It's been awhile, but I'm blogging again!

Hey! I have been blogging for awhile, but I'm back!

Why the abscence?

What was there to say? I'm working on Ozma of Oz still.

I would like to mention some words on the adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz to the MGM Wizard of Oz as compared to my screenplay.

1. In the MGM movie, Dorothy wants to get out of Oz pretty much to escape the Wicked Witch of the West, and she realizes that her home is a pretty nice place after all. In my screenplay (which is what I believe was in the book) she doesn't want to be seperated from her family for a long time, so she tries to get back.

2. Because the MGM movie set up the Wicked Witch of the West as the major villain, (her early appearance in Munchkinland, her appearances along the Yellow Brick Road, her creating or poisioning of the Poppy Field...) her death was the film's climax. In the book, and my screenplay, she is much more of a secondary character. The climax is Dorothy's return home. (Which is strange, since the story is named after the Wizard, but he leaves the story about 3/4 of the way through! One might be misled into thinking he was the main character...)

3. I'm not quite sure... but is the MGM movie updated slightly? Is Dorothy's home one of 1900, or 1939? In my screenplay, it's exactly how it's described in the book.

4. The MGM movie set the story up as a dream. As a result, who could really believe that Oz was real? In my screenplay, I tried to make Oz as believable as possible, when you set aside the magical incidents and the creatures that could reside only in a fairyland. Baum did not describe a vibrant fantasyland, but instead "a country of marvelous beauty. There were lovely patches of greensward all about, with stately trees bearing rich and luscious fruits. Banks of gorgeous flowers were on every hand, and birds with rare and brilliant plumage sang and fluttered in the trees and bushes. A little way off was a small brook, rushing and sparkling along between green banks..." This description was so vivid that I copied it in my screenplay. I'd love to see this version of the Munchkin Country on screen instead of the extremely (and some may say sickeningly) cute Munchkinland of the MGM film.

And just so you know, I don't hate the MGM movie, I own the 3-disc DVD release and the 2-disc soundtrack, I don't believe in the hanging man, and I also think it's a great, classic film. I just think there should also be a version out there that is very close to Baum's Oz!