Set thirty years before The Wizard Of Oz, and released nearly seventy five years after, this prequel comes to the screen via the distinct lens of Sam Raimi. But is it in fact great and powerful, or is it actually lame and disappointing?
Tag Archives: Sam Raimi
MOVIES: Disney releases four posters for OZ
The Walt Disney Studios sent Major Spoilers four character posters for the upcoming OZ The Great and Powerful, and it gives us a few more clues as to which witch is which.
TRAILER: OZ The Great and Powerful trailer arrives
The first full official trailer for Walt Disney Studios Oz The Great and Powerful has arrived, and it is all kinds of spectacular. And check out the full-sized poster that Disney has been teasing us with for the last couple of weeks in its full glory.
MOVIE: OZ the Great and Powerful begins production in Michigan
Press Release
Walt Disney Pictures’ fantastical adventure “Oz The Great and Powerful,” directed by Sam Raimi, went in front of the cameras at the brand-new Raleigh Studios in Pontiac, Michigan, on Monday, July 25, 2011, boasting a stellar cast that includes Academy Award® nominee James Franco (“127 Hours”) as the young wizard, Golden Globe® nominee Mila Kunis (“Black Swan”) as the witch Theodora, Academy Award® winner Rachel Weisz (“The Constant Gardener”) as Kunis’ sister Evanora and two-time Oscar®-nominated actress Michelle Williams (“Brokeback Mountain,” “Blue Valentine”) as Glinda, the Good Witch.
Review: Legend of The Seeker, Season 2 DVD Set
If you follow my work here at Major Spoilers you have heard me both praise and criticize ABC’s Legend of the Seeker TV series. Recently Major Spoilers received the complete second season DVD set. What follows is largely a review but also a therapeutic moment of introspection in which I try to reconcile the aspects that I love about the show with the aspects that keep me awake at night as I hear my Film degree wailing in pain.
SDCC’10: Sam Raimi to direct Earp: Saints for Sinners
Press Release
Radical Publishing is proud to announce that director Sam Raimi (Spider-Man, Evil Dead) has signed on to produce and direct the film adaptation of EARP: SAINTS FOR SINNERS, based on Radical Publishing’s miniseries created by Matt Cirulnick and David Manpearl and written by Matt Cirulnick and M. Zachary Sherman. EARP: SAINTS FOR SINNERS will be produced by Mandeville Films partners David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman for DreamWorks with Matt Cirulnick attached to write the screenplay. Radical’s President and Publisher, Barry Levine, and Raimi’s partner at Star Road Entertainment, Josh Donen, will also produce with Radical Studios’ Executive Vice President Jesse Berger, Cirulnick and Manpearl signed on as Executive Producers.
Raimi and MaGuire Back for Spider-Man 4 and 5?
File this under Rumors We Hope are True. According to Deadline Hollywood Daily, Both Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire are returning for a fourth and possibly fifth installment of the Spider-Man franchise from Marvel and Sony.
It’s been a difficult road trying to get any news on if the two would bring their talents back for another installment, so the studio is contemplating shooting a fifth movie at the same time as number four just so the studio has a flick ready and waiting in the wings.
Sony is taking its time officially hiring the movie’s villain since principal photography doesn’t start on Spider-Man 4 until next fall because of the recently postponed May 2011 release. I am told, however, that “once you find out who the villain is, you’ll know who’s playing it.” That should lead to speculation that Dylan Baker’s character of Dr. Curt Connors will ultimately turn into The Lizard as he did in the comic books.
I think it’s about time Connors got his moment in the sun, but would that be a villain that could carry two movies back to back, or would we see the eventual pairing of all past villains into a watered down form of the Sinister Six?
Cruise and Raimi to Adapt Sleeper
The Hollywood Reporter has Tom Cruise and Sam Raimi teaming up to adapt DC/Wildstorm comics Sleeper for the big screen.
Written by Ed Brubaker with art by Sean Phillips, “Sleeper,” which ran from 2003-05, centers on an operative whose fusion with an alien artifact makes him impervious to pain and allows him to pass it on to others through skin contact. He is placed undercover in a villainous organization by an intelligence agency and falls for a member of the group, named Miss Misery.
While it is still up in the air on if Cruise will mearly producer or if he’ll take a staring role, it could very well end up being another franchise film for Warner Bros.
Sam Raimi and Disney Team for Transplants
Disney has picked up the rights to the Transplants for an upcoming gig for Sam Raimi.
The parties are keeping a tight lid on the high-concept project, though it is described as a four-quadrant ensemble superhero story with a comedic bent.
It will be interesting to see how Raimi deals with the family friendly crowd at Disney – you can bet Transplants won’t be Darkman.
You’ll Have to Wait Until 2011 for Spider-Man 4
E! Online did an interview with producer Laura Ziskin, who said we’ll have to wait until at least 2011 before Spider-Man 4 hits theaters. Of course the key phrase here is “at least”. Remember, the script is far from being finished, neither Tobey Maguire nor Sam Raimi have signed on, and Marvel has yet to announce the flick in their annual reports.
The last Spidey flick came out in 2007, which would mean there is at least a four (more likely six) year gap between the two. Will people still be interested in Spidey that far out? I’m not sure. The longer the third movie hangs out there for everyone to remember, the harder it will be for everyone to camp out at theaters for weeks at a time waiting for the new flick to open. Had Return of the Jedi been a real turd of a movie, I doubt you would have seen the rabid fandom anticipation of Episode 1.
Monster Zoo Nabbed by Paramount
Image Comics Monster Zoo graphic novel has been snagged by Paramount Pictures to be turned into a live action feature film.
The action-adventure story is set in motion when an ancient idol is unearthed and transported to a zoo in the U.S. There, the idol’s spirit awakens and starts to mutate the caged animals. A group of teenagers must band together to try to stop the idol and the evil from destroying the world. The graphic novel will be published in May from Image Comics.
The move will be produced by Sam Raimi and Josh Donen.
What really amazes me is the huge amount of money being exchanged for a single comic property these days. Sources claim this deal is in the seven figure range. Seven figures – that’s at least a million dollars right there for a comic that won’t hit stands until May. To put things into more perspective, creator Doug TenNapel did score $1,000,000 for Tommysaurus Rex a few years ago.