The Wizard of Oz is getting fair rinsed for inspiration in Hollywood at the moment.
Six films based around the original novel are currently in either pre-production or movie limbo – and a seventh has just been added to the line-up.
Corpse Bride co-director Mike Johnson has been hired by Vanguard Films to helm Oz Wars , a CG stop-motion movie that is sounding pretty dark... and very weird.
“It’s an animated action-adventure story, but unlike most animated films, it's not just for kids,” Johnson says. “The Land of Oz will be reimagined using stop-motion to create a world that's dark, slick, sexy and dangerous.”
So far so sleazy. Expect the Wicked Witch to be an evil dominatrix and Dorothy a stripper with a heart of gold. At least the grime factor differentiates Wars from the other Oz films doing the rounds.
Those others include Sam Raimi and Robert Downey Jr’s Oz The Great And Powerful , Drew Barrymore’s Surrender Dorothy , a potential remake of the original ’39 film, an adap of Wicked , an untitled script by Todd McFarlane, and Oz , written by Shrek Forever After’s Darren Lemke.
Maybe it's time to set some flying monkeys on Hollywood...
