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(For more Oz news, check out [http://ozmapolitan.spaces.msn.com/PersonalSpace.aspx The Daily Ozmopolitan]. For the latest Oz not-quite-news, see the Rumor Control section of this page.)
(For more Oz news, check out [http://ozmapolitan.spaces.msn.com/PersonalSpace.aspx The Daily Ozmopolitan]. For the latest Oz not-quite-news, see the [[#Rumor Control|Rumor Control]] section of this page.)
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'''May 17, 2012'''
==December 11, 2023: Judge Dismisses Dorothy Dress Ownership Lawsuit==
<br><img src="pics/bbspring12.jpg" width="234" height="300" align="left" alt="The Baum Bugle, Spring 2012" />'Tis spring, and in years past, that would have meant that the previous year's Autumn issue of ''The Baum Bugle'' was due. But now that the International Wizard of Oz Club's journal has actually managed to stick to its own timetable, Club members should be finding the Spring 2012 issue arriving in their mailboxes any day now. (If you're not a member for 2012, it's not too late to [http://shop.ozclub.org/category.sc;jsessionid=76688A88A1E8564A683CB8E847A850CD.qscstrfrnt03?categoryId=8 join or renew], and your membership will include this issue.)
a dress worn by Judy Garland during production of ''The Wizard of Oz'' may soon be up for auction now that a federal judge in New York has dismissed a lawsuit by the niece of a priest who once worked at the school where it was found. The Catholic University of America, where the dress was found in 2021. It had been given to Father Gilbert Hartke, chairman of the university's drama department, by actress Mercedes McCambridge, a friend of Garland. When the late Father Hartke's niece, Barbara Hartke, heard about the dress and the plan to auction it off, she sued to take ownership of the dress. In dismissing the suit, Judge Paul Gardephe noted that Barbara Hartke had not established that she was the executor of her uncle's estate or had any other standing in the case. Furthermore, as a Dominican, Father Hartke had taken a vow of poverty and renounced ownership of "temporal goods", and thus had not been the owner of the dress in the first place.
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In this issue:
Barbara Hartke has ten days to amend her lawsuit and establish standing. Otherwise, the dress will belong to Catholic university, which can then go through with plans to auction aff the dress. The auction has been on hold for over a year while the case worked its way through the system.
 
(Information courtesy [https://www.cnbc.com/2023/12/11/wizard-of-oz-dorothy-dress-lawsuit-auction.html CNBC].)
 
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==October 17, 2023: Dorothy House Miniature Auctioned Off==
A miniature of the Gale farmhouse from the famous 1939 movie adaptation of ''The Wizard of Oz'', used in the tornado scene, was auctioned off today by [https://www.studioauctions.com/ Studio Auctions]. The final sale price was $537,000, well above the pre-auction estimate.
 
(Information courtesy of [https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/one-of-a-kind-wizard-of-oz-and-top-gun-memorabilia-command-premium-prices-at-studio-auctions-event-301959541.html PR Newswire].)
 
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==October 14, 2023: Piper Laurie, 1932-2023==
[[File:piper-laurie.jpeg|center]]
Piper Laurie, the Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning actress who was also nominated for three Academy Awards and a BAFTA, passed away today. She was 91. Born in Detroit in 1932, Rosetta Jacobs changed her name to Piper Laurie when she signed a contract with Universal Pictures in 1949. She made her screen debut in ''Louisa'' opposite Ronald Reagan, and also co-starred with actors such as Donald O'Connor, Tony Curtis, and Rory Calhoun. But she soon moved back to New York to appear on stage and in television. Hollywood beckoned again with a part in ''The Hustler'' opposite Paul Newman, which garnered her first Oscar nomination. The parts she was offered did not improve, however, so she went back to New York. Her next film was ''Carrie'' in 1976, where she played Margaret White, Carrie's mother, in another Oscar-nominated role. She continued to appear in movies (including ''Children of a Lesser God'', for which she received her third Oscar nomination), on television, and on stage for the rest of her career. Other notable roles include the television movie ''Promise'', for which she won a Emmy; ''Twin Peaks'', which netted her a Golden Globe; and the 1978 television biopic about Judy Garland, ''Rainbow'', in which she played Ethel Gumm, Judy's mother. She is best known to Oz fans, however, for playing Aunt Em in the 1985 Disney movie ''Return to Oz''.
 
(Information courtesy of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piper_Laurie Wikipedia] and [https://ew.com/celebrity/piper-laurie-dead-carrie-twin-peaks-actress/ ''Entertainment Weekly''].)
 
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==October 13, 2023: Martin Changes Plea to Guilty in Theft of Ruby Slippers==
Terry Jon Martin, the Minnesota resident charged with the 2005 theft of a pair of Ruby Slippers used during the production of ''The Wizard of Oz'', has changed his plea to guilty. As part of a plea deal entered in federal court in Duluth, Minnesota, Martin, 78 years old and suffering from OCPD, will face no jail time.
 
(Information courtesy of the Associated Press via [https://www.yahoo.com/news/man-charged-stealing-wizard-oz-050856664.html Yahoo! News]. More information is also available from [https://www.kare11.com/article/news/local/guilty-plea-wizard-of-oz-stolen-slippers-case-terry-jon-martin/89-11bfe056-be8e-42b9-807f-3f271d19c6c8 KARE11.com].)
 
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==July 30, 2023: Betty Ann Bruno, 1931-2023==
Betty Ann Bruno, the long-time San Francisco news anchor whose show business career began as a Munchkin in ''The Wizard of Oz'', passed away today at the age of 91. Born Betty Ann Ka'ihliani in Hawai'i on October 1, 1931, she grew up in Hollywood and had an uncredited part in 1937's ''The Hurricane'' before playing one of the female background Munchkins in ''The Wizard of Oz'' at the age of seven. Acting was not in her blood, however, and she went on to graduate from Stanford before becoming a news anchor at KTVU in San Francisco in 1971, a job she held for over twenty years. She won three news Emmys for her work there. After retiring, she went on to become a hula instructor and founder of the dance troupe Hula Mai. She was named Sonoma Treasure Artist in 2020, and appeared on ''To Tell the Truth'' in 2022 in a segment on her time as a Munchkin. During the COVID lockdown, she wrote her memoir, [https://www.amazon.com/Munchkin-Diary-Personal-Yellow-Brick/dp/1736205609/ ''The Munchkin Diary: My Personal Yellow Brick Road'']. She is survived by her husband, Craig, and her three sons.
 
(Information courtesy [https://deadline.com/2023/07/betty-ann-bruno-dead-wizard-of-oz-munchkin-tv-reporter-1235451821/ Deadline] and [https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/bay-area-reporter-wizard-of-oz-child-actor-dies-18270928.php SFGate].)


*The cover features Professor Nowitall, as illustrated by Pedro Moran, for the forthcoming [http://www.orionsbell.com/ Card Game of Oz].
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*In "From the Editor", Scott Cummings discusses some topics that the ''Bugle'' hasn't explored, and encourages members to do so.
*Club President Carrie Hedges talks about the Club's special premium memberships, and their rewards, for 2012.
*In "Oz and Ends":
**[http://thetoyshoppe.com/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=Oz+Mark+Dennis&x=18&y=12 New Oz dolls by Mark Dennis].
**[http://www.philosophersguild.com/Oz-Passport-Notebook.html An Oz Passport notebook].
**The new Oz-themed [http://newhollandbrew.com/blog/beer-news/four-witches-black-saison/ Four Witches Brew] beer from the [http://newhollandbrew.com/ New Holland Brewing Company] in Holland, Michigan.
**New audiobooks of [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B007IEHNMO/thewonderwizardo/ ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' read by Anne Hathaway], and the forthcoming (and long awaited) Colonial Radio Theater adaptations of [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1469208601/thewonderwizardo/ ''The Emerald City of Oz''] and ''The Patchwork Girl of Oz''.
**[http://www.moondreamartstudio.com/tin-man-sculpture.html Moon Dream Art Studio's Tin Man sculpture] (to go along with their previously released [http://www.moondreamartstudio.com/oz-scarecrow-sculpture.html Scarecrow sculpture]).
**New Oz-themed cards: [http://www.looneylabs.com/games/oz-fluxx Oz Fluxx], [http://www.orionsbell.com/ The Card Game of Oz], and [http://www.betweenthecovers.com/btc/item/69391 Classic Book Cards].
**[http://www.facebook.com/Dorothyandthewitchesofoz ''Dorothy and the Witches of Oz''] and its [http://dorothyandthewitchesofoz.ning.com/ theatrical release].
**[http://disney.go.com/movies/new-upcoming ''Oz, the Great and Powerful''], coming from Disney next spring.
**The world premiere of the ballet ''Oz&mdash; The Wonderful Wizard'' in Berlin, combining elements of both Oz and Volkov's Magic Land.
**A currently-in-production computer animated adaptation of [http://www.elibucho.blogspot.com/p/urfin-jus.html ''Urfin Jus and His Wooden Soldiers''].
**[http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2011/07/11/ill-get-you-my-pretty-and-your-little-copyright-too/id=18053/ The current legal wrangling between Warner Bros. and Disney] about ''The Wizard of Oz'' and copyright.
**The forthcoming new stage play [http://wwozanewmusical.webs.com/ ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: A New Musical''], based closely on the book and incorporating elements of the original 1902 stage adaptation.
**The all-Oz online [http://www.live365.com/stations/hungrytigerpress Emerald City Radio].
**A gallery of [http://www.thefoxisblack.com/2012/01/17/re-covered-books-the-wonderful-wizard-of-oz-by-l-frank-baum/ new covers for] [http://www.thefoxisblack.com/2012/02/16/re-covered-books-the-wonderful-wizard-of-oz-the-runners-up/ ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz''] (please note that there are two different links there).
**The "Visionaries" series of plays at the Nakano Theatre in Torrance, California, presents [http://www.torrancelive.us/index_files/Page1125.htm a one-man show on the life and works of L. Frank Baum] (coming June 27).
**[http://www.aberdeen.sd.us/index.aspx?NID=284 The Land of Oz Park in Aberdeen, South Dakota] will soon be the home of a Tin Man slide.
**[http://kansas.legolanddiscoverycenter.com/kansascity/ LEGOLAND Discovery Park] in Kansas City has an Oz-themed Miniland.
**An Oz-themed playhouse used to raise money for homeless Californians in 2011.
**Oz shoes in the news include the pair bought for two million dollars ad donated to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for their anticipated [http://www.oscars.org/academy/moviemuseum/index.html museum]; the Smithsonian removing and repairing their pair in anticipation of the opening of [http://americanhistory.si.edu/exhibitions/exhibition.cfm?key=38&exkey=1795 "American Stories" at the National Museum of American History]; and artist [http://www.mannycastro.com/ Manny Castro] hanging "ruby slipper" stilettos over power lines in Miami Beach as a holiday gift in December 2011.


*Angelica Carpenter looks at how the popular [http://www.renlearn.com/ar/ Accelerated Reader] education program handles Oz in (naturally) "Acclerated Reader in Oz".
==July 29, 2023: The 2023 Winkie Award and Oz Club Awards==
*"Yellow Brick Philosophy" by Ellen Handler Spitz (reprinted from [http://www.tnr.com/book/review/baum-wizard-oz-movie ''The New Republic'']) digs under the surface of the story of ''The Wizard of Oz'', as first told in the original book, and finds hidden depths.
The International Wizard of Oz Club presented its annual awards tonight, alongside the Winkie Award, as part of the 2023 OzCon International in Pomona, California. The awards were:
*The ''Bugle'' announces the search for a new Editor-in-Chief.
* First of [https://www.ozclub.org/about/oz-club-contests/2022-oz-club-contests/ the Club's annual writing and art contest winners], the Fred Otto Prize for Fiction:
*Peter E. Hanff looks at the Ozzy theme of the 1930 Burbank (California) High School yearbook in "Greetings from Oz".
** First place to J. L. Bell for "The Missing Key".
*In "The Borrowing Artist of Ix", Dennis Anfuso and Alan Lindsay reveal that Henry L. Miller, an early twentieth century children's book illustrator, probably copied some of Frederick Richardson's illustrations from ''Queen Zixi of Ix''.
** Second place, also to J. L. Bell, for "The Piglets and the Tin Soldier".
*"Ignotum per Ignotius" by Patrick Maund asks some of those imponderable questions about the famous 1939 movie version of ''The Wizard of Oz'' that one only notices after watching it many, many times with a small child.
* The C. Warren Hollister Prize for Non-fiction:
*Blair Frodelius talks to the writer of the ''Wicked'' books in "American Fairy Tales: A Conversation with Gregory Maguire".
** First place to J. L. Bell (him again?) for "Inspiring Maps of Oz".
*"Adventures in Oz" has [http://feliciaricci.com/ Felicia Ricci] recall her first experience as Eden Espinosa's understudy as Elphaba in ''Wicked'' in "It's Not That Easy Being Green".
** Second place to Jem Abbas for "Technicolor at the Theatrical Premiere of ''The Wizard of Oz''".
*Greg Hunter tells the tale of "The Discovery of 'John'", a previously unknown short story by L. Frank Baum; Michael Patrick Hearn writes an introduction; and, finally, "John" by L. Frank Baum, first published in 1898.
* The Rob Roy MacVeigh Award for Art went to David Valentin for "Mombi's Magic".
*Resting on "The Oz Bookshelf":
* The Winkie Award, voted on by member of OzCon International for contributions to the convention, went to Freddy Fogarty.
* The L. Frank Baum Memorial Award, the most prestigious prize in Oz fandom, went to Blair Frodelius for his many contributions to spreading the word about Oz online over the years.


*[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0762437715/thewonderwizardo/ ''Judy: A Legendary Film Career'' by John Fricke], his latest book on Judy Garland, reviewed by Mark Griffin.
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*[http://www.bccbooks.org/pubs.htm ''Cyclone on the Prairies: ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' and Arts & Crafts of Publishing in Chicago, 1900''by Peter E. Hanff, and ''A Bookbinder's Analysis of the First Edition of'' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Michael O. Riley], reviewed by Cindy Ragni.
*[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0060548940/thewonderwizardo/ ''Out of Oz'' by Gregory Maguire], the finale of his "Wicked Years" series, reviewed by Stephen J. Teller.
*[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/146286368X/thewonderwizardo/ ''Adolph Hitler in Oz'' by Sam Sackett], reviewed by J. L. Bell.
*A new edition of [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0615412246/thewonderwizardo/ ''The Wizard of Oz'', illustrated by Thea Kliros] and reviewed by Eric Shanower.
*[http://sites.google.com/site/cowardlylionsite/lionlist/bucketheads ''Bucketheads in Oz'' by Greg Gick, Melody Grandy, Greg Hunter, Phyllis Ann Karr, Chuck Sabatos, Deen Shumate, Jim Vander Noot, and Chris Dulabone], reviewed by Mari Ness.
*Richard R. Rutter reviews two new Italian editions of ''The Wizard of Oz'': [http://www.amazon.it/Il-meraviglioso-Mago-Oz-Classici/dp/8804565454/ ''Il meraviglioso Mago di Oz''], a novel illustrated by Giuliano Lunelli; and [http://www.amazon.it/mago-Oz-Libro-pop-up-Melodie/dp/8847444047/ ''Il Mago di Oz''], a pop-up adaptation with sound.


*"Oz Behind the Footlights" reviews [http://www.secrettheatre.com/home.html ''A Mermaid's Tale''], a new dramatization of L. Frank Baum's ''The Sea Fairies''.
==July 17, 2023: ''The Baum Bugle'' Spring 2023 Issue==
*"In Memoriam" sees Peter E. Hanff remembering longtime Oz researcher Patrick Maund.
[[File:Bbspring23.jpeg|right|500 px]]
*"Ozmusements" has "Professor Wogglebug's Pop Quiz: Pills in Oz".
The Spring 2023 issue of ''The Baum Bugle'', the journal of the International Wizard of Oz Club, has made its way back from the printers and is on its way to members' mailboxes right now. This issue emphasizes the first word in the name of the club, with articles about how Oz is expressed in countries outside of the United States.
*And the back cover shows an Oz-themed hide-and-seek poster, created by Ed Gazsi in the 1980s (the answers are inside the issue).


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In this issue:
* The front cover reproduces the cover art for the ''Oz'' game from Gen X Games.
* The inside front and back covers reproduce art by Leonid Vladimirsky for postcards based on ''Волшебник Изумрудного Города'' (''The Wizard of the Emerald City'', the Russian version of ''The Wizard of Oz'').
* In letters, Jane Albright writes her final column as President of the International Wizard of Oz Club, while Editor-in-Chief Sarah K. Crotzer takes the readers through the process of this becoming a truly international issue.
* In "The Bugle Bulletin":
** ''The Wiz'' gets [https://wizmusical.com/ a new production and nationwide tour] with the aim of making it to Broadway next year.
** The ''Wicked'' movies get new cast members (Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero, Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible, Marissa Bode as Nessarose, Ethan Slater as Boq, Bowen Yang as Pfannee), and part 1 gets its release date moved up to November 2024. [''No doubt part 2's release also moving, to November 2025, will make it into the next issue.'']
** The animated short [https://www.tinwoods.com/ ''The Tin Woods''] will premiere at [http://www.ozconinternational.com/ OzCon International].
** Online story platform Land of Tales now has an adaptation of [https://landoftales.com/book/p3487-hickory-dickory-dock "Hickory, Dickory, Dock"], a story from ''Mother Goose in Prose'' by L. Frank Baum.
** Ozzy backdrops from a 1941 Mardi Gras ball have been rediscovered and cataloged by [https://nolatabs.com/ NOLA Tableaux]. The program [https://catalog.hnoc.org/en-US/web/arena/collections-search#/entity/thnoc-archive/2018.0313.3/athenians-1941-program has been digitized] as well.
** A new opera based on the second Oz book, ''Marvelous'', is gearing up for its world premiere.
** "Across the Shifting Sands" remembers two notable Ozians who recently passed away: Romona Carlin, former First Lady of Kansas who organized an Oz-themed event in Topeka; and artist Shawn Maldonado.
** "Through the Tube!" only presents one video from YouTube instead of its usual three, but it's a good one: Artist Leonid Vladimirsky on Russian television in 1989 celebrating fifty years of Magic Land. (Don't worry, it has English subtitles.)<br><html><center><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_8I6jeLS5bk" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe></center></html>
* Jane Albright and Sara K. Crotzer interview the daughter of ''Magic Land'' illustrator Leonid Vladimirsky in "The Map to Magic Land: Aia Vladimirsky Remembers Her Fathre".
* Want to collect the art of a ''Magic Land'' illustrator? Well, "An Initial Checklist of the Works by Leonid Vladimirsky" is a good place to start.
* A Strange Post-Soviet Union" by Atticus Gannaway looks at an unusual pairing of recent Russian translations in one volume: L. Frank Baum's ''Queen Zixi of Ix'' and John R. Neill's ''The Wonder City of Oz''!
* Dave Ward looks at the first British stage production of ''The Wizard of Oz'' in "London, 1942".
* Nick Campbell gives an overview of British editions of the Oz books in "Following Wonder: A History of British Publishing in Five Oz Books".
* The creator of the new ballet ''The Lost Princess of Oz'' (reviewed last issue) is interviewed in "Faith: Gabriel Chajnik's Journey to Find a ''Lost Princess''".
* The creator of the new [https://genxgames.es/producto/oz/ ''Oz'' card game] is interviewed in "Walk the Road: An Interview with Óscar Arévalo" (with art and additional comments by Lorena Azpiri).
* Sarah K. Crotzer looks at one particular word in the name of the organization when she asks, "How International Was the Early International Wizard of Oz Club?"
* Reviewed in "Oz in the Arts":
** ''The Land of Oz'' at the Dobama Theatre, Cleveland Heights, Ohio, December 2022.
** ''Claus: The Musical'' (based on ''The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus''), The Lowry, Salford, England, December 2022.
** ''The Wizard of Paws, or There's No Place Like a Furever Home'', Englewood Arts Center, Independence, Missouri, April 2023.
* Reviewed in "The Bugle Review":
** [https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-oracle-of-maracoor-gregory-maguire/18273094?ean=9780063094017 ''The Oracle of Maracoor'' by Gregory Maguire], reviewed by Alan Wise.
** [https://bookshop.org/p/books/can-you-survive-the-wonderful-wizard-of-oz-a-choose-your-path-book-ryan-jacobson/17992501?ean=9781940647715 ''Can You Survive The Wonderful Wizard of Oz?'' by Ryan Jacobsen], reviewed by Atticus Gannaway.
** [https://bookshop.org/p/books/oz-and-the-musical-performing-the-american-fairy-tale-ryan-bunch/18812410?ean=9780190843144 ''Oz and the Musical: Performing the American Fairy Tale'' by Ryan Bunch], reviewed by Dina Schiff Massachi.
** [https://genxgames.es/producto/oz/ The new Spanish card game ''Oz'' by Óscar Arévalo and Lorena Azpiri], reviewed by Sarah K. Crotzer.
* And the inside back cover reproduces four cover images from British editions of the Oz books.


'''<u>February 22, 2012</u>'''
Also included in this issue:
<br><img src="pics/Patrick%20Maund.jpg" width="377" height="500" align="right" alt="Patrick Maund" />Patrick Maund, one of the premier Oz scholars and researchers of the last three decades, passed away today in his hometown of San Francisco after a brief illness. He was fifty-six years old. He was a regular attendee for many years at the Winkie Convention, and also made frequent appearances at the Ozmopolitan and Munchkin Conventions as well. He spearheaded new research into Oz and Baum bibliography, contributed to ''The Baum Bugle'', and served the International Wizard of Oz Club as director, treasurer, and auctioneer. He was also instrumental in setting up the Club's headquarters in the San Francisco Bay area. For his contributions to Oz and the Club, he was awarded the 1996 Winkie Award, and the 2004 L. Frank Baum Memorial Award. Patrick is survived by his wife, Rita; their three children, Veronica, Catherine, and Christopher; his brother, Peter; and numerous nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to: The Maund Children Donation Fund c/o St. Brendan School 940 Laguna Honda Blvd. San Francisco, CA 94127.
* The craft is a cut-out Russian nesting doll, based on the Magic Land art of Leonid Vladimirsky.
* In ''The Emerald City Mirror'', the newsletter aimed at younger Oz fans (no matter what their actual ages are):
** It seems Princess Toodee, who temporarily took over for Ozma, was just a paper doll being used by the usurper who just took over Oz: The Nome King!
** Editor-in-chief the Scarecrow reports from where everyone is hiding out from the new king, the Emerald City Library. (Since the Nome King doesn't read books, he probably won't find them there!)
** A reprint from the archives looks at just who the Nome King is, anyway.
** The Nome King's many schemes from the Oz books are recounted, along with a look at various eggs and a few of the Nome King's more colorful quotes.
** Oz Club member on assignment Katie Jones reports from San Francisco, where reports of fantastic beings appearing there include a dragon!
** And two contests: Guess the answer to "What Did the Wogglebug Say?" and draw a picture of the Cowardly Lion to celebrate the centennial of ''The Cowardly Lion of Oz''.


(Information courtesy Peter Hanff, [http://ozclub.org/Munchkin_Country_-_2004.html The International Wizard of Oz Club], and [http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/sfgate/obituary.aspx?n=patrick-maund&pid=156092274 SFGate/the ''San Francisco Chronicle'']. Photo courtesy Jane Albright.)
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'''<u>January 24, 2012</u>'''
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<br><img src="pics/Williamson%20Nome%20King.jpg" width="400" height="217" align="right" alt="Nicol Williamson as the Nome King in "return to oz" (1985)" />Nicol Williamson, the acclaimed Scottish actor who was probably best known for playing Merlin in ''Excalibur'', passed away last month in Holland of esophigal cancer. He was seventy-five. Born September 14, 1936 in Glasgow, he quickly found a place in acting and made his London stage debut in 1961. He made his name in ''Inadmissible Evidence'' in 1964 (a part he reprised in the 1968 movie adaptation) and as Hamlet in the 1970s, both of which he played in both the West End and Broadway. He did not enjoy making movies, but used the salary to finance his stage career. Among the movies he appeared in were the 1969 version of ''Hamlet'', ''Robin and Marian'' (as Little John), ''The Seven-Per-Cent Solution'' (as Sherlock Holmes), ''The Exorcist III'', and ''Spawn'', which turned out to be his final film. He is best known to Oz fans, however, as the dual character of Dr. Worley and the Nome King in the 1985 Disney film ''Return to Oz''. In later years, he abandoned acting in favor of music, and eventually settled in Holland. He passed away on December 16, 2011, and made it clear that he did not want a fuss to be made over him. He is survived by a son, Luke.
 
==July 15, 2023: SAG-AFTRA Strike Delays ''Wicked'' Production==
Among the many movie and television projects put on hold by the SAG-AFTRA strike is the movie adaptation of ''Wicked''. Word is that the main production only had ten days and one major musical number ("One Short Day") to go. Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Michelle Yeoh, and Bowen Yang are among the ''Wicked'' stars posting support for the actors' strike. When production can resume, and if the delay will affect the release dates for the two films, will likely depend on the length of the strike.
 
(Information courtesy [https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Update-WICKED-Movie-Shuts-Down-Production-Following-SAG-AFTRA-Strike-20230714 ''Broadway World''].)
 
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(Information courtesy of [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/9039245/Nicol-Williamson.html ''The Telegraph''].)
==June 20, 2023: ''Wicked'' Part 2 Release Moved Up==
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After the release of the first part of the ''Wicked'' movie adaptation was moved up to November earlier this year, it should come as no surprise that the release of part two was also moved up today. Originally scheduled for Christmas 2025, it will now come out on November 26, 2025. This will move it away from the same release window as ''Avatar 3'', and also give it more time to build an audience over the holidays. (Both parts will now come out the day before Thanksgiving in the United States.)
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'''<u>January 21, 2012</u>'''
(Information courtesy [https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/wicked-part-two-moves-up-release-in-theaters-1235519568/ ''The Hollywood Reporter''].)
<br><img src="pics/bbwinter11.jpg" width="250" height="321" align="left" alt="The Baum Bugle, Winter 2011" />The latest issue of ''The Baum Bugle'', the journal of the International Wizard of Oz Club, has now been printed and is making its way to members' mailboxes. Cover dated Winter 2011, this is the final issue of members' 2011 memberships, so get those renewals in soon!


<br clear=all>In this issue:
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*The front cover is a reprint of Dick Martin's art for the August 1961 issue, announcing the Club's first convention. For this issue, Marcus M&eacute;b&egrave;s colored and slightly redesigned the art to commemorate fifty years of Oz Club sponsored and supported conventions. The rear and inside covers reprint convention photos from all five decades.
==June 1, 2023: Accused Ruby Slipper Thief Enters Plea==
*Scott Cummings writes of Oz (and other) conventions in his "From the Editor" column.
Terry Jon Martin, the man accused of stealing the Ruby Slippers from the Judy Garland Museum in 2005, entered his plea today. He has pled not guilty to one count of Theft of a Major Art Work.
*The list of winners of the L. Frank Baum Memorial Award is updated to include the 2011 winner, Margaret Pellegrini.
*In "Oz and Ends":


*Bill Campbell's Oz character paintings and the merchandise you can find them on, at [http://www.zazzle.com/ozshop www.zazzle.com/ozshop].
(Information courtesy of [https://kstp.com/kstp-news/local-news/man-who-allegedly-stole-judy-garlands-ruby-slippers-enters-not-guilty-plea/ KSTP Minneapolis/St. Paul].)
*[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0486481174/thewonderwizardo/ ''Literary Greats Paper Dolls''] a new book from Dover that includes L. Frank Baum.
*John R. Neill's old house, that he and his family lived in during the early 1900s, is for sale.
*A new French card game simply called [http://fr.asmodee.com/ressources/jeux_versions/oz.php ''Oz''].
*Interactive app versions of ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' from [http://itunes.apple.com/app/oz/id473632069?mt=8 Boluga], [http://slypot.com/e-books/ozbook/ Slypot Games], and [http://wizardofozapp.com/ wizardofozapp.com], plus Eltanin's e-reader versions of [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B004T5NI8S/thewonderwizardo/ ''The Marvelous Land of Oz''] and [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0050Q9EI8/thewonderwizardo/ ''Ozma of Oz''].
*In auction news, Pacific Book Auctions sold what is now believed to be the earliest known copy (the inscription is dated May 23, 1900) of ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' for
422,800, and a copy of ''Kabumpo in Oz'' autographed by author Ruth Plumly Thompson for $420. Profiles in History, meanwhile, had several items from the 1939 movie version of ''The Wizard of Oz'' up for auction at their December 16 Hollywood memorabilia sale, but nobody met the reserve on neither their Cowardly Lion costume nor a pair of Ruby Slippers. Several other Oz items did sell, however, including one of Dorothy's dresses (282,900), a Munchkin soldier jacket ($36,900) and hat ($15,990), a Winkie guard spear ($36,900), and a cast-signed copy of the book ($55,500).
*The closure of the Oz Club's message board is announced, alongside the new [http://www.facebook.com/ozclub Club], [http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Baum-Bugle-a-journal-of-Oz/204803745304 ''Baum Bugle''], and [http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002867757467 ''Oziana''] pages on Facebook, and the new [http://www.oz.dorothyandozma.com/ Royal Forums of Oz], run by Jared Davis.
*Two new online Oz comics, [http://delusionarystate.com/ ''Delusionary State''] (about a scientific expedition to Oz) and [http://www.namesakecomic.com/ ''Namesake''] (an examination of the nature of the choldren who visit Oz and Wonderland).
*New museums and exhibits include [http://cartoonart.org/2011/10/the-wonderful-wizard-of-oz/ ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' at the Cartoon Art Museum] in San Francisco (now through April 15), and [http://www.oz-stravaganza.com/home/history-of-l-frank-baum/all-things-oz All Things Oz] in L. Frank Baum's home town of Chittenango, New York. Also, Sony Pictures announced the construction of a permanent giant metal rainbow to commemorate ''The Wizard of Oz'' being made there back when it was part of the MGM studios in 1938-9.
*The formation of the Lyman Frank Baum Foundation to benefit charities in upstate New York, formed in Chittenango.
*The forthcoming American premiere of the play [http://www.guthrietheater.org/plays_events/plays/end_rainbow ''The End of the Rainbow''] in Minnesota, before it moves to Broadway later this year.


*"Death Valley and the Deadly Desert: A Discovery in a Western Newspaper" by Marilyn Strasser Olson shows parallels between Baum's creation of the Deadly Desert and an 1890 humor column about Death Valley from ''The Los Angeles Times''.
----
*Nathan M. DeHoff takes a closer look at the evolution and nature of the Deadly Desert in "'Great dates and deserts!' Some Thoughts on the Deadly Desert of Oz".
*"Three is a Magic Number: Trinitarianism and Numeric Instability in ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz''" by Walter Squire looks at the nature of how the number three appears in the first Oz book &mdash; and how it changes to other numbers in unexpected ways.
*"From Bass Lake to Beech Mountain: Fifty Years of Oz Club Conventions" is an illustrated look back at Oz conventions in the 1960s, '70s, '80s, '90s, and the twenty-first century, interspersed with remembrances from several Oz Club members.
*"Adventures in Oz" presents stories from Peter E. Hanff ("''Cyclone on the Prairies'': A Leaf Book") and Michael O. Riley ("A New Look at ''The Wizard''") about their collaboration on two new books looking back at the original publication of ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' in 1900, both of which were published by the [http://www.bccbooks.org/">Book Club of California].
*"The MGM Scrapbook" presents the third and final part of the 1939 publicity article, "The Story Behind ''The Wizard of Oz''".
*In "The Oz Bookshelf":


*New adaptations of L. Frank Baum's [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0762427965/thewonderwizardo/ ''The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus''] (illustrated by Charles Santore) and [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0046LUFC2/thewonderwizardo/ ''A Kidnapped Santa Claus''] (adpated and illustrated as a graphic novel by Alex Robinson), both reviewed by Eric Shanower.
==May 17, 2023: An Arrest in the Ruby Slipper Theft==
*[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0446583774/thewonderwizardo/ ''The Reading Promise'' by Alice Ozma], reviewed by Angelica Carpenter.
<html><center><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2nPQz4p0Qbo" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe></center></html>
*[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0973483717/thewonderwizardo/ ''Shadows of the Emerald City'', an anthology edited by J. W. Schnarr] and reviewed by Joe Bongiorno.
Terry Martin, 76, has been indicted in the 2005 theft of a pair of Ruby Slippers, originally worn by Judy Garland in the famous 1939 film adaptation of ''The Wizard of Oz''. The Slippers were recovered in 2018. The investigation has been ongoing, and Martin has been charged with one count of theft of a major artwork. The charge was filed by federal prosecutors in North Dakota. The Ruby Slippers at the time belonged to collector Michael Shaw, who had loaned them to the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. They were stolen in 2005, and Shaw eventually received a settlement from his insurers. A man contacted the insurers about the Slippers in 2017, setting off an investigation and eventual FBI sting operation. Nobody was charged at the time of the Slippers' recovery. Martin lives just south of Grand Rapids, but otherwise does not appear to have any connection to the museum or Garland. This is still an ongoing investigation, and it's possible other indictments may come later.
*The Magician of Oz trilogy ([http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0578023539/thewonderwizardo/ ''Magician of Oz''], [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0578053853/thewonderwizardo/ ''Shadow Demon of Oz''], and [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0578070898/thewonderwizardo/ ''Family of Oz'']) by James C. Wallace II, reviewed by Margaret Berg.
*[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0803734638/thewonderwizardo/ ''Fantasy Baseball'' by Alan Gratz], reviewed by Carpenter.
*[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/146286368X/thewonderwizardo/ ''Adolf Hitler in Oz'' by Sam Sackett].
*Dover's reprint of [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0486484661/thewonderwizardo/ ''Denslow's Mother Goose''].
*[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1453596046/thewonderwizardo/ ''Emerald City: The New Adventures of Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz'' by Arnold Schildkret].
*[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0980064228/thewonderwizardo/ ''From Tennessee to Oz: The Amazing Saga of Judy Garland's Family History'' by Michelle Russell].
*[http://www.itsallaboutdorothy.com/ ''It's All About Dorothy'' by Tony Rizzo, illustrated by Warden Neil, with a music CD by Jack Allan Allocco].
*[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0762437715/thewonderwizardo/ ''Judy: A Legendary Film Career'' by John Fricke].
*[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1456522531/thewonderwizardo/ ''Lefty Visits Oz: The Adventures of Lefty: Vol. 1'' by James L. Fuller].
*[http://bigdogink.com/?page_id=1159#ecwid:category=1808108&mode=category&offset=0&sort=normal ''The Legend of Oz: The Wicked West'' by Tom Hutchison, Alison Borges, and Kate Finnegan].
*Dover's reprint of [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0486476448/thewonderwizardo/ ''The Little Wizard Stories of Oz'' by L. Frank Baum].
*[http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/lost-in-oz-temple-of-the-deadly-desert/15932814 ''Lost in Oz: Temple of the Deadly Desert'' by Joshua Patrick Dudley], the conclusion of his ''Lost in Oz'' trilogy.
*[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0060548940/thewonderwizardo/ ''Out of Oz'' by Gregoary Maguire], the final volume in the ''Wicked Years'' series.
*[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0983077444/thewonderwizardo/ ''Oz Odyssey II'' by Roger Stanton Baum] (the title was misprinted in the ''Bugle'' as ''Oz Odyssey III)''.
*[http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/62366 ''Oz Squad: March of the Tin Soldiers'' by Steve Ahlquist and David Ingersoll].
*[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1616630205/thewonderwizardo/ ''Remembering Oz'' by Christianna Rickard], a remembrance of Ray Bolger by his niece.
*[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1105220664/thewonderwizardo/ ''The Talking City of Oz'' by Ron Bexley, Jr.].
*[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1241566615/thewonderwizardo/ ''An Unofficial Guide to L. Frank Baum and the Oz Books'', edited by Kaelyn Smith].
*[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0810877511/thewonderwizardo/ ''Wicked: A Musical Biography'' by Paul R. Laird].
*[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0761163735/thewonderwizardo/ ''Wizard of Oz Scanimation: 10 Classic Scenes from Over the Rainbow'' by Rufus Butler Seder].
*The [http://www.woeisoz.com/issues.html ''Woe Is Oz'' comic book series by Ethan Tarshish and Kelly Brown].
*And finally (whew!), a new edition of [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1402775466/thewonderwizardo/ ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'', illustrated by Robert Ingpen].


*"Oz Behind the Footlights" presents a review by David Moyer of the 2011 TheaterWorks USA Latin America-infused production of ''The Yellow Brick Road''.
(Information courtesy of [https://apnews.com/article/solen-ruby-slippers-wizard-of-oz-5d142469ad5f052f6af053d20dbf20c4 The Associated Press]. Video courtesy of [https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/ WCCO CBS News Minnesota].)
*John Fricke remembers movie Munchkin Karl Slover in "In Memoriam".
*"The Magic Picture" reports on the 2011 Winkie Convention (written by Sam Milazzo) and the 2011 IWOC National Convention in Beech Mountain, North Carolina (by Scott Hedley and Mike Penick).
*And finally, "Ozmusements" presents an Oz Want Ads puzzle, first given at the 1967 Ozmopolian Convention.


----


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==March 14, 2023: ''Wicked'' Part 1 Movie Release Date Changed==
Universal has moved up the release date of the first half of the movie adaptation of ''Wicked'', the long-running Broadway and West End musical. Originally announced for Christmas 2024, they moved the date up to November 27, 2024, to coincide with the Thanksgiving holiday season it the United States. Since ''Avatar 3'' and ''Sonic the Hedgehog 3'' are also coming out on Christmas, changing ''Wicked'' to the earlier holiday weekend is probably a wise move.


'''<u>November 15, 2011</u>'''
(Information courtesy [https://variety.com/2023/film/news/wicked-movie-release-date-thanksgiving-1235553635/ ''Variety''].)
<br>The number of living cast members of ''The Wizard of Oz'' continues to dwindle, as Karl Slover, the lead Munchkin trumpeter, died today at age 93 in Dublin, Georgia. He was the last living member of the Singer Midgets, and at three feet tall, one of the shortest Munchkin actors. (He later grew another foot and a half.) Born September 21, 1918 as Karl Kosiczky in eastern Europe in what is now the Czech Republic, his father put him in show business at an early age (he was only two feet tall at the age of eight.) He eventually became part of the Singer Midgets, which led to him getting a part in ''The Wizard of Oz'' at the age of 21. By that time, however, he was already a Hollywood veteran, having appeared in the all-midget Western ''The Terror of Tiny Town'', as well as ''Block-Heads'' with Laurel and Hardy, ''Bringing Up Baby'' with Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant, and ''They Gave Him a Gun'' with Spencer Tracy. He became an American cistizen in 1943, when he changed his last name to Slover. After ''Oz'', he appeared in one more movie, ''The Lost Weekend'', before retiring from show business. He settled in Tampa, Florida, before moving to Georgia in recent years. He appeared at many ''Wizard of Oz'' events, including this year's Chesterton Oz Festival.


(Information courtesy [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1581822693/thewonderwizardo/ ''The Munchkins of Oz''] by Stephen Cox and [http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/17c8a8a5cbf1490c8366eb5872dc0723/GA--Obit-Slover/ ''The  Republic'' of Columbus, Indiana].)
----
<center>[[File:colorbar.gif]]</center>


'''<u>October 3, 2011</u>'''
==February 25, 2023: ''The Baum Bugle'', Winter 2022 Issue==
<br><center><img src="pics/bbautumn11.jpg" width="389" height="497" alt="The Baum Bugle Autumn 2011" title="The Baum Bugle Autumn 2011" /></center>
[[File:Bbwinter22.jpg|left|500 px]]
The Autumn 2011 issue of ''The Baum Bugle'', the journal of the International Wizard of Oz Club, has now been sent out, and is making its way towards members. Once again, timely disribution and a timely issue make this issue a treat.
The latest issue of ''The Baum Bugle'', the journal of [https://www.ozclub.org/ the International Wizard of Oz Club], is now making its appearance in members' mailboxes. (Yes, technically it's now 2023, but it's still the same winter season, which historically is still very good for the ''Bugle''.) This issue celebrates the centennial of ''Kabumpo in Oz'', the first Oz book to go out exclusively and definitively under the authorship of Ruth Plumly Thompson.
<br clear=all>
<br clear=all>
In this issue:
In this issue:
* All of the covers have to do with Dick Martin's 1961 cover design for the new ''Kabumpo in Oz'' dust jacket. The front cover is the finished product, the inside front cover shows the color separations, the inside back cover is a different color sketch, and the back cover is the original art.
* In "Letters", Oz Club President gives her impressions of the twice-postponed 2022 National Oz Convention, while ''Bugle'' editor-in-chief Sarah K. Crotzer remembers her encounters with Kabumpo as she discusses the creation of this issue.
* News items discussed in "The Bugle Bulletin":
** The discovery and auction of the original art by W. W. Denslow for two of the color plates from ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'', both selling for over $100,000.
** The 2022 [https://www.tdf.org/for-the-makers/tdf-costume-collection-programs/tdf-irene-sharaff-awards-and-past-winners/ TDF/Irene Sharaff Memorial Tribute] honored Caroline F. Siedle, the costume designer for the 1903 stage extravaganza version of ''The Wizard of Oz''. (Also honored, but not mentioned in the ''Bugle'', was Eugene Lee, designer for ''Wicked'', among other shows.)
** The 2022 winner of the L. Frank Baum Memorial Award, the highest honor bestowed by the International Wizard of Oz Club, is Sean P. Duffley.
** Jeff Goldblum is cast as the Wizard in the ''Wicked'' movie adaptations.
** "Beyond the Shifting Sands" remembers two Oz luminaries who recently passed away: Jules Bass, one half of the famed Rankin/Bass animation studio whose works included ''Tales of the Wizard of Oz'', the 1961 TV special ''Return to Oz'', and the 1985 holiday program ''The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus''; and Angela Lansbury, whose long and storied Hollywood career includes presenting and narrating the 1990 documentary ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: The Making of a Movie Classic''.
* In "Kerumberty Bumpus! The Joy of Oz as Series Fiction", Sarah K. Crotzer and Nick Campbell look at the proper introduction of Ruth Plumly Thompson as a Royal Historian of Oz and how her work was presented and received over the years as a part of the greater Oz series.
* In "Oz Under Scrutiny", Scott Cummings presents contemporary review of ''Kabumpo in Oz''.
* Garrett Kilgore comes to the defense of one of his favorite characters in "J'Accuse Kabumpo: Justice for the Curious Cottabus".
* Scott Cummings discovers a previously unknown dramatic adaptation of ''Kabumpo in Oz'' from Pittsburgh in 1943 in "Unearthing the Gnome King".
* "Coming and Going: ''Kabumpo in Oz''" sees Nick Campbell and Sarah K. Crotzer give brief summaries of some ideas about aspects of the book, including how it serves as a template for other Thompson Oz books, how it may have been influenced by Lewis Carroll and ''Alice in Wonderland'', and how ''Kabumpo'' may have, in turn, influenced Norton Juster and his classic story ''The Phantom Tollbooth''.
* Ryan Bunch presents the sheet music for "The Tin Woodman's Song" from Ruth Plumly Thompson's playlet ''A Day in Oz''.
* J. L. Bell reports on the first two big post-pandemic gatherings of Oz fans, OzCon International 2022 and Oz: The National Convention <s>2020</s> <s>2021</s> 2022.
* Michael Patrick Hearn introduces a Christmas play from the December 1917 issue of ''St. Nicholas Magazine'', "The Man Who Didn't Believe in Christmas" by Mary Austin, which includes the Wizard of Oz as a character.
* "Oz in the Arts" reviews [https://vimeo.com/682070569 ''And Toto, Too''] (FRIGID New York Fringe Festival, February 18-26, 2022, reviewed by Atticus Gannaway), [https://youtu.be/aK9RJY51iGE ''The Lost Princess of Oz''] (Axelrod Contemporary Ballet Theater, August 19-28, 2022, reviewed by Robert Lamont), and ''American Classics Presents Journey to Oz'' (November 18 and 20, 2022, reviewed by J. L. Bell).
* Books and games examined in "The Bugle Review":
** [https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-wonderful-wizard-of-oz-interactive-minalima-edition-illustrated-with-interactive-elements-l-frank-baum/14786866?ean=9780063055735 ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' by L. Frank Baum, illustrated by MinaLima] (reviewed by Peter E. Hanff).
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0B14MBLCD/thewonderwizardo/ ''The Boy Baronet in Oz'' by Phyllis Ann Karr].
** [https://bookshop.org/p/books/can-you-survive-the-wonderful-wizard-of-oz-a-choose-your-path-book-ryan-jacobson/17992501?ean=9781940647715 ''Can You Survive The Wonderful Wizard of Oz? A Choose Your Path Book'' by Ryan Jacobson].
** [http://thewizardofoz.info/wiki/Dunkiton_Press ''Dunkiton Press'' #30: Yuletide #2, compiled by Ruth Berman].
** [https://www.etsy.com/listing/1313112590/friends-of-dorothy?click_key=09f0745834b4985ddb829adca109fb76e85b948c%3A1313112590&click_sum=7cceb78b&ref=shop_home_active_3 ''Friends of Dorothy: A Tale of Homophobic Buffoonery'' by Kieran Teare-Thomas].
** [https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-love-magnet-of-oz-alan-lindsay/18590786?ean=9781574330502 ''The Love Magnet of Oz'' by Alan Lisdsay].
** [https://bookshop.org/p/books/oz-a-fantasy-role-playing-setting-andrew-kolb/18257754?ean=9781524873776 ''Oz: A Fantasy Role-Playing Setting'' by Andrew Kolb].
** [https://bookshop.org/p/books/oz-and-the-musical-performing-the-american-fairy-tale-ryan-bunch/18812410?ean=9780190843144 ''Oz and the Musical: Performing the American Fairy Tale'' by Ryan Bunch].
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1678120677/thewonderwizardo/ ''Pastoria's Daughter'' by Karen Deal Robinson].
** [https://bookshop.org/p/books/shadows-over-oz-founded-on-and-continuing-the-famous-oz-stories-by-l-frank-baum-david-keyes/18693508?ean=9798500154637 ''Shadows Over Oz'' by David M. Keyes].
** [https://bookshop.org/p/books/sherlock-holmes-in-oz-gary-lovisi/18241117?ean=9781479470273 ''Sherlock Holmes in Oz'' by Gary Lovisi].
** [https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-wizard-s-illusion-a-conversation-from-oz-with-sallie-mcfague-and-others-katherine-abetz/18514330?ean=9781666736021 ''The Wizard's Illusion: A Conversation from Oz with Sallie McFugue and Others'' by Katherine Abetz].
** The [https://www.x-decks.com/product/adventures-in-oz-metalluxe-collector-poker-playing-cards/ Adventures in Oz] and [https://kingswildproject.com/products/wizard-of-oz-standard-edition?_pos=1&_sid=042978b83&_ss=r The Wonderful Wizard of Oz] playing card decks, reviewed by Sarah K. Crotzer.


*The front cover features John R. Neill's art for the front cover label of the 1920 reissue of ''The Sea Fairies''.
Other inserts that come with this issue of ''The Baum Bugle'':
*Scott Cummings shares the results of the ''Bugle'' survey in "From the Editor".
* An ad for [https://www.lulu.com/shop/bob-baum-and-david-skipper-and-dave-kelleher-and-irwin-terry/oziana-2022/paperback/product-pv4dmd.html?q=Oziana+2022&page=1&pageSize=4 the 2022 edition of ''Oziana''], the annual literary journal of the International Wizard of Oz Club.
*Bill Beem, Judy Bieber, and Angelica Carpenter are announced as the winners of the elections for the Board of Directors.
* A registration form for [http://www.ozconinternational.com/ the 2023 edition of OzCon International], July 28-30 in Pomona, California.
*[http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/oziana-%2338/17975053 ''Oziana'' #38] is announced, now being published on demand through lulu.com.
* The craft project for this issue is a color, cut, and assemble Emerald City Palace. Perhaps you can perch it jauntily on your head as you cosplay Ruggedo from ''Kabumpo in Oz''.
*In "Oz and Ends":
* The "Oz Live 2022" insert reported on Oz events around the country, including Oz on the Bayou (Gray, Louisiana, March 4-5), QuadCon (April 29-30, Tulsa, Oklahoma), Wizard of Oz Days (May 14-15, Chesterton, Indiana, and a second edition in Hannibal, Missouri, October 22), OzStravaganza! (Chittenango, New York, June), Judy Garland's 100th Birthday Celebration (Grand Rapids, Minnesota, June 9-12), the Michigan Wizard of Oz Festival (Ionia, Michigan, September 30-October 1), Autumn in Oz (Banner Elk, North Carolina, September weekends), The Ohio Wizard of Oz Expo (Aurora, Ohio, October 15-16), The Illinois Oz Festival (Mapleton, Illinois, August 13), and Oztoberfest (Wamego, Kansas, October 1).
* And in ''The Oz Gazette'', the newsletter for younger Oz fans (no matter what their actual age is):
** Kabumpo celebrates his one hundredth birthday.
** "A Letter form the Editor" sees the Scarecrow expounding on the issue and encouraging its readers to contribute.
** "The Emerald City Book Report" gives facts and information on ''Kabumpo in Oz''.
** "Meet an Oz Club Youth Member" interviews its youngest subject yet, five-year-old Julian from Florida.
** Glinda flips the pages of the Great Book of Records back one hundred ears to see what else happened in 1922.
** The latest actions of the enigmatic temporary new ruler of Oz, Princess Toodee, are recorded.
** "The Woggle-Bug's Contest" presents another puzzler for readers to unravel.
** American correspondent-at-large Katie Jones' "The Ozzity Report" continues her search for Ozma in all parts of our world where Oz creatures are sighted.
** And Billina the yellow hen has mysteriously been transformed into a penguin!


*[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B003JFZC06/thewonderwizardo/ An Oz Christmas stocking kit from Bucilla]
----
*Sharon Ray's new blog, [http://www.curiozitiesbythebook.blogspot.com/ Curiozities by the Book], devoted to Oz merchandise that's not derived from the famous movie version.
*New Oz paper and stationery products from [http://store.scrapbook.com/theme/wizard+of+oz.html Scrapbook.com] and [http://oohlalafactory.com/en/53-wizard-of-oz Ohh La La Factory].
*Sculpted Oz teapots from [http://www.stevenmcgovney.com/ex-libris-book-teapots.html Steven McGovney] and [http://www.cardewdesign.com/wizard-of-oz.html Cardew Design].
*[http://www.bradfordexchange.com/products/108569001_wizard-of-oz-book-collection-.html The Bradford Exchange's reproductions of the first editions of the Oz books].
*The website devoted to ''The Wiz'', [http://thewiztheatrecompany.com/ thewiztheatrecompany.com].
*New Oz posters by Gallery 1988 (which now seems to be sold out) and [http://postertext.com/products/wonderful-wizard-oz Postertext].
*Auctions of original artwork by W. W. Denslow and John R. Neill, inscribed first editions of ''Queen Zixi of Ix'' and ''American Fairy Tales'', a letter by L. Frank Baum to a reader, items from the Fred M. Meyer collection, costume pieces from the making of the famous 1939 film version of ''The Wizard of Oz'' and the crystal ball prop, and the Oz items in the Debbie Reynolds auction.
*An exhibit in San Francisco and two accompnaying books about the original 1900 publication of ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz''.
*Dr. Richard Rutter's collections of Oz cartoons, donated to the Special Collections of the Stanford University library.
*Some of Denslow's original art from ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' currently [http://www.nypl.org/events/exhibitions/celebrating-100-years on exhibit at the New York Public Library], in celebration of the library's centennial.
*A report from ''The Wall Street Journal'' about the yellow brick road in Peekskill, New York, which may have inspired L. Frank Baum, who had been a student at the military academy there.
*New invitations for the public to contribute a new cover to ''The Wizard of Oz'' and new illustrations for another edition, both in the United Kingdom.


*The ''Bugle'' celebrates one hundred years of ''The Sea Fairies'', first published in 1911, with "Mermaids in Oz" by Ruth Berman and a selection of contemporary reviews of the book, culled from the Baum scrapbooks and edited by Scott Cummings.
==February 8, 2023: Eugene Lee, 1939-2023==
*Richard Tuerk examines some of the issues and themes raised in the twelfth Oz book in "Head Versus Heart in ''The Tin woodman of Oz''".
[[File:Eugene_Lee.jpeg|center]]
*"The MGM Scrapbook" continues its presentation of the syndicated article "The Story Behind ''The Wizard of Oz''" with parts 3 and 4.
Television and Broadway set designer Eugene Lee passed away today in his home in Providence, Rhode Island, at the age of 83. He was the set designer for ''Saturday Night Live'' from its 1975 premiere until the present day except for a handful of seasons in the 1980s, and also for ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' and ''Late Night with Seth Meyers''. On Broadway, he designed many shows, and won Tony Awards for his work on ''Candide'', ''Sweeney Todd'', and ''Wicked''. He is survived by his wife, Brooke, and two children.
*A vintage story by Ruth Plumly Thompson, "Blonde Rival", originally published in Marvel's ''Miss America'' magazine in its February 1947 issue.
*"The Oz Collector" visits Wausaukee, Wisconsin, in "Oz, Wisconsin! A Visit to the Land of Oz Museum".
*Reviewed in "The Oz Bookshelf":


*[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/097941332X/thewonderwizardo/ ''The Adventures of Glinda Gale'' by J. A. Holst], reviewed by Joe Bongiorno.
(Information courtesy [https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Tony-Winning-Set-Designer-Eugene-Lee-Passes-Away-20230208 Broadway World] and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene_Lee_(designer) Wikipedia]. Photograph courtesy of [https://sports.yahoo.com/eugene-lee-snl-set-designer-185905185.html Yahoo!])
*[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0615174590/thewonderwizardo/ ''Tales of Magic Land 3'' by Aleksandr Volkov and translated by Peter L. Blystone], reviewed by Alan Wise.
*[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0060881224/thewonderwizardo/ ''Designs on Film: A Century of Hollywood Art Direction'' by Cathy Whitlock], reviewed by Wise.
*[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1843651572/thewonderwizardo/ ''Michael Foreman's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz''], reviewed by Angelica Carpenter.


*In "Oz Behind the Footlights", Michael O'Connor reviews [http://www.wizardofozthemusical.com/ Andrew Lloyd Webber's new stage version of ''The Wizard of Oz''], now playing in the West End in London.
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*"The Magic Picture" looks at the dedication of a memorial marker for Terry, the Cairn terrier who played Toto in the famous film verison of ''The Wizard of Oz'', at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
*"In Memoriam" remembers Joan Neill Farnsworth, John R. Neill's youngest daughter, and Roland Roycraft, who illustrated new dust jackets for the Oz books in the late 1950s.
*The back cover is an illustration by Thea Kliros from [http://beta.bedwickandjones.com/the-wizard-of-oz a new edition of ''The Wizard of Oz''].


Oz Club members with premium memberships should have received their copies already, and other members should get their issues soon.
==Rumor Control==
<center>[[File:colorbar.gif]]</center>
(Because of the many questions I am asked about possible forthcoming Oz projects or other bits of pseudo-news, I have added this section to answer some of these inquiries.)
 
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The latest Oz projects to be announced in Hollywood: ''Cheshire Crossing'', the graphic novel by Andy Weir and Sarah Anderson, optioned by Amblin Partners (see [https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/amblin-michael-de-luca-tackling-martian-author-s-fantasy-graphic-novel-cheshire-crossing-1255011 this report]); and an animated musical adaptation of the book ''Toto: The Dog-Gone Amazing Story of the Wizard of Oz'', where the story is told from Toto's point of view, to be produced at Warner Bros. (see [https://deadline.com/2020/10/toto-the-dog-gone-amazing-story-of-the-wizard-of-oz-animated-pic-in-the-works-at-warner-bros-1234596757/ this source]).
 
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Okay, yes, word has leaked out that Warner Bros. tried to talk Robert Zemeckis into directing a remake of ''The Wizard of Oz'', using the same screenplay as the famous 1939 Judy Garland version. Zemeckis already rejected the idea. This probably puts the idea on the back burner for a while, and based on the ''extreme'' negative reaction the idea got, I suspect it will stay there. Rumors of this have surfaced again, but appear to be the result of someone finding the old story and running it again.
 
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<a name="rumors">'''<u>Rumor Control</u>''']
It's getting harder and harder to keep up with all of the currently planned Oz movie and television projects. Bear in mind that at this stage, most of it is speculation and/or not even in pre-production, or possibly even a game of "Telephone". But here are some of the current Oz movies that could be coming to your local theater in the next few years:
<br>(Because of the many questions I am asked about possible forthcoming Oz projects or other bits of pseudo-news, I have added this section to answer some of these inquiries.)
<hr>
It's been mentioned before, in an on-again, off-again way, but it looks like the ''Wicked'' television miniseries is on again. This is not an adaptation of the musical, but of the original novel, with Salma Hayak producing and directing, and possibly writing as well. It's under development for ABC.
<hr>
Okay, yes, word has leaked out that Warner Bros. tried to talk Robert Zemeckis into directing a remake of ''The Wizard of Oz'', using the same screenplay as the famous 1939 Judy Garland version. Zemeckis already rejected the idea. This probably puts the idea on the back burner for a while, and based on the ''extreme'' negative reaction the idea got, I suspect it will stay there.
<hr>
It's getting harder and harder to keep up with all of the currently planned Oz movie projects. Bear in mind that at this stage, most of it is speculation and/or not even in pre-production, or possibly even a game of "Telephone". But here are some of the current Oz movies that could be coming to your local theater in the next few years:


*''The Witches of Oz'', which has the Wicked Witch of the West coming to New York City to exact her revenge on a now grown-up Dorothy. Christopher Lloyd plays the Wizard. Both theatrical movie and television miniseries versions of this have been prepared, and it has already been shown on the Syfy Channel in Great Britain and released on DVD in Europe and Australia. The television miniseries version was a featured offer of DISH Cinema in September 2011. It is now also having a limited run in select theaters under the title ''Dorothy and the Witches of Oz'', and is now available on DVD and Blu-Ray.
*''The Road to Oz'', a movie biopic about the life of L. Frank Baum and how he created Oz, starring Eddie Redmayne as Frank. (See reports [http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/aug/06/eddie-redmayne-wizard-of-oz-author-l-frank-baum here] and [http://www.joblo.com/movie-news/eddie-redmayne-to-play-author-l-frank-baum-in-biopic-road-to-oz-268 here].)
*''Oz, The Great and Powerful'', a prequel about how the Wizard came to Oz, directed by Sam Raimi and starring <s>Robert Downey, Jr.</s> <s>Johnny Depp</s> James Franco, for Disney. (This may have previously been announced as ''Brick''.) Disney has announced an intented release date of March 8, 2013.
*''Dark Oz 3-D'', based on the old Caliber comic book.
*''Dark Oz 3-D'', based on the old Caliber comic book.
*A non-musical, faithful adaptation of ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' from New Line and [http://www.templehillent.com/ Temple Hill].
*A non-musical, faithful adaptation of ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' from New Line and [http://www.templehillent.com/ Temple Hill].
*[http://www.dorothyofoz.com/ ''Dorothy of Oz''], an animated musical sequel based on the book by Roger S. Baum, which now has a poster with an August 3, 2012 release on it (although it looks like that's now been pushed back to 2013).
*''The Oz Wars'', which would have the witches fighting for control of the Emerald City while the Wizard leads the resistance.
*''The Oz Wars'', which would have the witches fighting for control of the Emerald City while the Wizard leads the resistance.
*John Boorman's [http://www.actionsynthese.com/index2.php?language=en animated adaptation of ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz''] seems to be on track for release &mdash; in France. Once it's released, an English-language release will likely come out soon afterwards. (However, in a [http://www.filmireland.net/2011/03/16/interview-with-john-boorman/ recent interview], Boorman admitted that the project has stalled due to lack of funding.)
*John Boorman's [http://www.actionsynthese.com/index2.php?language=en animated adaptation of ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz''] seems to be on track for release &mdash; in France. Once it's released, an English-language release will likely come out soon afterwards. (However, in a [http://www.filmireland.net/2011/03/16/interview-with-john-boorman/ recent interview], Boorman admitted that the project has stalled due to lack of funding.)
*''Oz: Return to the Emerald City'' was one of two possible competing projects at Warner Bros. This original sequel may now be shopped around to other studios, or turned into a novel.
*''Oz: Return to the Emerald City'' was one of two possible competing projects at Warner Bros. This original sequel may now be shopped around to other studios, or turned into a novel.
*[http://www.independentstoriesinc.com/WonderfulWizard.htm ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz''], a low-budget independent production from Barnyard Studios and Used Productions. This is very much a shoestring production, which is looking for money and actors.
*[http://www.independentstoriesinc.com/WonderfulWizard.htm ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz''], a low-budget independent production from Barnyard Studios and Used Productions. This is very much a shoestring production, which is looking for money and actors. But its Kickstarter campaign to raise the last money it needed was a success, so it may be finished soon.
*[http://valleywind.com/legendofoz/ ''Legend of Oz''], a modern retelling of ''The Wizard of Oz'' from Valley Wind Productions in Ottawa.
*[http://valleywind.com/legendofoz/ ''Legend of Oz''], a modern retelling of ''The Wizard of Oz'' from Valley Wind Productions in Ottawa.
*Yes, it looks like a film version of ''Wicked'' is currently in pre-planning at Universal. But this is a long way off&mdash;sometime in the middle of the decade&mdash;and a lot can happen. However, the success of the play most likely means that there will be a film version some day.
*[http://www.heyuguys.co.uk/2010/06/16/are-the-polish-brothers-planning-their-own-trip-to-oz/ ''Oz''], a new telling of ''The Wizard of Oz''.
*[http://www.heyuguys.co.uk/2010/06/16/are-the-polish-brothers-planning-their-own-trip-to-oz/ ''Oz''], a new telling of ''The Wizard of Oz''.
*A still unnamed horror movie set in the 1920s with Dorothy meeting Alice in Bedlam Asylum.
*A still unnamed horror movie set in the 1920s with Dorothy meeting Alice in Bedlam Asylum.
*[http://www.screendaily.com/festivals/berlin/european-film-market/mcnamara-to-direct-young-santa/5066468.article ''Young Santa'']., based on L. Frank Baum's book ''The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus'' and directed by Sean McNamara.
*''How the Wizard Came to Oz'', based on two books by Donald Abbott.
*Not entirely Oz, strictly speaking, but the Judy Garland biography ''Get Happy'' may be made into a movie, featuring Anne Hathaway as Garland.
And it's not limited to movies any more. In development for television:
*[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/warner-horizon-turn-oz-fantasy-420517 ''Red Brick Road''], a television series continuation of ''The Wizard of Oz'' in the style of ''Game of Thrones''. The latest word is that this is being developed for the Lifetime channel.
*[http://www.deadline.com/2013/08/cbs-developing-wizard-of-oz-themed-medical-drama-from-timbermanbeverly/ ''Dorothy''], an Oz-themed medical drama in development at CBS
*[http://www.cinemablend.com/television/Tim-Kring-Developing-Wizard-Oz-Drama-Dorothy-Must-Die-CW-58899.html ''Dorothy Must Die''], in which Dorothy has returned to Oz and become a dictator, in development at the CW. This would be based on the book series of the same name.
*''Warriors of Oz'', a post-apocalyptic version in development at Syfy.
* A ''Wicked'' television miniseries, based on the original book (not the stage musical). Salma Hayak was attached to this as a producer. When last heard of, it was under development at ABC.
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<hr>
No, Peter Jackson is ''not'' producing or directing a billion-dollar all-CGI remake of ''The Wizard of Oz'' for Warner Bros. How do stories like this get started? Oh, maybe in [http://www.aintitcool.com/node/31184 stories like this]...
No, Peter Jackson is ''not'' producing or directing a billion-dollar all-CGI remake of ''The Wizard of Oz'' for Warner Bros. How do stories like this get started? Oh, maybe in [http://www.aintitcool.com/node/31184 stories like this]...
<hr>
 
It seems the [http://www.hash.com/2007web/ Hash, Inc.], animated production of [http://wiki.hash.com/index.php?title=Main_Page_Two ''The Tin Woodman of Oz''] was successful enough that they're going ahead with their next production, ''The Scarecrow of Oz''. This one even has test footage on YouTube, which looks something like this:
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<center><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/0PN379JK76g&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/0PN379JK76g&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object></center>
 
<hr>
A [http://www.toonzentertainment.com/toonzEntertainment/santa-claus.html computer animated production of Baum's 1902 book ''The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus''] is currently in the works. The producers are Hyde Park Entertainment, Toonz Entertainment, and Gang of 7 Animation. As with all movie projects, a lot can happen before release, which could cause them be delayed, or not to appear at all. Keep an eye on this website's news and events pages for details if they get closer to actually coming out.
<hr>
In recent years, there have been proposals for other Oz or related projects, none of which now appear that they will get off the ground. Among them:
In recent years, there have been proposals for other Oz or related projects, none of which now appear that they will get off the ground. Among them:


*''Lost in Oz'', a series that was to feature Melissa George as a Kansas university student who is whisked to Oz sixty years after the events of ''The Wizard of Oz'' and helping to spearhead a rebellion against the new Wicked Witch of the West. Although developed for the WB and a pilot film produced, it was never picked up, nor the pilot shown. (But keep an eye out on auction sites, as a bootleg DVD sometimes shows up...)
*''Lost in Oz'', a series that was to feature Melissa George as a Kansas university student who is whisked to Oz sixty years after the events of ''The Wizard of Oz'' (The Movie) and helping to spearhead a rebellion against the new Wicked Witch of the West. Although developed for the WB and a pilot film produced, it was never picked up, nor the pilot shown. (But keep an eye out on auction sites, as a bootleg DVD sometimes shows up…)
*A telelvision miniseries based on Gregory Maguire's novel ''Wicked'', with Demi Moore in the title role. (There are stories that the people developing this version later pushed their involvement into the musical version now playing on Broadway and elsewhere.)
*A telelvision miniseries based on Gregory Maguire's novel ''Wicked'', with Demi Moore in the title role. (There are stories that the people developing this version later pushed their involvement into the musical version now playing on Broadway and elsewhere.)
*''The O. Z.'', a hip-hop flavored re-telling of ''The Wizard of Oz'' for Fox. Among the rumored Dorothy's at one point were Brandy, Mya, and the late Aaliyah. Justin Timberlake, John Leuizamo, and Little Richard were mentioned for other parts.
*''The O. Z.'', a hip-hop flavored re-telling of ''The Wizard of Oz'' for Fox. Among the rumored Dorothy's at one point were Brandy, Mya, and the late Aaliyah. Justin Timberlake, John Leuizamo, and Little Richard were mentioned for other parts.
Line 235: Line 262:
*''The Land of Oz'' (not based on the book of the same name), produced by Hallmark for NBC. This eventually became the basis for the Sci Fi Channel miniseries ''Tin Man''.
*''The Land of Oz'' (not based on the book of the same name), produced by Hallmark for NBC. This eventually became the basis for the Sci Fi Channel miniseries ''Tin Man''.
*''The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus'' from Circa Pictures. It's no longer listed on their website.
*''The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus'' from Circa Pictures. It's no longer listed on their website.
*''The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus'' from Hyde Park Entertainment and Toonz Entertainment.
*A Bollywood adaptation of ''The Wizard of Oz'' in India.
*A Bollywood adaptation of ''The Wizard of Oz'' in India.
*A movie version of American McGee's (later cancelled) ''Oz'' video game.
*A movie version of American McGee's (later cancelled) ''Oz'' video game.
Line 240: Line 268:


If progress is made on any of these projects, such as actually going into production or a release date announced, the news will be posted as quickly as possible on this page. But at this stage, any of these going into production is very unlikely. (However, ''Tin Man'' was part of this list for some time before its eventual completion and broadcast on the Sci-Fi Channel.)
If progress is made on any of these projects, such as actually going into production or a release date announced, the news will be posted as quickly as possible on this page. But at this stage, any of these going into production is very unlikely. (However, ''Tin Man'' was part of this list for some time before its eventual completion and broadcast on the Sci-Fi Channel.)
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Latest revision as of 07:55, 19 December 2023

(I will update this page when there is news to tell. Any news older than a year is dropped at the next update. If you have news to report, please e-mail me.)

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(For more Oz news, check out The Daily Ozmopolitan. For the latest Oz not-quite-news, see the Rumor Control section of this page.)

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December 11, 2023: Judge Dismisses Dorothy Dress Ownership Lawsuit

a dress worn by Judy Garland during production of The Wizard of Oz may soon be up for auction now that a federal judge in New York has dismissed a lawsuit by the niece of a priest who once worked at the school where it was found. The Catholic University of America, where the dress was found in 2021. It had been given to Father Gilbert Hartke, chairman of the university's drama department, by actress Mercedes McCambridge, a friend of Garland. When the late Father Hartke's niece, Barbara Hartke, heard about the dress and the plan to auction it off, she sued to take ownership of the dress. In dismissing the suit, Judge Paul Gardephe noted that Barbara Hartke had not established that she was the executor of her uncle's estate or had any other standing in the case. Furthermore, as a Dominican, Father Hartke had taken a vow of poverty and renounced ownership of "temporal goods", and thus had not been the owner of the dress in the first place.

Barbara Hartke has ten days to amend her lawsuit and establish standing. Otherwise, the dress will belong to Catholic university, which can then go through with plans to auction aff the dress. The auction has been on hold for over a year while the case worked its way through the system.

(Information courtesy CNBC.)


October 17, 2023: Dorothy House Miniature Auctioned Off

A miniature of the Gale farmhouse from the famous 1939 movie adaptation of The Wizard of Oz, used in the tornado scene, was auctioned off today by Studio Auctions. The final sale price was $537,000, well above the pre-auction estimate.

(Information courtesy of PR Newswire.)


October 14, 2023: Piper Laurie, 1932-2023

Piper-laurie.jpeg

Piper Laurie, the Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning actress who was also nominated for three Academy Awards and a BAFTA, passed away today. She was 91. Born in Detroit in 1932, Rosetta Jacobs changed her name to Piper Laurie when she signed a contract with Universal Pictures in 1949. She made her screen debut in Louisa opposite Ronald Reagan, and also co-starred with actors such as Donald O'Connor, Tony Curtis, and Rory Calhoun. But she soon moved back to New York to appear on stage and in television. Hollywood beckoned again with a part in The Hustler opposite Paul Newman, which garnered her first Oscar nomination. The parts she was offered did not improve, however, so she went back to New York. Her next film was Carrie in 1976, where she played Margaret White, Carrie's mother, in another Oscar-nominated role. She continued to appear in movies (including Children of a Lesser God, for which she received her third Oscar nomination), on television, and on stage for the rest of her career. Other notable roles include the television movie Promise, for which she won a Emmy; Twin Peaks, which netted her a Golden Globe; and the 1978 television biopic about Judy Garland, Rainbow, in which she played Ethel Gumm, Judy's mother. She is best known to Oz fans, however, for playing Aunt Em in the 1985 Disney movie Return to Oz.

(Information courtesy of Wikipedia and Entertainment Weekly.)


October 13, 2023: Martin Changes Plea to Guilty in Theft of Ruby Slippers

Terry Jon Martin, the Minnesota resident charged with the 2005 theft of a pair of Ruby Slippers used during the production of The Wizard of Oz, has changed his plea to guilty. As part of a plea deal entered in federal court in Duluth, Minnesota, Martin, 78 years old and suffering from OCPD, will face no jail time.

(Information courtesy of the Associated Press via Yahoo! News. More information is also available from KARE11.com.)


July 30, 2023: Betty Ann Bruno, 1931-2023

Betty Ann Bruno, the long-time San Francisco news anchor whose show business career began as a Munchkin in The Wizard of Oz, passed away today at the age of 91. Born Betty Ann Ka'ihliani in Hawai'i on October 1, 1931, she grew up in Hollywood and had an uncredited part in 1937's The Hurricane before playing one of the female background Munchkins in The Wizard of Oz at the age of seven. Acting was not in her blood, however, and she went on to graduate from Stanford before becoming a news anchor at KTVU in San Francisco in 1971, a job she held for over twenty years. She won three news Emmys for her work there. After retiring, she went on to become a hula instructor and founder of the dance troupe Hula Mai. She was named Sonoma Treasure Artist in 2020, and appeared on To Tell the Truth in 2022 in a segment on her time as a Munchkin. During the COVID lockdown, she wrote her memoir, The Munchkin Diary: My Personal Yellow Brick Road. She is survived by her husband, Craig, and her three sons.

(Information courtesy Deadline and SFGate.)


July 29, 2023: The 2023 Winkie Award and Oz Club Awards

The International Wizard of Oz Club presented its annual awards tonight, alongside the Winkie Award, as part of the 2023 OzCon International in Pomona, California. The awards were:

  • First of the Club's annual writing and art contest winners, the Fred Otto Prize for Fiction:
    • First place to J. L. Bell for "The Missing Key".
    • Second place, also to J. L. Bell, for "The Piglets and the Tin Soldier".
  • The C. Warren Hollister Prize for Non-fiction:
    • First place to J. L. Bell (him again?) for "Inspiring Maps of Oz".
    • Second place to Jem Abbas for "Technicolor at the Theatrical Premiere of The Wizard of Oz".
  • The Rob Roy MacVeigh Award for Art went to David Valentin for "Mombi's Magic".
  • The Winkie Award, voted on by member of OzCon International for contributions to the convention, went to Freddy Fogarty.
  • The L. Frank Baum Memorial Award, the most prestigious prize in Oz fandom, went to Blair Frodelius for his many contributions to spreading the word about Oz online over the years.

July 17, 2023: The Baum Bugle Spring 2023 Issue

Bbspring23.jpeg

The Spring 2023 issue of The Baum Bugle, the journal of the International Wizard of Oz Club, has made its way back from the printers and is on its way to members' mailboxes right now. This issue emphasizes the first word in the name of the club, with articles about how Oz is expressed in countries outside of the United States.

In this issue:

  • The front cover reproduces the cover art for the Oz game from Gen X Games.
  • The inside front and back covers reproduce art by Leonid Vladimirsky for postcards based on Волшебник Изумрудного Города (The Wizard of the Emerald City, the Russian version of The Wizard of Oz).
  • In letters, Jane Albright writes her final column as President of the International Wizard of Oz Club, while Editor-in-Chief Sarah K. Crotzer takes the readers through the process of this becoming a truly international issue.
  • In "The Bugle Bulletin":
    • The Wiz gets a new production and nationwide tour with the aim of making it to Broadway next year.
    • The Wicked movies get new cast members (Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero, Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible, Marissa Bode as Nessarose, Ethan Slater as Boq, Bowen Yang as Pfannee), and part 1 gets its release date moved up to November 2024. [No doubt part 2's release also moving, to November 2025, will make it into the next issue.]
    • The animated short The Tin Woods will premiere at OzCon International.
    • Online story platform Land of Tales now has an adaptation of "Hickory, Dickory, Dock", a story from Mother Goose in Prose by L. Frank Baum.
    • Ozzy backdrops from a 1941 Mardi Gras ball have been rediscovered and cataloged by NOLA Tableaux. The program has been digitized as well.
    • A new opera based on the second Oz book, Marvelous, is gearing up for its world premiere.
    • "Across the Shifting Sands" remembers two notable Ozians who recently passed away: Romona Carlin, former First Lady of Kansas who organized an Oz-themed event in Topeka; and artist Shawn Maldonado.
    • "Through the Tube!" only presents one video from YouTube instead of its usual three, but it's a good one: Artist Leonid Vladimirsky on Russian television in 1989 celebrating fifty years of Magic Land. (Don't worry, it has English subtitles.)
  • Jane Albright and Sara K. Crotzer interview the daughter of Magic Land illustrator Leonid Vladimirsky in "The Map to Magic Land: Aia Vladimirsky Remembers Her Fathre".
  • Want to collect the art of a Magic Land illustrator? Well, "An Initial Checklist of the Works by Leonid Vladimirsky" is a good place to start.
  • A Strange Post-Soviet Union" by Atticus Gannaway looks at an unusual pairing of recent Russian translations in one volume: L. Frank Baum's Queen Zixi of Ix and John R. Neill's The Wonder City of Oz!
  • Dave Ward looks at the first British stage production of The Wizard of Oz in "London, 1942".
  • Nick Campbell gives an overview of British editions of the Oz books in "Following Wonder: A History of British Publishing in Five Oz Books".
  • The creator of the new ballet The Lost Princess of Oz (reviewed last issue) is interviewed in "Faith: Gabriel Chajnik's Journey to Find a Lost Princess".
  • The creator of the new Oz card game is interviewed in "Walk the Road: An Interview with Óscar Arévalo" (with art and additional comments by Lorena Azpiri).
  • Sarah K. Crotzer looks at one particular word in the name of the organization when she asks, "How International Was the Early International Wizard of Oz Club?"
  • Reviewed in "Oz in the Arts":
    • The Land of Oz at the Dobama Theatre, Cleveland Heights, Ohio, December 2022.
    • Claus: The Musical (based on The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus), The Lowry, Salford, England, December 2022.
    • The Wizard of Paws, or There's No Place Like a Furever Home, Englewood Arts Center, Independence, Missouri, April 2023.
  • Reviewed in "The Bugle Review":
  • And the inside back cover reproduces four cover images from British editions of the Oz books.

Also included in this issue:

  • The craft is a cut-out Russian nesting doll, based on the Magic Land art of Leonid Vladimirsky.
  • In The Emerald City Mirror, the newsletter aimed at younger Oz fans (no matter what their actual ages are):
    • It seems Princess Toodee, who temporarily took over for Ozma, was just a paper doll being used by the usurper who just took over Oz: The Nome King!
    • Editor-in-chief the Scarecrow reports from where everyone is hiding out from the new king, the Emerald City Library. (Since the Nome King doesn't read books, he probably won't find them there!)
    • A reprint from the archives looks at just who the Nome King is, anyway.
    • The Nome King's many schemes from the Oz books are recounted, along with a look at various eggs and a few of the Nome King's more colorful quotes.
    • Oz Club member on assignment Katie Jones reports from San Francisco, where reports of fantastic beings appearing there include a dragon!
    • And two contests: Guess the answer to "What Did the Wogglebug Say?" and draw a picture of the Cowardly Lion to celebrate the centennial of The Cowardly Lion of Oz.



July 15, 2023: SAG-AFTRA Strike Delays Wicked Production

Among the many movie and television projects put on hold by the SAG-AFTRA strike is the movie adaptation of Wicked. Word is that the main production only had ten days and one major musical number ("One Short Day") to go. Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Michelle Yeoh, and Bowen Yang are among the Wicked stars posting support for the actors' strike. When production can resume, and if the delay will affect the release dates for the two films, will likely depend on the length of the strike.

(Information courtesy Broadway World.)


June 20, 2023: Wicked Part 2 Release Moved Up

After the release of the first part of the Wicked movie adaptation was moved up to November earlier this year, it should come as no surprise that the release of part two was also moved up today. Originally scheduled for Christmas 2025, it will now come out on November 26, 2025. This will move it away from the same release window as Avatar 3, and also give it more time to build an audience over the holidays. (Both parts will now come out the day before Thanksgiving in the United States.)

(Information courtesy The Hollywood Reporter.)


June 1, 2023: Accused Ruby Slipper Thief Enters Plea

Terry Jon Martin, the man accused of stealing the Ruby Slippers from the Judy Garland Museum in 2005, entered his plea today. He has pled not guilty to one count of Theft of a Major Art Work.

(Information courtesy of KSTP Minneapolis/St. Paul.)


May 17, 2023: An Arrest in the Ruby Slipper Theft

Terry Martin, 76, has been indicted in the 2005 theft of a pair of Ruby Slippers, originally worn by Judy Garland in the famous 1939 film adaptation of The Wizard of Oz. The Slippers were recovered in 2018. The investigation has been ongoing, and Martin has been charged with one count of theft of a major artwork. The charge was filed by federal prosecutors in North Dakota. The Ruby Slippers at the time belonged to collector Michael Shaw, who had loaned them to the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. They were stolen in 2005, and Shaw eventually received a settlement from his insurers. A man contacted the insurers about the Slippers in 2017, setting off an investigation and eventual FBI sting operation. Nobody was charged at the time of the Slippers' recovery. Martin lives just south of Grand Rapids, but otherwise does not appear to have any connection to the museum or Garland. This is still an ongoing investigation, and it's possible other indictments may come later.

(Information courtesy of The Associated Press. Video courtesy of WCCO CBS News Minnesota.)


March 14, 2023: Wicked Part 1 Movie Release Date Changed

Universal has moved up the release date of the first half of the movie adaptation of Wicked, the long-running Broadway and West End musical. Originally announced for Christmas 2024, they moved the date up to November 27, 2024, to coincide with the Thanksgiving holiday season it the United States. Since Avatar 3 and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 are also coming out on Christmas, changing Wicked to the earlier holiday weekend is probably a wise move.

(Information courtesy Variety.)


February 25, 2023: The Baum Bugle, Winter 2022 Issue

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The latest issue of The Baum Bugle, the journal of the International Wizard of Oz Club, is now making its appearance in members' mailboxes. (Yes, technically it's now 2023, but it's still the same winter season, which historically is still very good for the Bugle.) This issue celebrates the centennial of Kabumpo in Oz, the first Oz book to go out exclusively and definitively under the authorship of Ruth Plumly Thompson.
In this issue:

  • All of the covers have to do with Dick Martin's 1961 cover design for the new Kabumpo in Oz dust jacket. The front cover is the finished product, the inside front cover shows the color separations, the inside back cover is a different color sketch, and the back cover is the original art.
  • In "Letters", Oz Club President gives her impressions of the twice-postponed 2022 National Oz Convention, while Bugle editor-in-chief Sarah K. Crotzer remembers her encounters with Kabumpo as she discusses the creation of this issue.
  • News items discussed in "The Bugle Bulletin":
    • The discovery and auction of the original art by W. W. Denslow for two of the color plates from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, both selling for over $100,000.
    • The 2022 TDF/Irene Sharaff Memorial Tribute honored Caroline F. Siedle, the costume designer for the 1903 stage extravaganza version of The Wizard of Oz. (Also honored, but not mentioned in the Bugle, was Eugene Lee, designer for Wicked, among other shows.)
    • The 2022 winner of the L. Frank Baum Memorial Award, the highest honor bestowed by the International Wizard of Oz Club, is Sean P. Duffley.
    • Jeff Goldblum is cast as the Wizard in the Wicked movie adaptations.
    • "Beyond the Shifting Sands" remembers two Oz luminaries who recently passed away: Jules Bass, one half of the famed Rankin/Bass animation studio whose works included Tales of the Wizard of Oz, the 1961 TV special Return to Oz, and the 1985 holiday program The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus; and Angela Lansbury, whose long and storied Hollywood career includes presenting and narrating the 1990 documentary The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: The Making of a Movie Classic.
  • In "Kerumberty Bumpus! The Joy of Oz as Series Fiction", Sarah K. Crotzer and Nick Campbell look at the proper introduction of Ruth Plumly Thompson as a Royal Historian of Oz and how her work was presented and received over the years as a part of the greater Oz series.
  • In "Oz Under Scrutiny", Scott Cummings presents contemporary review of Kabumpo in Oz.
  • Garrett Kilgore comes to the defense of one of his favorite characters in "J'Accuse Kabumpo: Justice for the Curious Cottabus".
  • Scott Cummings discovers a previously unknown dramatic adaptation of Kabumpo in Oz from Pittsburgh in 1943 in "Unearthing the Gnome King".
  • "Coming and Going: Kabumpo in Oz" sees Nick Campbell and Sarah K. Crotzer give brief summaries of some ideas about aspects of the book, including how it serves as a template for other Thompson Oz books, how it may have been influenced by Lewis Carroll and Alice in Wonderland, and how Kabumpo may have, in turn, influenced Norton Juster and his classic story The Phantom Tollbooth.
  • Ryan Bunch presents the sheet music for "The Tin Woodman's Song" from Ruth Plumly Thompson's playlet A Day in Oz.
  • J. L. Bell reports on the first two big post-pandemic gatherings of Oz fans, OzCon International 2022 and Oz: The National Convention 2020 2021 2022.
  • Michael Patrick Hearn introduces a Christmas play from the December 1917 issue of St. Nicholas Magazine, "The Man Who Didn't Believe in Christmas" by Mary Austin, which includes the Wizard of Oz as a character.
  • "Oz in the Arts" reviews And Toto, Too (FRIGID New York Fringe Festival, February 18-26, 2022, reviewed by Atticus Gannaway), The Lost Princess of Oz (Axelrod Contemporary Ballet Theater, August 19-28, 2022, reviewed by Robert Lamont), and American Classics Presents Journey to Oz (November 18 and 20, 2022, reviewed by J. L. Bell).
  • Books and games examined in "The Bugle Review":

Other inserts that come with this issue of The Baum Bugle:

  • An ad for the 2022 edition of Oziana, the annual literary journal of the International Wizard of Oz Club.
  • A registration form for the 2023 edition of OzCon International, July 28-30 in Pomona, California.
  • The craft project for this issue is a color, cut, and assemble Emerald City Palace. Perhaps you can perch it jauntily on your head as you cosplay Ruggedo from Kabumpo in Oz.
  • The "Oz Live 2022" insert reported on Oz events around the country, including Oz on the Bayou (Gray, Louisiana, March 4-5), QuadCon (April 29-30, Tulsa, Oklahoma), Wizard of Oz Days (May 14-15, Chesterton, Indiana, and a second edition in Hannibal, Missouri, October 22), OzStravaganza! (Chittenango, New York, June), Judy Garland's 100th Birthday Celebration (Grand Rapids, Minnesota, June 9-12), the Michigan Wizard of Oz Festival (Ionia, Michigan, September 30-October 1), Autumn in Oz (Banner Elk, North Carolina, September weekends), The Ohio Wizard of Oz Expo (Aurora, Ohio, October 15-16), The Illinois Oz Festival (Mapleton, Illinois, August 13), and Oztoberfest (Wamego, Kansas, October 1).
  • And in The Oz Gazette, the newsletter for younger Oz fans (no matter what their actual age is):
    • Kabumpo celebrates his one hundredth birthday.
    • "A Letter form the Editor" sees the Scarecrow expounding on the issue and encouraging its readers to contribute.
    • "The Emerald City Book Report" gives facts and information on Kabumpo in Oz.
    • "Meet an Oz Club Youth Member" interviews its youngest subject yet, five-year-old Julian from Florida.
    • Glinda flips the pages of the Great Book of Records back one hundred ears to see what else happened in 1922.
    • The latest actions of the enigmatic temporary new ruler of Oz, Princess Toodee, are recorded.
    • "The Woggle-Bug's Contest" presents another puzzler for readers to unravel.
    • American correspondent-at-large Katie Jones' "The Ozzity Report" continues her search for Ozma in all parts of our world where Oz creatures are sighted.
    • And Billina the yellow hen has mysteriously been transformed into a penguin!

February 8, 2023: Eugene Lee, 1939-2023

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Television and Broadway set designer Eugene Lee passed away today in his home in Providence, Rhode Island, at the age of 83. He was the set designer for Saturday Night Live from its 1975 premiere until the present day except for a handful of seasons in the 1980s, and also for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Late Night with Seth Meyers. On Broadway, he designed many shows, and won Tony Awards for his work on Candide, Sweeney Todd, and Wicked. He is survived by his wife, Brooke, and two children.

(Information courtesy Broadway World and Wikipedia. Photograph courtesy of Yahoo!)


Rumor Control

(Because of the many questions I am asked about possible forthcoming Oz projects or other bits of pseudo-news, I have added this section to answer some of these inquiries.)


The latest Oz projects to be announced in Hollywood: Cheshire Crossing, the graphic novel by Andy Weir and Sarah Anderson, optioned by Amblin Partners (see this report); and an animated musical adaptation of the book Toto: The Dog-Gone Amazing Story of the Wizard of Oz, where the story is told from Toto's point of view, to be produced at Warner Bros. (see this source).


Okay, yes, word has leaked out that Warner Bros. tried to talk Robert Zemeckis into directing a remake of The Wizard of Oz, using the same screenplay as the famous 1939 Judy Garland version. Zemeckis already rejected the idea. This probably puts the idea on the back burner for a while, and based on the extreme negative reaction the idea got, I suspect it will stay there. Rumors of this have surfaced again, but appear to be the result of someone finding the old story and running it again.


It's getting harder and harder to keep up with all of the currently planned Oz movie and television projects. Bear in mind that at this stage, most of it is speculation and/or not even in pre-production, or possibly even a game of "Telephone". But here are some of the current Oz movies that could be coming to your local theater in the next few years:

  • The Road to Oz, a movie biopic about the life of L. Frank Baum and how he created Oz, starring Eddie Redmayne as Frank. (See reports here and here.)
  • Dark Oz 3-D, based on the old Caliber comic book.
  • A non-musical, faithful adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz from New Line and Temple Hill.
  • The Oz Wars, which would have the witches fighting for control of the Emerald City while the Wizard leads the resistance.
  • John Boorman's animated adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz seems to be on track for release — in France. Once it's released, an English-language release will likely come out soon afterwards. (However, in a recent interview, Boorman admitted that the project has stalled due to lack of funding.)
  • Oz: Return to the Emerald City was one of two possible competing projects at Warner Bros. This original sequel may now be shopped around to other studios, or turned into a novel.
  • The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, a low-budget independent production from Barnyard Studios and Used Productions. This is very much a shoestring production, which is looking for money and actors. But its Kickstarter campaign to raise the last money it needed was a success, so it may be finished soon.
  • Legend of Oz, a modern retelling of The Wizard of Oz from Valley Wind Productions in Ottawa.
  • Oz, a new telling of The Wizard of Oz.
  • A still unnamed horror movie set in the 1920s with Dorothy meeting Alice in Bedlam Asylum.
  • Young Santa., based on L. Frank Baum's book The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus and directed by Sean McNamara.
  • How the Wizard Came to Oz, based on two books by Donald Abbott.
  • Not entirely Oz, strictly speaking, but the Judy Garland biography Get Happy may be made into a movie, featuring Anne Hathaway as Garland.

And it's not limited to movies any more. In development for television:

  • Red Brick Road, a television series continuation of The Wizard of Oz in the style of Game of Thrones. The latest word is that this is being developed for the Lifetime channel.
  • Dorothy, an Oz-themed medical drama in development at CBS
  • Dorothy Must Die, in which Dorothy has returned to Oz and become a dictator, in development at the CW. This would be based on the book series of the same name.
  • Warriors of Oz, a post-apocalyptic version in development at Syfy.
  • A Wicked television miniseries, based on the original book (not the stage musical). Salma Hayak was attached to this as a producer. When last heard of, it was under development at ABC.

No, Peter Jackson is not producing or directing a billion-dollar all-CGI remake of The Wizard of Oz for Warner Bros. How do stories like this get started? Oh, maybe in stories like this...


In recent years, there have been proposals for other Oz or related projects, none of which now appear that they will get off the ground. Among them:

  • Lost in Oz, a series that was to feature Melissa George as a Kansas university student who is whisked to Oz sixty years after the events of The Wizard of Oz (The Movie) and helping to spearhead a rebellion against the new Wicked Witch of the West. Although developed for the WB and a pilot film produced, it was never picked up, nor the pilot shown. (But keep an eye out on auction sites, as a bootleg DVD sometimes shows up…)
  • A telelvision miniseries based on Gregory Maguire's novel Wicked, with Demi Moore in the title role. (There are stories that the people developing this version later pushed their involvement into the musical version now playing on Broadway and elsewhere.)
  • The O. Z., a hip-hop flavored re-telling of The Wizard of Oz for Fox. Among the rumored Dorothy's at one point were Brandy, Mya, and the late Aaliyah. Justin Timberlake, John Leuizamo, and Little Richard were mentioned for other parts.
  • Surrender Dorothy. Drew Barrymore as Dorothy's great-granddaughter coming to Oz, and battling the Wicked Witch of the West's granddaughter. (Rumors of this recently resurfaced, but were quickly squelched. This project is dead.)
  • Somewhere starring Elizabeth Taylor as Dorothy, now a grandmother, returning to Oz. The deaths of both Taylor and developer Rod Steiger means this is unlikely to ever happen.
  • Pamela West, where the Wicked Witch is the innocent victim and Dorothy (with Toto as a pit bull) is the evil interloper.
  • The Land of Oz (not based on the book of the same name), produced by Hallmark for NBC. This eventually became the basis for the Sci Fi Channel miniseries Tin Man.
  • The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus from Circa Pictures. It's no longer listed on their website.
  • The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus from Hyde Park Entertainment and Toonz Entertainment.
  • A Bollywood adaptation of The Wizard of Oz in India.
  • A movie version of American McGee's (later cancelled) Oz video game.
  • Geoff Ryman's Was.

If progress is made on any of these projects, such as actually going into production or a release date announced, the news will be posted as quickly as possible on this page. But at this stage, any of these going into production is very unlikely. (However, Tin Man was part of this list for some time before its eventual completion and broadcast on the Sci-Fi Channel.)

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