Thursday, March 28, 2024

Hollywood Plans a “Wizard of Oz” Remake And You Know It’s Already a Very, Very Bad Idea

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Uh oh.

New Line Cinema at Warner Bros. is planning a “Wizard of Oz” remake. The 1939 classic is just that, a classic, and there’s no way it can be improved. So why not ruin it?

Instead of booking a director with musicals in their background, they’ve given the job to the director of HBO’s Emmy winning “Watchmen.” Warner’s had “Wizard of Oz” in their library, so they can do anything they want to it– and they will.

The only bright side here is that Marc Platt is one of the producers, so maybe he’ll get new songs from Pasek and Paul, his “La La Land” and “Evan Hansen” composers.

But really, no remakes every work. They are all bad. One by one they come and go and are all horrid. Think of “Psycho” from Gus van Sant. Or the updated “Heartbreak Kid.” No one wants to see these things again.

You can almost imagine a new “Wizard,” with James Corden as the Cowardly Lion, Jim Carrey as the Scarecrow, Harry Styles as the Tin Man, and Ariana Grande as Dorothy. The Wizard will be played by Cedric the Entertainer.  The Flying Monkeys will be unicorns. The Munchkins will now be Little People. All the villains will claim to be misunderstood. The Wicked Witch of the West — Meryl Streep — will be in therapy.

No. no. no. Maybe Toto’s heirs can sue to stop this.

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.
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