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Disney debuted the first trailer for Sam Raimi’s Oz The Great And Powerful back in July at Comic-Con. Today brings a new, longer look at the film that stars James Franco, Mila Kunis, Michelle Williams and Rachel Weisz. Based on the books by L. Frank Baum, the origin story centers on Oscar Diggs, a small-time circus magician of dubious ethics, who’s hurled away from dusty Kansas to the vibrant Land of Oz. There, he meets three witches who aren’t so sure he’s the great wizard everyone has been expecting. The movie comes on March 8, 2013.
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Trailer looks like the film could go either way.
Need to see an extended view.
I guess I could just go SEE the film. A novel concept.
Great looking. Some of the dialogue was clunky, and Franco seemed uncomfortable, but it may not matter.
Looks promising but outside of Rachel Weisz and Michelle Williams, who both are not only great actresses but look great in their roles. Both Mila Kunis and James Franco look deadly miscast in their roles.
The trailer for Oz looks outstanding. I’m really happy for everyone involved. This will be a monster hit. Come quickly March.
Franco is Oz, yyyyyyyeeeeeeeesssss! I have every confidence in this movie. It will be awesome and make serious box office money.
Everything looks great.
I’m not sure what movies open against Oz, but I suggest someone get smart and move it.
Looks like a fun kids movie that adults can also enjoy. Not to beat the deadest horse ever but shouldn’t they have done that with John Carter?
Can’t wait for this movie!! Looks amazing!
Ow! Someone just dropped a house on my childhood.
Don’t be mean. There’s no reason to be mean. Remember: No matter where you go…there you are.
This Oz film looks, umm, magical–I mean, you know, it doesn’t look as magical as, say, “Willow,” but maybe it will be almost that magical so there might be some magical there and, you know, all, umm, magical and stuff like “Willow.”
Looks amazing! The last image shown really took me back to my childhood and gave me the chills.
I would say the first trailer made me think this movie was going to be a miss on all ends. Yet, I must admit that this trailer makes it look like they might have something here (The Wizard of Oz is my favorite film of all time). The problem with the entire project can be summed up in two words, James Franco. Although he was great in 127 Hours, he looks bored, stale, and looks as though he is reading his lines off of a cue card (which is typical Franco). I can’t believe the studio went with him on this, because from the looks of it, they have put together a pretty decent package.
Looks like it could be good…but so did Alice in Wonderland, and we all know how that one turned out
Yeah… Alice only made $1 Billion+, but whatever…
Ya, Two Oscars and it made a BILLION dollars. We know how that turned out.
I was going to quibble about he trailer but your comment me that if crap like Alice could make a billion dollars, this one will probably make two billion.
I don’t care what anyone says, this movie does not look right. Maybe it’s the miscasting of Franco as Oz, maybe it’s the overburdened score, or domineering special effects used to compensate for a lack of story – or, maybe it’s the Neo/Luke Skywalker/Avatar/Pocahontas “Are you the one?” character plot, which we keep on recycling in our tentpoles like some misguided attempt at recapturing a moment in time when films still felt fresh? Whatever the case, this movie will undo Sean Bailey. It’s the reason Rich “I-have-the-same-plastic-surgeon-as-the Joker” Ross was shown the Disney revolving door. I would have loved an inspiring retelling of the Oz tale, but this? This is just a $250,000,000 misstep.
Maybe they shouldn’t have put all the witches in clothing from JCPenney.
Unless, of course, that’s part of the prophecy.
Ag, I don’t know if the film will be good, but I have no idea why anyone doesn’t think that it will make serious bank. You reference ‘John Carter’, but there are several distinctions between the two projects:
* That film was based on material fewer people knew. In an age where studios have attempted to convince audiences that they will love the mythos of ‘Green Lantern’ and ‘John Carter’, an actually beloved iconography is refreshing.
* The lead actor has appeared in blockbusters before, including the lead role in ‘Apes’, an unexpected hit. As for his casting, he seems fine: he’s the Dorothy – the audience surrogate – of this world, in which EVERYONE ELSE is entertaining. Mia Wasikowska was less than magical in ‘Alice in Wonderland’ and that didn’t dent that film’s box office.
* Raimi knows how to put the money on the screen. In each ‘Spider-man’ film, he clearly pushed himself and his production team to create events that were bigger and more spectacular. He ended up failing with the third, but even that film had an event-quality that ‘John Carter’ lacked.
* The supporting cast are much more bankable and recognisable than the supporting cast of ‘John Carter’. Kunis is more dependable a draw than most stars, Weisz regularly appears in big films and Williams is a recognisable face.
* David Lindsay-Abaire is no fool, and – unless the production team have screwed up his script big time – then the film will at least have a solid structure.
* Finally, people love ‘The Wizard of Oz’. It is a classic that kids watch again and again … and, when the kids grow up, they show their own children.
So, ag, what part of this equation equals “$250,000,000 misstep”?
After 10 years on screen, James Franco still has zero charisma. How is that possible?
Not sure why I am on the fence on this. Maybe the film feels too CG and not organic enough. There was something magical about the original Wizard Of Oz. There was something truly terrifying about the witch even with the film being draped in all that technocolor and singing.
Stylistically the shots seem dramatic and the art direction looks great, but like I said there feels like something maybe off about it.
Franco is the perfect eccentric wizard, I just discovered his “jamesfrancotv.com” very weird stuff but another interesting effort none the less.
OK James, I will check it out.
Franco = box office poison.
Oh, because he couldn’t open a gay drama about a 20th Century poet to $80 million? Yep, you’re right.
Anyway, this movie will make a ton of money. I don’t know whether it will be any good or not, but everything about it screams that it will be a huge success: source material that not only do people know but actually love, a director who knows how to handle CGI effects, iconic characters, a bright and visual appealing look.
i really liked the script. cg seems a little overdone and franco hasnt convinced me yet. but overall it looks pretty good and i’ll check it out
Franco is too callow for the role. This one needed the crazy charisma of a Robert Downey Junior
Sam Raimi is a visionary director and I cannot wait to see what he has done with a huge budget and a classic tale he can put his unique spin on.
I guess Disney hasn’t learned anything from the dismal showing of their previous “Oz” effort back in 1985, “Return To Oz.” It starred that cute li’l Fairuza Balk. She was one of the 11 people who saw it.
This movie is going to make a billion dollars or more worldwide. It’s fantastic it looks spectacular and Franco looks like he’s having a lot of fun in it. Downey would have been better but he turned it down.
I would like some royalty money I created the Oz books and I have been cheated out of millions of dollars just because they fell into the public domain and I’m no longer around to sue people who exploit me. The WGA has never done anything to help me get the money I am owed. I remain dead and very poor.
It looks off, kind of cheesy. The modern vernacular is wonky. Take five?