of them (maybe 14 or 15?) to choose from also.

Just FYI, there is also a 2014 CGI movie coming out based on Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz. Also there is some talk of doing a film based on Ozma of Oz. (Ozma if no one knows was the rightful heir to the throne of Oz and actually taught the Wizard of Oz how to do real magic)

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