We had some fun...

That last entry was fun, wasn't it? How about every now and then I put up a few of my Ozian YouTube findings?

Now for something about the blog... I've already proved that I could post almost everyday, BUT... some of my 32 blog entries during the past month are kind of bland and dealt a little too much with personal life and not really much about Oz. I obviously put "quantity over quality" and tried to come up with a topic every day. I did that, and a lot of them seem like I wrote just it to have a blog entry that day. Sadly enough, in some cases, that is true.

Now, I would like to keep my blog updated very often, but I don't think I'll try another stunt like this again. What with this also being the production blog for The Wonders of Oz and other topics, I should be able to come up with some good entries.

Auf Wiederschen, good night!

GREAT Oz Videos!

Well, I have some advice... Don't get stuck on YouTube! You'll start finding funny things to make you LOL!

Like this "alternate ending" for Wicked (the musical) that was actually performed onstage!


Or this Family Guy tribute to The Wiz (the movie)...


And Eric Gjovaag said I could put the Tin Man ad in here, so here we go!


Hopefully you LOLed somewhere in there!

Some news

Okay, I have found a program that will help me take care of updating my Oz site more easily.

Also, Eric Gjovaag is showing a preview for the SciFi Channel's Tin Man in his blog. It looks really good! I'd embed it here, but it was uploaded by Mrs. Gjovaag, so I'm just linking to the entry, out of respect for them.

Now I wish I could see the series when it airs... (No cable for me!)

I talked to Aaron Pacentine earlier today. Episode 2 of The Wonders of Oz will be recorded soon, and he is also finishing TWO new episodes of Returning to Oz for his site. (Yeah, I'll be reviewing them!)

Anyone want to guess what Oz book I've been reading during my breaks at work?

Baum books on the way....

Today, I finally made my order with Hungry Tiger Press for their new editions of The Flying Girl & Her Chum and John Dough & The Cherub. However, I had to go for the more economical Media Mail instead of Priority Mail. With the recent increase in shipping costs, it was about $6.50 vs. a little over $13.

I'll be sure to let you know what I think of the books when I get them. I am sure they are of a high quality, though.

It's official... Dorothy & Ozma Productions will be moving

Tonight, I found my new server. It is called 8tt.org.

Why do I think it would serve my purposes? Please forgive what sounds like shoddy advertising, but you get...

• Use your own domain name
  
• 10 GB Disk Space
  
• 10 GB Bandwidth
  
• FTP Access
  
• NO ADS!

I've already registered. The new URL will be http://dorothyozmapro.8tt.org, but I will not be changing any links or reccomending that people change their links until I get a new version of the site set up.

Can't wait to get to work. Now... I should go ahead and get the pictures needed for The Wonders of Oz episode 2 ready... and episode 3...

OH! And speaking of The Wonders of Oz, I have decided to merge the episode about new Oz books after the Famous Forty into the episode about Oz fans.

I Want To Move My Oz Site

Recently, I've grown very dissatisfied with Tripod's service. (I even tried upgrading my account, but their site crashed on me.) As a result, I am looking to move (and renovate) my Oz website.

Here are some changes I want to make...

The online books available in PDF format as well as having them as regular webpages.

Expand the library to include more than just the Oz books. I also want to include the Royal Historians' other public domain works and let folks submit fan fiction.

Expanding the Woggle-Bug Review with a page for each item reviewed.

Give the site an even more user-friendly layout.

Give the site a more update-friendly style. (I HAVE been planning on adding a page with my Oz YouTube videos, but I'd have to go into each and every page and add a new link. I'd like to set it up where I just have to add a link once, and that's that.)

NOT SO MAJOR... I want to have the Oz Games collection available as an installation download, so it can be run without saving it your computer first. I do not like having the installation file in a zip, but Tripod requires it if it will be downloaded.

So... with that being said, anyone got any suggestions on a good server?

(Yes, I also posted this on the International Wizard of Oz Club's Message Board. Just REALLY want to do this!)

Get out of my brain, Skot!

On the Daily Ozmapolitan, I found this link: boxoffice.thepodcastnetwork.com/2007/07/24/click-your-heels-together-producers/

Apparently, Skot C. has hacked into the e-mail correspondence of Sam Antony Milazzo and I OR came up with this himself.

In this open letter, he challenges movie producers to pick up on the Oz books. That's what I've been saying for the last two years or so. And, it seems, some folks have listened, although, a large-scale feature film has yet to be realized.

Alpine Pictures is producing Dorothy of Oz, an adaptation of Roger S. Baum's first (and seemingly best) Oz book.

There is also a computer-animated adaptation of The Tin Woodman of Oz in the works. It will be to test out some new software, and will be put together by computer animators all throughout the world, Wiki-style. Last I heard, it is planned for a 2008 release.

The SciFi Channel is producing Tin Man, featuring Zooey Deschanel and Alan Cummings as DG (Dorothy equivalent) and Glitch (Scarecrow equivalent), respectively.

Although nothing has been heard for awhile (unless someone has heard something), Oz Kids creator Willard Carroll is producing a Bollywood Oz movie. That means for India. Only thing I've seen is a weird picture of an emerald Taj Mahal.

On an off-note, the movie The Haunting completely ruined the idea of anything resembling the Taj Mahal in Oz for me. Remember, it isn't a gift, it's a tomb.

And there are fan films, too. Sean Pollock is working on a Sims Patchwork Girl of Oz. I wonder if he's seen Thundertoad Animation's version... Someone else is synching a Sims movie to the Colonial Radio Theatre's audio adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. There is a fan movie in the works on YouTube called The Princess of Oz, which seems to largely feature the Patchwork Girl and the Scarecrow. Although it's a documentary and not a story, I guess The Wonders of Oz is also a fan production, along with Gabriel Rodriguez's upcoming Return to Oz documentary, The Joy That Got Away.

Is the time right for an Oz feature film? I'd say it's overdue, and so do some of the wonderful Oz fans out there who have contacted me through the blog. Sam and I want to see a good adaptation done right. We want a faithful adaptation of the story that is not dull, and will not follow Eragon's special effects-driven style. There is an excellent story to work with here. It doesn't need to be bogged down with a lot of extra curliques and new details, although some touches wouldn't hurt. (Like my idea of showing how Dorothy's parents died, thus setting the mood for how we find the small Kansas farm and it's keepers at the beginning of the book.)

But some of Skot's comments here... Sam and I have been over most of these. It's like he dug into our brains. Who knows... maybe he's read my blog...

More Wonders!

I am still awaiting Aaron's narration of The Wonders of Oz episode 2. (Please remember, he is a busy chap, just like most of us.) In the meantime, I'm going to get more pictures ready and... I've already written episode 3, which, according to plan, will be about the non-Baum "Famous Forty" Oz books. It will end on a rather sad note, but will be picked up in a future episode.

Here is the episode list as it stands now...
EPISODE 0: Introduction
EPISODE 1: L. Frank Baum & The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
EPISODE 2: L. Frank Baum: 1900-1919
L. Frank Baum's life after the publication of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz."
EPISODE 3: The Oz Books Live On
The other Royal Historians, from Thompson to the McGraws.
EPISODE 4: The Fans of Oz
A treatise on the Oz fans, the International Wizard of Oz Club, and Oz websites.
EPISODE 5: International Oz
About the impact of Oz in other countries, but will mostly cover the "Magic Land" series in Russia.
EPISODE 6: Oz on Stage
From the 1902 musical to stage adaptations of the MGM movie.
EPISODE 7: Oz in Film: 1908-1933
Covers film adaptations from the Fairylogue & Radio Plays to the Ted Eshbaugh cartoon.
EPISODE 8: Leo in Oz
The MGM movie.
EPISODE 9: Oz In Pop Culture
The MGM's movie's influence on pop culture.
EPISODE 10: Easing On Down The Road
Oz in public domain, Oz movies of the '60s and '70s, and The Wiz.
EPISODE 11: Disney Goes To Oz
Disney's Oz projects, "The Rainbow Road to Oz," the read-along records, and "Return to Oz."
EPISODE 12: The Oz Books Live Again
About the new wave of Oz books written by Oz fans.
EPISODE 13: Wicked
About the book, it's sequels, and the musical.

There may be special episodes after this run or even during it. We'll see. One idea is an episode about L. Frank Baum's pseudonymous books. (Feel free to throw out any new ideas.) The list is very likely to change. (EXAMPLE: Since it's last revision, I have moved the episode about the MGM movie's impact to be made after the one about the movie.)

Returning to Oz #25

Well, there's a new episode up for "Returning to Oz," BUT... this time, it's a video. And it's on YouTube, so NO DOWNLOADING REQUIRED. (I mean, you can download YouTube videos and convert them to practically any format you like, but that's beyond the scope of this blog...)

In the first part, after we are introduced to Aaron Pacentine, Sean Pollock, and Gabriel Rodriguez, Sean and Gabe talk a little bit about some of their Oz projects, including Mr. Rodriguez's upcoming Return to Oz documentary, which will be called The Joy That Got Away. During the rest of part 1, Sean talks about his experience with the Wicked musical. Interest piqued? Here's part 1.


On to part 2!
Sean talks a little bit about international Wicked. Gabriel is also able to talk about his inspiration for his upcoming documentary. (You can bet I'll blog on that!) Sean also shows off a bit of his Oz collection, including a first edition of "The Sea Fairies," a copy of "The Patchwork Girl of Oz" (which he says is believed to be a first edition, but it is obviously not, as it is in paperback), and some other items, including a sample of Queen Ann in Oz co-author Karyl Carlson's Oz Dolls. Get the full eyeful below!


And we then come to part 3. Sean shows off a few books in his collection. (He mistakenly calls the Return to Oz novelization "very rare.") Aaron closes the show with letting Sean and Gabriel and then himself talk about why they love Oz, especially Return to Oz.
And I guess you're expecting to see part 3 here, so here you go...


All in all, this is a very solid way to try out a new format for the series. The video would probably bore anyone with a short attention span, as it is, most of the time, three people talking to each other or to the camera/the audience. Sean doing his "show and tell," however, offers a bit of a break for anyone who thinks "talking heads" are dull. But to anyone interested in Oz, this will be a delight.

Guidelines for submitting to "The Wonders of Oz"

(Splitting last blog entry.)

As I've pointed people to my blog with my video, I guess I'd better explain the "help out" thing...

You can lend a hand in producing The Wonders of Oz. What'll it cost you? Nothing! I made the episode with no budget! (Well, other than the utility bill, the phone bill, and I guess rent, too.) If you are interested in being a "substitute" host in case Aaron Pacentine is too busy to record the narration, you can e-mail me a recorded sample of your voice. (I prefer mp3 files.) If I decide to have you narrate an episode, your real name and your photograph will be included. (These are a MUST. Being the host is not for anyone who wishes to be anonymous.)

If you have something you'd like to say, you can record it in either audio or video. The video cannot go over one minute of length, unless I specially request it. I am limited by YouTube's 10-minute length, and, in addition, we need to cater to those with short attention spans. I will also need your real name here, unless you remain anonymous, which will go only for audio. You can also send little interesting facts that you think should be included in certain episodes. (I'll get a revised list of planned episodes up soon.)

The biggest thing I need help with are the pictures! Seriously, I HATE scanning! I'll do it, however. If you have rare pictures that will be of use in the episodes, please send them. If you have pictures scanned into your computer, please send them. Even if I already have a copy I'm using, I'll credit you. (You CAN remain anonymous here!)

One thing I do want to ask. Please do not send me links on where or who I can get information from. I'm not mentioning any names, because it's been more than one person. But most of the time when this happens, I was already aware of what you're trying to say. Someone, in fact, even suggested that I consult Aaron Pacentine! (They obviously did not keep track on my blog of how I have had communication with him, and how I appeared on his radio show, and how I review HIS show, and before that e-mail, he had already expressed interest in being the host.) I've been researching Oz for awhile now, folks! If I didn't know these certain things, I wouldn't be doing this show. Pure and simple. I'm not trying to be rude, but there we go.

Now for my e-mail. View it in my Blogger profile. Basically, if you can't click on my pic and find the e-mail address, something is seriously wrong with you.