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!

Ozma of Oz

Hey, I started on L. Frank Baum's Ozma of Oz last week. There's something about Oz that's so addictive...

And I have some character designs for the Nome King, in black and white and color. I'm thinking of making some storyboard art for Wonderful Wizard and making some videos and putting them on YouTube.com. If I do, I'll embed them in the blog!

"Marvelous Land of Oz" finished & Oz movie rumors

Last Sunday Princess Ozma was restored and wrested the throne of the Emerald City from Jinjur and was crowned by Glinda (who else would be resonsible for such an honor?) ... as I finished the first draft of L. Frank Baum's The Marvelous Land of Oz.

The Marvelous Land of Oz is one of my favorite Oz books, which is why I wanted to start on a screenplay for it right away. I have made quite a few changes.

• Mombi admits that she tricked the Wizard into handing Ozma over to her.
• Jinjur is passed off as a good girl at heart, she can just get obsessed and confused over what she wants.
• Jinjur intends to turn Mombi over to Glinda after the Jellia Jamb=Mombi deception, so Mombi hides not only from Glinda, but also from Jinjur, so she turns herself into a rose.
• The ant transformation was left out of Mombi's series of transformations in her attempt to escape from Glinda.
• There is only one Wishing Pill, and it is found in a packet that was in with the Powder of Life.
• The whole bit about flying over the Munchkin Country was excised so we could hurry and get to Glinda.

There are also some additions I made. One of my favorites is Ozma saying to Jinjur after Captain Ruby and General Scarlet capture her, "The Emerald City has been ruled by men long enough."

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There is a new crop of rumors for a new OZ film to come to the cinema.

The most likely one to appear is a film version of the musical Wicked. Having heard quite a bit about it, it sounds like a great story and I'd really like to see it.

Disney is supposedly working on a prequel to The Wizard of Oz that sounds darker than Return to Oz. (Have they learned nothing?)

Steven Spielburg is rumored (note: he has had rumors about him in the past that were not true) to be working on a remake of The Wizard of Oz. As he also has the film rights to Wicked, that choice may be more likely.

There was also a rumor of a new Wizard of Oz movie coming out in 2008, but all I found were rumors on a message board. If any of these films are actually in production, it could be that they were actually seeing something about one of them.

A pitch that has been making rounds is called Above Kansas, a sequel to the MGM movie. (When will they ever learn that you can't really do a sequel to that one?)

So, like I have said, there seems to be great interest in an Oz movie. I just hope I can get some of my screenplays out there so we can finally have a talkie that presents Baum's Oz just the way it should be.

Current Benign Changes in OZ

The L. Frank Baum's The Marvelous Land of Oz screenplay is continuing! But currently I've made a few changes.

1. Jellia Jamb was dismissed from her position by Jinjur, but her keys were not take from her. She uses these to open the doors of the palace for the Scarecrow.

2. Jinjur locks up the palace. As a result, she is surprised to see the Scarecrow & Co. enter, but not worried.

3. Mombi appears and tells Tip that she's going to turn him into marble, instead of Jinjur threatening everyone else.

4. The Scarecrow lets the Field Mice free to stop Mombi. As a result, all females flee the throne room.

In addition, the posititioning of some speeches and events are altered for better drama.

Comment and tell me what you think!

Tip Vs. Charlie

Here is a casting idea: Freddie Highmore (Charlie, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) as Tip. While I believe Freddie could play the role when he's a bit older, I believe Charlie and Tip are two very different characters.

TIP is a young boy (probably in his early teens) who doesn't know the exact truth of his past, but he is bold and is not afraid to speak his mind. He takes hold of his own destiny and makes his own decisions. A very independent young man. It turns out that he is really Princess Ozma under an enchantment. Even though he would prefer to remain a boy, he puts aside what he wants for the good of the people of Oz and becomes their rightful ruler.

CHARLIE is an even younger boy (preteen?) who lives with his family. In fact, he is a bit more comparable to my take on Dorothy than Tip. He respects and cares about them, even though it's just his parents, and four older people. He resists the temptations to misbehave in Willy Wonka's chocolate factory, and thus turns out be the only kid who won a golden ticket who wasn't "rotten." He is then bequeathed the Factory.

So, as you see, they are different characters, but the same actor could play them. I just think we'd better wait 'till Freddie's a little older.

First Chapter of WWOZ online for viewing

As of today, I uploaded my adaptation of the first chapter of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz to my Oz site: EDIT - The PDF has been removed from the site. It no longer reflects how I want to do this adaptation. The adaptation I am doing will not be exposed to the public.

The PDF was created with a great bit of free software called "OpenOfficeOrg."

Feel free to comment on it.

And once again: if you want to see a new Oz movie on the big screen, sign my petition!

http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/newoz

In the meantime, in L. Frank Baum's The Marvelous Land of Oz, the Sawhorse and Jack Pumpkinhead are about to run away from Tip, who shouted the wrong thing at the wrong time.

I watched a bootleg DVD of the Lost in Oz pilot yesterday. Watching that helps to warn me not to make Oz too dark...

"Dorothy: Viva La Simplicity!" & The MGM movie

Dorothy Gale is a very simple character in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. She doesn't need to be placed under a microscope to find out why she does what she does. When she gets to Oz, all she wants is to go home to her Uncle Henry and Aunt Em so they won't worry about her. She has no other motives. This simplicity is why her character is so charming in the book. (In later books as she grew older, her character got a little more complicated, but not too much.)

In many film versions of Oz, this simplicity is lost, and, sadly, so is the charm of her character. (The MGM film did not lose it but simply enhanced it!) This is obviously a big strength of her character, and that is why I retained it in my screenplay for L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. I hope that I can get this screenplay to someone who can make it into a major motion picture (with a chance for a sequel?) with the publicity that this is not to replace the MGM movie (it's a classic and there's no replacing it!) but to offer a cinematic version of Oz that is very close to Baum's original spirit and story. That is why I put "L. Frank Baum's" at the beginning of each title.

Please, if you're reading this, sign the petition! It only has three signatures so far (one of them mine) and that won't be enough to convince anyone! The link is http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/newoz. Please sign and give the link to all of your friends who like fantasy movies and Oz!

Sequel started

Well, I couldn't wait to start the sequel...

So I did!

L. Frank Baum's The Marvelous Land of Oz opens in Kansas, where Dorothy and Aunt Em talk about Oz. Aunt Em is a little skeptical, saying "I'm sure that cyclone took you somewhere, but are you sure that you didn't just have a dream?" Dorothy assures her that Oz is real, she has friends there, and then she wonders what is happening in Oz now. Moving up to the sky is used to transition the film from Kansas to the Gillikin Country of Oz.

I've also made this one more humorous than Wonderful Wizard. When Mombi tells Tip she intends to make him into a marble statue for her garden, he says "I hope they (the flowers) all wilt." Mombi responds with "I'll have no more of that talk! Especially when you become a statue!"

Keep you posted!

P.S. If you're reading this blog, please comment to let me know you're out there! I'll be more likely to keep you informed of my Adventure adapting the Oz series into films if I know someone's interested.

Screenplay finished

I've finished my screenplay. Oz was not easy to adapt without making it seem like the MGM movie. It feels like a very nice film already, and it's also kind of fast-paced. I'm thinking of, however, doing something to give the Wicked Witch of the West some more screen time as she is not introduced until the Wizard tells Dorothy & Co to kill her. (Just like the book.) I've started my petition (to send with my screenplay to show that there is an audience for a new Oz movie) and here is the link: http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/newoz

I really like how this screenplay turned out just in it's first draft! I wish I could just send it to someone because I want to get started on the sequel: L. Frank Baum's The Marvelous Land of Oz!

Update

I haven't updated my blog in awhile.

I've actually started writing my own screenplay for The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and so far have actually gotten pretty far into it. The Wicked Witch of the West is dead, and they're just about to re-enter the Emerald City. I cut out the Winged Monkey's story because it doesn't work in a film. I left in the Scarecrow and Tin Woodman's stories (the latter expanded with information from The Tin Woodman of Oz) because they are principal characters, and showing their stories makes the fulfillment of their wishes from the Wizard all the better. While the Winged Monkeys obviously want to be free from the power of the Golden Cap of Queala (as I call it in the screenplay), they are not principal characters, and thus their story will not be as meaningful as that of Dorothy and Co. (Perhaps a short about them would work, though, climaxing with Glinda presenting them with the Golden Cap, and they promise to be of service.)

I set up the character of Dorothy as a young girl who loves her guardians very much, and thus doesn't want them to worry about her, which is why she wants to go back to Kansas, as she tells the Scarecrow...

"DOROTHY: It's not Kansas I want to go back to. It's where my Aunt Em and Uncle Henry live, and they care about me, and I care about them. I want to go back so they won't worry about me. It's because our homes are where there are people who love that we'd rather live there than anywhere else. There is no place like home.

"SCARECROW: I don't really understand."

To help this theme throughout the screenplay, Dorothy carries with her a portrait of Aunt Em and Uncle Henry on their wedding day. The picture is introduced in Kansas, where Aunt Em tells Dorothy about all the dissappointment they've had with living on the prarie. (This is all in Baum's book, I just had to bring it out.) Dorothy finds the portrait when she is packing her basket to leave the "crashed" house to follow the Yellow Brick Road. The Tin Woodman later comments that "If I had a family like that, I'd want to go back." When Jellia Jamb shows Dorothy her room in the palace and Dorothy is left alone, she unpacks her basket and finds the picture and says "I'm coming home as soon as I can, Aunt Em. You, too, Uncle Henry."

There are many little "enhancements," but the characters all do the same things (unlike the new Narnia's treatment of the character of the Fox) they do in the book. They just do some extra things, too. Example: when they are attacked by the Witches' wolves, the Lion stands between them and Dorothy, the Scarecrow distracts them, and the Tin Woodman axes them.

I was tempted to go overboard on the violence and disgusting content (Tin Woodman killing a total of 41 animals, the Scarecrow versus the crows, the Lion's battle, an old woman dissolving into a puddle of ooze) but abstained. I even had the Tin Woodman not kill the Wildcat who is chasing the Queen of the Field Mice, but instead throws it in the River where it swims to the surface, but is swept away by the current.

When I complete the screenplay, I'm thinking of starting a petition to show the results to film companies I'd send it to, so they'd know that this screenplay has some interest in it, and interest means these people would want to see a finished film, and likely tell their friends, relatives, etc. To promote the petition, I'm thinking of making a video with my own artwork of scenes from OZ with the track "Flying" from the 2003 film version of Peter Pan playing. Screens of text, "The story that readers have loved for over 100 years returns to the screen with new life. YOU'VE NEVER SEEN OZ LIKE THIS! Support the screenplay. Sign the petition."

Well, here's to Baum!