Deadline is reporting that Warner Bros is in early talks with Robert Zemeckis to direct a live-action remake of "The Wizard of Oz" with plans to use the original script from the 1939 classic.
The studio owns the screenplay, which was penned by 19 writers - including Bert Lahr who played the Cowardly Lion - because Ted Turner bought it along with the MGM library before Warner Bros bought Turner's empire.
At the same time Disney is developing "The Great and Powerful Oz," which is a "Wizard of Oz" prequel starring Robert Downey Jr as the Wizard and directed by Sam Raimi (Spider-Man).
Zemeckis is known for such great films as "Back to the Future," "Forrest Gump" and "Cast Away," but his last four projects have all been animated, including "The Polar Express," "Beowulf," "A Christmas Carol" and "Yellow Submarine."
Might as well go all out and bring in Tim Burton and Johnny Depp :biggrin:
Have you seen The Wiz?
I thought it was pretty good, though it's not exactly a remake.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078504/
Damn monkeys scared the crap out of me when I was around 6.This has mega-fail written all over it. They're probably going to CG the hell out of it, or make it 3D (or both). Ugh.
My four year old loves the original. You know a movie is outstanding when it's still enjoyable by kids 70 years later.
Hollywood lacks creativity. I expect to see at least one more remake of the Wizard of Oz by the time I die. I also expect to see Citizen Kane, Casablanca, Gone with the Wind, etc.
He should re-imagine this as Back to the Future Part 4. Dorothy McFly travels forward through time in a prototype time machine her grandfather Marty McFly tells her is hidden in Doc Brown's old lab. A hilarious situation involving Dorothy's inability to drive stick causes her to go to far into the future, where the world has changed dramatically. With nothing but her skinny jeans, emo haircut and a pair of mysterious ruby red hover slippers she sets out to find the mysterious "Doctor" who is the only one that might be able to help her change the tire on the Kia Soul time machine that she punctured when she ran over a woman upon her arrival. Along the way she is menaced by the evil witch Bastinda Tannen and her gang. She is aided by her own ancestors, a McFly who has been enhanced by splicing his Genes with those of a lion and Mecha-McFly a Japanese android the McFly family owned in the 2050s. Shia Labeouf stars as the scarecrow.
Might as well go all out and bring in Tim Burton and Johnny Depp :biggrin:
He should re-imagine this as Back to the Future Part 4. Dorothy McFly travels forward through time in a prototype time machine her grandfather Marty McFly tells her is hidden in Doc Brown's old lab. A hilarious situation involving Dorothy's inability to drive stick causes her to go to far into the future, where the world has changed dramatically. With nothing but her skinny jeans, emo haircut and a pair of mysterious ruby red hover slippers she sets out to find the mysterious "Doctor" who is the only one that might be able to help her change the tire on the Kia Soul time machine that she punctured when she ran over a woman upon her arrival. Along the way she is menaced by the evil witch Bastinda Tannen and her gang. She is aided by her own ancestors, a McFly who has been enhanced by splicing his Genes with those of a lion and Mecha-McFly a Japanese android the McFly family owned in the 2050s. Shia Labeouf stars as the scarecrow.
The liberal minded Hollywood crowd will make sure that there is a healthy mix of races in this version. The lion will be self-esteem challenged, not cowardly. The tin man will be recycled aluminum, and the scarecrow will now represent the homeless.
Dorothy will have a boyfriend back in Kansas, and we will discover that she might be pregnant.
The munchkins will be portrayed as only being short of height, not silly or immature. The wicked witch will reveal that she was abused as a child.
Maybe they should consider redoing Citizen Kane and Casablanca, since the originals are so out of date.