Retake of Wizard of Oz(McFarlane)

[Folster]

I did a search, but could not find anything relating to this. It's probably already posted by BIM like three years ago. Sorry if it is.

Todd McFarlane was on Bickley and M.J. this morning and they started talking about his new project. Yet another Hollywood classic will be subject to a re-make. McFarlane claims that it will not be a re-make, but a re-take, with an updated "Lord of the Rings" feel to it.

I could see this working. The original was based on a musical, that comes off as goofy/lame to today's generation. A realistic/darker take could be cool. I'm just afraid that McFarlane goes too dark into goth and bondage like the toys he made of the Wizard of Oz.

http://videoeta.com/news.html?id=2339&rss=1

Todd McFarlane to produce 'dark' Wizard of Oz movie

Posted August 23, 2007 at 1:20 PM By Tim Briscoe
Spawn creator Todd McFarlane is teaming up with A History of Violence scribe Josh Olson to create a "dark" version of The Wizard of Oz for Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow Pictures. According to a story in Variety, it will be a "revisionist take" on the beloved L. Frank Baum books.
McFarlane created twisted versions of Oz characters in 2003 for his popular toy line. Olson told Variety that the movie won't be that over the top. "I saw those toys, and Dorothy as some bondage queen isn’t something I want to do," he said. "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."
In other words, this will be a PG-13 affair.
McFarlane gave Variety his interpretation of the project. "My pitch was 'How do we get people who went to Lord of the Rings to embrace this?'" he 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."
This movie is more apt to be a Wizard of Oz sequel than a remake of the 1939 film. "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 to Variety. "A lot of the plot is mine, but the characters are all Baum."
McFarlane is a former Marvel Comics illustrator who left to write and draw his own series, "Spawn," for Image. Spawn was turned into an animated mini-series and a live-action film. He's become more of an entrepreneur in recent years with roles as toy creator and entertainment producer.
Olson wrote the screenplay -- the Oscar-nominated screenplay, mind you -- for A History of Violence from the Wagner/Locke graphic novel. He was the most recent writer on the postponed Halo movie.
No word yet on the title for this new Oz film. Until it's given one, we're just gonna call it Todd McFarlane's Oz. No word on a production start date either.

 

[Divide Et Impera]

Hellz yeah! I'm all in on checking that one out!!!

 

[Gaddabout]

In other news, McFarlane is going to write a new Bible.

He's messing with American holy ground here. He better be very, very careful.

 

[SuperSpck]

In other news, McFarlane is going to write a new Bible.

He's messing with American holy ground here. He better be very, very careful.

(explitive deleted) remakes.

STOP already.

 

[mjb21aztd]

They shouldnt remake this movie it would be huge mistake imo. I know they were thinking about making a revenge of the nerds remake but they decided against it, these type of movies should just not remade they are instant classics.

 

[Gaddabout]

They shouldnt remake this movie it would be huge mistake imo. I know they were thinking about making a revenge of the nerds remake but they decided against it, these type of movies should just not remade they are instant classics.

I had no idea Revenge of the Nerds had achieved Wizard of Oz status.

 

[Covert Rain]

In other news, McFarlane is going to write a new Bible.

He's messing with American holy ground here. He better be very, very careful.

I would hardly call it that. It's a classic for sure in Americana. What is interesting is that nobody cared about it at the time it was released. It didn't get classic status until years and years later.

So even though I hate to see them rehash classics, it's going to happen. I have come to accept that. IMO though if your going to rehash a classic you better make it pretty different. A new vision is much easier to swallow then an "updated" vision that is basically the exact same movie. I think a darker version of this movie could work.

 

[Chaplin]

I would hardly call it that. It's a classic for sure in Americana. What is interesting is that nobody cared about it at the time it was released. It didn't get classic status until years and years later.

So did Casablanca. And Citizen Kane. And Shawshank Redemption, for that matter.