Melodramatic Diary of a Cynic: Wizards of Oz

What Tarot Card Are You?

You are The Hermit

Prudence, Caution, Deliberation.

The Hermit points to all things hidden, such as knowledge and inspiration,hidden enemies. The illumination is from within, and retirement from participation in current events.

The Hermit is a card of introspection, analysis and, well, virginity. You do not desire to socialize; the card indicates, instead, a desire for peace and solitude. You prefer to take the time to think, organize, ruminate, take stock. There may be feelings of frustration and discontent but these feelings eventually lead to enlightenment, illumination, clarity.

The Hermit represents a wise, inspirational person, friend, teacher, therapist. This a person who can shine a light on things that were previously mysterious and confusing.

Over at Vic's Maybe It's Just Me..., I've been reading a lot about new projects that has to do with the story of Wizard of Oz. So I started wondering how many Wizard of Oz related movies are coming out. An article over at Moviefone has the answer (maybe part of it):

1. Surrender Dorothy (2011)

Expected to come out next year, it's Surrender Dorothy. The project was announced back in 2002, it's based on a script by Zach Helm and it will be Drew Barrymore's 2nd directing project. It's a modern day interpretation much like Enchanted about the great granddaughter of Dorothy trying to use th power of the ruby slippers to defeat the apparently still alive Wicked Witch of the West.

2. Oz: The Great and Powerful (2013)

I guess there's no project that Robert Downey Jr. won't want to participate in, he's practically in every franchise will be playing the almighty wizard of OZ in this upcoming project. Sam Raimi is set to direct this prequel to the Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the man behind Alice in Wonderland Joe Roth will be producing this one along with Disney. Instead of having Dorothy as the main character, this movie will be telling the story from the wizard's point of view. No music but more action.

Let's be honest and say that it'll focus on Robert Downey Jr. and it's be like any other of his movies.

3. Oz (2013)

Not much news for this one yet, but the folks behind Twilight and Warner Bros/New Line are behind this one. Darren Lemke who wrote Shrek Forever After wrote the script for it. It's a retelling of the original Judy Garland movie The Wonderful Wizard of Oz with more action and less music. Personally I'd like to think that Toto is a werewolf and the witches are vampires, and Dorothy is a emo girl traveling with an ogre, gingerbread man and puss in boots to see her emo boy, but that could be just me.

4. The Twisted Land of Oz (201?)

Comic artist Todd McFarlane of Spawn fame who has designed a series of twisted figurines based on the Wonderful Wizard of Oz. His Oz includes a Scarecrow who's torn apart by ravenous birds, a Tin Man who's a junkpile of Edward Scissorhands-like limbs, a flesh-eating Lion who's not at all cowardly, a Wizard who's a gas-mask-wearing mad scientist, a carnivorous creature dubbed Toto after it eats Dorothy's dog, and a nubile Dorothy who's bound and molested by depraved Munchkins. Even though he claimed that Michael Bay will direct this project and it could be distributed by Warner Bros, it seems like it is still in the pitching phase and will most likely be buried under all the other competing projects based on the same inspiration.

5. Oz: Return to the Emerald City (2012)

This might be Warner Bros' third Oz project and it takes a similar route as Surrender Dorothy, but this modern day interpretation is not about Dorothy's great granddaughter but her granddaughter who's an adult lawyer living in Chicago. She's set to defeat a new witch in Oz along with her grandmother's old pals. The script is written by Josh Olson.

6. Wicked (2012)

There's news that the Broadway hit Wicked will be brought to the silver screen which would be great. The fans of the musical would know that it's kind of a prequel to the Wonderful Wizard of Oz retelling a different version of the background to shine a different light to the story. I've tried to get tickets to the musical for the longest time and could never manage to see it. Putting it on the big screen will definitely draw a lot of people, if, we are not tired of seeing all the other ones yet. Even it's set to come out in 2012, no one has been cast yet and there has been no signs of production beyond having a script.

7. Dorothy of Oz (2012)

This animated series is a sequel to the Wonderful Wizard of Oz where after Dorothy clicked her heels and went back to Kansas and found it destroyed by the tornado and everyone is moving out. She got mysteriously sent back to Oz again but find it deserted and decaying. All the people in Oz went missing. On her way back to Emerald City, she finds herself some new characters and a new villain in the form of a Jester. It's an all star cast, hopefully some music in this one. I just saw 1985's Return to Oz with The Craft's Fairuza Balk, I guess it will have feel if not storyline.

There's also a MySpace movie project called Wheeler of Oz that just came out and I just watched The Wiz again a few weeks ago. Why are all the Oz movies coming out in the same time? Even one new movie every year is a bit too much. I'm only interested in Wicked anyway.