-DO- Pay Attention to the Man Behind the Curtain

Another OZ movie is on the way. When I first heard it, the proverbial alarm went off, bracing myself for some new remake atrocity. But no. This... this sounds like it could be good.

Imagine a prequel to The Wonderful Wizard of OZ. Rolling your eyes? Don't yet. How about a prequel dealing with the Wizard, or rather the man from America's Heartland that became the Great and Powerful OZ. The story of his arrival and ascent to mysterious stardom. Sound a little better but like it could be headed for disaster? How about if the story is pieced together from the information available about the "Wizard" from the series of OZ books? Now that's intriguing. It's at least worth a try.

In fact, Bart reminded me that I'd given the matter a little thought before. When reading Gregory Maguire's Wicked I started to wonder about the origins of the little circus fellow who would be a Wizard. I immediately tried to recall what we do know about him - and what backstory and motives and challenges he might have had. But I also knew that I'd not be the perrson to tackle that tale.

Well, here it is from Hollywood, OZ the Great and Powerful, reportedly starring Robert Downey Jr. as the little man behind the curtain himself. Here's hoping Mitchell Kapner's script (originally called Brick) combined with the team that films it creates something as awe-inspiring as the Land of OZ itself.