Wicked hype and who's sitting it out

 As of this week, tickets are on sale for the long-awaited film adaptation of the musical Wicked. The film is confirmed to run for 160 minutes, 20 minutes shy of three hours. Winnie Holzman better have written the heck out of the story in this new, expanded form because this movie is only adapting the Act 1 portion of the musical with Act 2 making up Wicked: Part 2 next year.

The cast and crew are doing interviews and planning tours, some fans have gotten huge promotional gifts and have even seen the movie early. (Not that they can say anything.)

And there's a ton of merchandise from tie in books to a board game, a Monopoly game, clothing (including a Target exclusive line of clothes designed by costume designer Paul Tazewell), prop replicas, Halloween costumes, Funko Pops, LEGO sets, Squishmallows and dolls.

I decided to get the dolls based on picking up earlier lines of dolls tying in with Oz the Great and Powerful, the 75th anniversary MGM Wizard of Oz dolls, and a doll based on Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return as well as customizing my own dolls based on Polychrome, Ozma and Glinda.

Given that the Wicked dolls are likely to be popular, I've been proactive about getting them, preordering them before they can sell out.

Here's what's available: six dolls are available from most retailers, please note that only dolls with the word "deluxe" in the name or description include a doll stand. All other dolls don't, so if you collect Oz dolls for display, either leave them in box or prepare to invest in some stands.

• Deluxe Elphaba (based on the "Defying Gravity" sequence, complete with hat, bookbag, cape and broom)
• Deluxe Glinda (based on the "bubble dress" she wears during "No One Mourns The Wicked, including a crown and wand)
• Singing Glinda (based on her outfit during the "Popular" sequence, the doll plays two clips from the song)
• Nessarose (based on her appearance during the OzDust Ballroom sequence with her wheelchair)
• Elphaba (based on her appearance during the OzDust Ballroom sequence with her hat and a bookbag)
• Glinda (based on her appearance during the OzDust Ballroom sequence)

Three dolls are exclusive to Walmart stores and being sold online:

• Elphaba at Shiz University (dressed as she appears in scenes in the film as seen in trailers, featuring a striped asymmetrical jacket and a pleated asymmetrical skirt)
• Glinda at Shiz University (dressed as she appears during her arrival at Shiz)
• Madame Morrible (dressed as she appears early in the film)

Two dolls are exclusive to Target stores and are available online:

• Singing Elphaba (dressed as she appears in the latter portion of the film during "One Short Day" and going forward, but without her "Defying Gravity" cape and broom, the doll plays two clips from "Defying Gravity")
• Fiyero (dressed as he appears during the "Dancing Through Life" sequence)

In addition, Mattel Creations online is selling a deluxe two-pack of Madame Morrible and Elphaba as they appear during tutoring sessions as seen in trailers, this is the only Elphaba doll to include the glasses she wears in the film.

With thirteen dolls, the Wicked line is already expansive, and there's a second movie coming next year, and potentially even more merchandise to keep the pegs warm until then.

Personally, I hope the Wicked line gives us a doll of Jeff Goldblum's Wizard, as the character hasn't gotten much love in fashion doll form for any Oz line, with the exception of Oz the Great and Powerful, though James Franco's Wizard might not be the preferred one to include with dolls from other lines.

The soundtrack is releasing November 22, the same day as the film's wide release so you can listen to the songs right after seeing the movie. The tracklist as announced does not include any new songs or tracks from the score, but no Act 1 songs from the musical have been dropped. It'll be available to be streamed from digital music platforms or purchased for your own library, and there are multiple vinyl and CD editions available for preorder.

It's a good time to be an Oz fan, even if you don't care for Wicked, because if the movie does as well as the current hype is suggesting, studios might be open to making more Oz films or television productions. The recent Broadway revival of The Wiz with its new Amber Ruffin-penned book has already had some rumblings about a film version, but as it would be under Universal and they're currently doing Wicked, they'd wait until this one is over and then produce it if they chose to. Maybe Warner Brothers could finally make an Oz film of their own instead of just exploiting the MGM film.

And speaking of the MGM film, Warner Brothers has barely done anything with the fact that it's the 85th anniversary of MGM's The Wizard of Oz, which they own the rights to. They will be reissuing the 4K disc and Blu-Ray in a steelbook edition with recycled cover art from the 2005 3-disc DVD collector's edition of the film, featuring the Wicked Witch of the West's silhouette over her crystal ball with Dorothy and her friends visible inside against a green background. It also includes some paper goods the 2005 set included: a reproduction ticket, invitation and program for the premiere of the film with reproduction lobby cards and reproductions of different 1939 posters on cards. Which would be fine if it was selling for about $40 or less, but the price on preorders ranges from $53 (DeepDiscount) to $80 (Amazon), which makes it unattractive for those of us who already own the film in 4K as we've had no indication that there'll be any new content on the discs.

If, say, Flicker Alley released a collection of the Oz silent films restored in high definition, I'd expect to get it for about $45, what they charge for one of their Laurel and Hardy collections, and I'd love to buy that as soon as possible if it was available. But I own MGM's The Wizard of Oz on four DVD sets, a 3D/standard Blu-Ray collection and the first 4K release, and a laserdisc set and a handful of VHS tapes I can't use, but the packaging is pretty. I'm not interested in paying a premium price for essentially no new content.

And this is the only major new thing coming from the MGM film's branding aside from more licensed merchandise. No new books on the making of the film, no exciting publications of production materials, Mattel isn't even reissuing their famous Barbie Oz dolls, trying to see if they can get an even better Judy Garland likeness.

With the closure of the Boomerang streaming service, the recent animated series Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz is now only legally available for digital purchase with a nice bundle price exclusive to iTunes. And may I note, it bummed me out that the series began as a Boomerang exclusive but they never released all of the episodes on that service, keeping the last several for broadcast and purchase only. And no, it's not available to stream on Max. The series got 20 episodes released across two DVDs. There's no announcement of a Blu-Ray release yet.

Frankly, it's just frustrating to see Oz back in a big way in the public consciousness and Warner Brothers doing almost nothing to even exploit the MGM film or other Oz properties they own. Even Books of Wonder plans to begin reissuing the Thompson Oz books in hardcover now that more are in the public domain, and a Baum family member wrote a new Oz picture book. Gregory Maguire has turned out a book about young Elphaba that'll be available early next year titled Elphie, expanding his work for his take on Oz to eight novels and one short story collection.

... Sony/Disney? Can we get a Return to Oz 4K upgrade for next year? I'll preorder and tell my friends.

The Wicked Movies Have Begun Filming

Well, the title says it all. Film has begun rolling (metaphorically since most movies are shot on digital) on director John M. Chu's two-part film adaptation of the musical Wicked: The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz.

Along with the news, more casting of principal roles have been announced. I say this because with casting announcements, there's an inaccurate perception that the roles are cast as they're announced. They need time to make sure songs are arranged to bring out the best performances and costumes are ready to go. Rather, they get cast well ahead of time. Announcing them is part of the publicity for the film.

Jeff Goldblum has been confirmed as playing the Wizard in the movies. He should need no introduction, but if you're not familiar, he made his big break in David Cronenberg's remake of The Fly in 1986, then went on to feature in 1993's Jurassic Park and 1996's Independence Day. More recently, he's played the Grandmaster in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, appearing in 2017's Thor: Ragnarok. He also leads Disney+'s The World According to Jeff Goldblum and is commonly seen in commercials for Apartments.com.

In addition, Michelle Yeoh has been cast as Madame Morrible, the headmistress of Shiz University. The casting is unexpected but a welcome surprise. The Malaysian actress has featured in several roles in film and television over the years, more recently joining the Star Trek franchise in the first season of Star Trek: Discovery, playing two roles in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and starring in this year's sci-fi hit Everything Everywhere All At Once.

Ethan Slater has been cast as Boq, one of the students at Shiz University who crushes on Galinda but ends up involved with Nessarose, Elphaba's sister. The role is highly changed from the Gregory Maguire novel in which he is the Munchkin farmer from the original Baum book, he just happened to have brushed shoulders with Glinda and the "wicked" witches back in the day. Slater received a Drama Desk award for his lead role in Spongebob Squarepants: The Broadway Musical, a role he later reprised for a filmed television version.

After these featured castings, a number of smaller roles were announced: wheelchair using actress Marissa Bode is making her feature film debut as Nessarose. Saturday Night Live cast member Bowen Yang and actress Bronwyn James are playing Pfanee and ShenShen, two Shiz classmates who are depicted as good friends with Galinda. Aaron Teoh will be playing Avaric, Fiyero's footman and driver. Colin Michael Carmichael will be playing Dr. Nikidik, the teacher who replaces Dr. Dillamond.

The most surprising casting is Keala Settle as Miss Coddle. The actress and singer featured as a bearded lady in 2017's The Greatest Showman, impressing audiences with her singing voice. The character is seemingly original to the film adaptation. Given her incredible pipes, it's suspected she'll be singing one of the new songs Stephen Schwartz has been penning for the film.

Still to be announced is who's playing Dr. Dillamond. Given that the character is a goat, it is entirely possible that the role will be played by a stand-in during principal photography and created with CG in post-production, to be voiced by a yet to be announced surprise star.

Other roles yet to be confirmed are Frex and Melena, Nessarose and Elphaba's parents. It's also hoped that original Broadway cast members of the musical—especially stars Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenowith—will be appearing in cameos.

While Wicked isn't every Oz fan's cup of tea, it's exciting to have a film project to look forward to, and I'm very interested to see John Chu's new incarnation of the story.

The Wicked movie has its leads!

 Recently, the Wicked musical was criticized for never having cast Elphaba with a woman of color. The actress playing the character has to wear green makeup covering her face and hands throughout the musical, so her physical appearance is already altered.

The Wicked movie, after years of development, finally made some announcements after hiring In The Heights and Crazy Rich Asians director John M. Chu: they're filming in London and they've cast their leads.

Singer and actress Ariana Grande will be playing Galinda/Glinda and actress Cynthia Erivo will play Elphaba.

 That's right, Elphaba will be played by a woman of color.

I'm not going to claim to be too familiar with the work of either. I've never been in much of Ariana's target demographic. I did see Hairspray Live! in which she played Penny, and I've blogged about Mika's "Popular Song" where she sings with him and appears in the radio/music video version which uses "Popular" from Wicked as a basis.

Cynthia Erivo starred in Harriet, the Harriet Tubman biopic from a couple years ago. Last year, she voiced Madame Moonshine, "the witchy little owl" in a Hank the Cowdog podcast, singing the song "Disorientation" alongside Matthew McConaughey. She also took part in Wicked in Concert on PBS.

There's a seven year age difference between the two, however, this is a movie, there's various makeup and digital tricks to make the actresses look younger or older as needed, and one of them is going to be made to have green skin throughout.

We're now awaiting the rest of the cast, such as who'll play the Wizard (Tara and EmKay of Down the Yellow Brick Pod have been putting forward Andre DeShields), Madame Morrible, Boq, Fiyero, Nessarose and other cast members.

Anyway, this is definitely good news for the movie as we'd had no confirmed cast members before, which didn't suggest a lot of activity on the project. If the production doesn't meet with any more issues, we should be getting it in the next few years. 2022 might be too soon, 2023 looks good, though they'll likely aim for a holiday release, so we should expect to wait two years. (It was previously slated for December 2019, before being taken off the release schedule and the date given to the film adaptation of Cats.)

Oz news!

Any Oz fan who enjoys podcasts needs to be subscribing to a couple podcasts. (In addition to The Royal Podcast of Oz, which will be returning soon.)

First of all is Crossover Adventure Productions, which is currently running Season Two of "The Chronicles of Oz," adapting The Marvelous Land of Oz. This adaptation takes a few twists on the story, just as season 1 took twists on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, but it's proved delightful and very exciting.

Second of all is another story telling podcast, Hit The Bricks. This series has a pilot up, with a brand new story that involves some of the smaller Oz characters. They'll soon be running a Kickstarter to raise funds to pay the costs of running a podcast, and are also casting several characters.

In some sadder news, blog team member Craig Noble is having to part with his collection of valuable Oz and Baum books, including many first editions in dustjackets. PBA Galleries will be handling the auction in San Francisco on November 29, 2018.

In new Oz book news, The Lost Tales of Oz is finally out. This anthology is full of fun Oz stories by Oz fans and established writers such as Nathan DeHoff, Mike Conway, Michael O. Riley, Eric Shanower, David Tai, Paul Dana, J.L. Bell, Jeff Rester, M.A. Berg, Marcus Mebes, Andrew Heller, Sam Sackett, editor Joe Bongiorno, and yours truly. The book is illustrated by Eric Shanower in his lively, detailed classic Oz style. The book features a framing sequence of Dorothy, Trot and Betsy looking through new entries that have appeared in the Royal Library of Oz. Some of these tales have supposedly slipped through the cracks and aren't presented in chronological order. One of the longer tales follows the three other search parties in The Lost Princess of Oz, offering many Easter eggs for well-versed fans. And it's not quite all rainbows and yellow brick roads, either as a few stories might contain a moments better appreciated by older Oz fans.

Finally, Oz fan Anthony Whitaker is using Indiegogo to seek funding for his new play, Scraps, presenting the further adventures of the Patchwork Girl. Perks include a poster, online access to a video version of the play, and a script in return for donations from $35-$100.

Oz news! The Ruby Slippers are finally all accounted for!

Of all the existing costumes and props used in MGM's The Wizard of Oz—which will have its 80th anniversary next year—the most iconic have been the Ruby Slippers. Audiences thrill to see the sparkly red pumps on Judy Garland's feet throughout the film, at first taken from the Wicked Witch of the East, then given to Dorothy, which makes the Wicked Witch of the West target her. At the close of the film, Glinda reveals these very shoes were Dorothy's ticket home the entire time, having her tap her heels together and say the now iconic line, "There's no place like home."

The film had changed the shoes from the book's Silver Shoes, deciding that a sparkly red looked better than shiny grey. The effect was created by sewing sequins onto shoes made by the Innes Shoe Company of Los Angeles, dyed a dark red. In addition, bows studded with false glass gems were added.

No one knows how many pairs of shoes were made and used in the film. The producer once gave a figure of "from five to ten," a wardrobe department employee offered a number of six. The need for so many is easily explained. Judy's stand-in and double also needed pairs. Judy's feet would swell after filming in the morning and she would use a slightly larger pair later in the day. And if something happened to the shoes, if they became damaged, there would be a backup so the crew could simply change pairs and continue with filming. Some pairs had felt on the soles so when Judy had to dance, the felt would muffle the sound of them hitting the stage. At least one pair didn't have felt as the soles were seen in the film without them.

One test pair with a notably different design, including curled toes, is known to exist. Of however many pairs were made and used in the film, we only know about four pairs. Counting the test pair which wasn't used in the film, that makes five pairs.

These pairs were found by one Kent Warner as he was preparing for a major auction of MGM studio memorabilia. One of these were auctioned off in that auction for $15,000 in 1970. It seems that this is the pair that was recently conserved by the Smithsonian and will soon be back on display. Warner sold the test pair to Debbie Reynolds, and they were auctioned off in 2011. Another pair is in a private collection. Warner's own pair was eventually sold to a collector who used them for charitable purposes and let the Smithsonian display them as a substitute when their pair was elsewhere. This pair was sold in 2012 to become an asset for the upcoming museum by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Among the people who donated to purchase this pair were director Steven Spielberg and actor Leonardo DiCaprio.

And so we come to the most scandalous pair. Collector Michael Shaw loaned his pair to the Judy Garland Museum of Grand Rapids, Michigan (Garland's hometown). In 2005, the pair was stolen with hardly a trace as to the culprit or where to find them. The theft caused a sensation for fans of the MGM film, Oz at large and Judy Garland. There were much publicized searches for the stolen shoes involving flooded mine shafts and other places. Theories flew wild, I even reviewed a novel that presented a first-person fictional account of the theft. A documentary about the Ruby Slippers and the case was made. Some believed Shaw needed money and was holding out for the insurance payout, and given that it had been so long, he did indeed get the payout. (I state this not to accuse Mr. Shaw who I genuinely believe was grieved over the loss, but to state a theory and the fact that the payout did occur.)

Oz fans got the news today that after thirteen years, the stolen pair had finally been recovered by the FBI. It seems arrests of the culprits have yet to be made, so the full details of the case have not been revealed. What has been revealed is that they were recovered in a sting operation over the summer, which resulted from an extortion attempt (a "we'll give them back if you pay us" situation). A conservator from the Smithsonian who had been working on their pair of Ruby Slippers assisted in authenticating the recovered goods.

It appears that the long term plan is to restore the slippers to public display, however as the investigation is ongoing, the FBI is holding them as evidence.

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In some other news, it is the 40th anniversary of the film adaptation of The Wiz, starring Diana Ross and Michael Jackson. Looks like we're not getting a 40th anniversary 4K Blu-Ray or any special merchandise or reissues. To be fair, the film didn't recoup its budget, but it proved to be a big enough seller on home video that it was released on three Region 1 DVD editions (fullscreen, widescreen, anamorphic widescreen in 2008), and got upgraded to Blu-Ray in 2010, a fairly short time into the format's life. In addition, it's been subject to many airings on television as well as a handful of special film screenings.

And The Royal Blog of Oz would like your thoughts on the movie! We'd like to get a variety of perspectives on it. Love it? Like it? Hate it? Neutral? Let us know.

You can comment on this post or send an email to scarecrowandtinman2002@yahoo.com. Your commentary will be posted in a special blog entry and your name (or a pseudonym if you prefer, please specify) will appear with your comment. (I reserve the right to edit content appearing on the blog.) The plan is to release the blog within the next two weeks.

Oz News

It's been awhile since I blogged here about something besides the podcast... But I have some updates.

First is a sad one as late last month, we learned that Robin Olderman had passed away. I heard later that she had her family nearby and knew it was coming. I'm sure she also knew the good wishes of her friends in the Oz community were with her.

Robin was a lifelong Oz fan and longtime member of the International Wizard of Oz Club, who told me when I interviewed her for the podcast that when she first saw the MGM Wizard of Oz, she said aloud "That's not right!" in the theater when Glinda introduced herself as the Good Witch of the North. She wrote many pieces for The Baum Bugle and served as editor for Oziana for several years, even writing a few pieces for it.

But Robin made a lot of friends, particularly at Oz events and conventions. During my years at Winkie Con/Oz Con International, she attended every year. I've heard how she would "adopt" some friends and become very close with them. Her friendship with Oz artist Rob Roy MacVeigh was legendary enough that the two were immortalized as a caveman and his wife by Dick Martin in his Ozmapolitan of Oz.

At OzCon 2015, she happened to attend a video screening room I had provided a DVD of short Oz subjects to be shown. Part of them was my color tinting of the 1910 Wonderful Wizard of Oz film, and she later told me she enjoyed my treatment of the film. During our live commentary of Return to Oz with a handful of the cast and crew, Robin whispered her own commentary to me. It was this that led me to ask her to appear on the podcast, which I'm glad I did as it preserved her voice for other fans to hear. My title "Robin Olderman Spills The Beans" came directly from the candid nature of her conversation. She'll be missed.

We also have some home video news. If you recall, we noted that 2013's home video editions of MGM's The Wizard of Oz dropped the classic documentary The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: The Making of a Movie Classic, hosted by Angela Lansbury. It had been replaced with a new documentary, and seemingly, producer Jack Haley Jr. even sued about it as the new documentary seemed to derive content from the old one, plus with it dropped, no royalties were being paid any further, and with it no longer being a bonus feature, there were not many other avenues for it to be released.

Well, Warner Brothers seems to have rectified this with a solo release of the documentary on DVD in the Warner Archive collection, the manufacture on demand branch of Warner Home Video for titles with limited market appeal. It complements the special features very well, even with some repetition. Anyone with a DVD or Blu-Ray of MGM's The Wizard of Oz from 1999, 2005 or 2009 (with the exception of some DVD editions) already has it, though I'm sure that there are collectors who will pick up this release regardless.

Discotek—a home video producer specializing in anime and other Japan-originated properties—will finally be releasing the complete Wonderful Wizard of Oz anime series from PanMedia, using Cinar's English version to home video on August 29. No preorders are live. I am curious of the disc count of the DVD edition, as there are 52 episodes. However, they will also release it on SDBD: Standard Definition Blu-Ray, a Blu-Ray disc that uses DVD quality video (usually because no higher quality version can be made), but can take advantage of the large capacity of a Blu-Ray to hold a lot more content, which could easily fit all 52 episodes on a single dual-layer disc with a good amount of space left for some modest bonuses, which haven't been announced either.

The series has a lot of fans, so I know many people will be glad to hear that the English version is available on physical home video at last.

Diskotek has also released the first episode of the series in Japanese with English subtitles to YouTube, reportedly to "gauge interest." Whether this affects the home video edition or if they're considering somehow also releasing a Japanese language version with English subtitles, I'd suggest fans give it a watch or two, drop a like on YouTube, and share it with their friends.