Oz News: Difference between revisions

From OzWiki
Jump to navigationJump to search
 
(379 intermediate revisions by 2 users not shown)
Line 8: Line 8:
<center>[[File:colorbar.gif]]</center>
<center>[[File:colorbar.gif]]</center>


==August 15, 2020: International Wizard of Oz Club Awards==
==November 13, 2025: ''The Baum Bugle'' Autumn 2025 Issue==
This evening, the International Wizard of Club presented its annual awards at 2Oz? 2Oz! which is this year's national Oz convention, held online for the first time due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The winners are:
[[file:Bbautumn25.jpg|right]] The latest issue of ''The Baum Bugle'', the journal of the International Wizard of oz Club, is making its way to members now. This issue celebrates forty years of ''Return to Oz'', and includes a comprehensive checklist of collectibles from the 1985 Disney movie. Keep an eye on this space for future updates.


* The Fred Otto Prize for short fiction went to "The Flutterbudget Revolt" by Suren Oganessian in first place, and "The Lost Chapter of The Sea Fairies" by Erica Olivera in second.
<br clear=all>
* The C. Warren Hollister Prize for non-fiction went to "No Place Like Oz" by [to be completed later]
 
* The Rob Roy MacVeigh Prize for visual arts went to "The King of Beast's Conquest" by Brian de Jesus [to be completed later]
----
 
==October 8, 2025: Robert A. Baum, 1942-2025==
[[file:Robert_A_Baum_Jr.webp|300 px|center]] Robert A. "Bob" Baum, great-grandson of L. Frank Baum and an important Oz scholar in his own right, passed away today at the age of 83. His generosity in sharing his family's collection and history has been a boon to Oz in many ways. Museums, documentaries, and Oz festivals and conventions have all been enhanced by Bob's donations. He was a consultant on the 1990 television movie ''The Dreamer of Oz'', a biopic of his great-grandfather, and even recreated Frank's home office on set using items from his own collection. He served the International Wizard of Oz Club as a director and contributor to ''The Baum Bugle'', as well as frequent convention guest. The [https://www.lulu.com/shop/bob-baum-and-don-abbott-and-rob-lauer-and-autumn-rose-frodelius/oziana-2022/paperback/product-pv4dmd.html?q=oziana+2022&page=1&pageSize=4 2022 issue of ''Oziana''], the Club's literary magazine, was a collection of Bob Baum's fanciful stories about his family history. He and his wife, Claire, would sometimes appear at events as L. Frank and Maud Baum to tell stories about their lives. For his many contributions, he was awarded the Oz Club's highest honor, named after his great-grandfather, in 2002.


And the Club's highest award, the L. Frank Baum Memorial Award, for contributions to Oz and the Club's mission, went to Gina Wickwar, author of ''The Hidden Prince of Oz'' and ''Toto of Oz'', and short stories for ''Oziana'', as well as her work for the Club as Secretary and in other capacities.
(Information courtesy Jane Albright on Facebook. Photo courtesy [https://oz.fandom.com/wiki/Robert_A._Baum_Jr. The Oz Wiki].)


----
----


==August 1, 2020: ''The Baum Bugle'' Spring 2020 issue==
==September 21, 2025: Elaine Merk Binder, 1930-2025==
[[File:Bbspring20.jpg|600 px|right]]The latest issue of ''The Baum Bugle'', the journal of the International Wizard of Oz Club, is now in the mail and making its way towards members. This is the first issue of the 2020 membership year, with the current COVID-19 pandemic no doubt contributing to the usual problems the ''Bugle'' has to keeping to its intended schedule.
Elaine Merk Binder, one of the last remaining actors who played a Munchkin in ''The Wizard of Oz'', passed away today at the age of 94. Born in Colorado, she appeared as an extra in several movies in the '30s, including an ''Our Gang'' short. She was one of a dozen young girls who filled in the ranks of background female Munchkins after Judy Garland's Dorothy arrives in Oz. But after 1940 she left show business, and went on to earn degrees in education and music. She appeared in the 2024 documentary series ''Memories of Oz'', reminiscing about making the movie.


<p>In this issue:
(Information courtesy [https://variety.com/2025/film/news/elaine-merk-binder-dead-munchkin-wizard-of-oz-1236525749/ ''Variety''] and [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5285756/ IMDB].)
* The covers celebrate the "Broadway Celebrates Oz" photograph series, with Dorothy and her friends on the front cover, the Wicked With of the West on the back, and costume sketches and designs on the inside covers.
* "Letters" sees Oz Club President Jane Albright and ''Baum Bugle'' editor Sarah Krotzer talk about the latest Oz issues.
* "The Bugle Bulletin" brings us news of:
** The #LivingRoomTheatre challenge by ''Playbill'' magazine, and [https://www.playbill.com/article/our-top-3-videos-from-week-1-of-the-livingroomtheatre-challenge the Ozzy results of the first week].
** ''The Wizard of Oz'' takes on a new cinematic life during the coronavirus pandemic as a staple at drive-in theaters, as well as in movie theaters in Japan.
** [https://www.facebook.com/ArtistTimWolak/ The Oz art of Tim Wolak].
** [https://www.dropbox.com/s/65azjnd7wb1qmf6/OTR%20Full%20Virtual%20Message.mp4 ''Over the Rainbow: The Rock Ballet''] is used as a call for social justice in the wake of the murder of George Floyd.
** A tribute to Hollywood icons, including Judy Garland as Dorothy, as [https://www.whio.com/news/centerville-native-paints-mural-plaza-theatre-miamisburg-reopening/3CSQ5ODOUVCM7CGJOYXBJHTBFI/ a mural in Miamisburg, Ohio].
** The new webcomic [https://www.webtoons.com/en/fantasy/webtoon-greenlight/escape-from-oz-13/viewer?title_no=1988&episode_no=22&webtoonType=WEBTOON&ogTagImageUrl=%2F20200626_107%2F1593111138089n3Gzr_JPEG%2F04_EC9E91ED9288EC8381EC84B8_mobile.jpg%3Ftype%3Dcrop540_540 ''Escape from Oz''].
** "Through the Tube" presents the latest Oz findings on YouTube:
*** [https://youtu.be/KmZ-r229IiQ Family home movies from the 1970s of the Land of Oz theme park in North Carolina].
*** [https://youtu.be/EB2PTkMPfco a tour of Dorothy's House], the tourist attraction in Liberal, Kansas.
*** [https://youtu.be/fGzJo4Hzkw0 The Spirit of Oz troupe performing at Storybook Land] in Aberdeen, South Dakota.
** "Beyond the Shifting Sands" notes the passing in March of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Schramm_(actor) actor David Schramm]; best known as Roy Biggins in ''Wings'', he also played W. W. Denslow in the 1990 TV movie ''The Dreamer of Oz''.


Keep watching this page for more of this issue's contents.
----


Also coming along with this issue:
==August 8, 2025: ''The Baum Bugle'' Spring 2025==
* A flyer for this year's national Oz convention, [https://ozis.us/ To Oz? To Oz!], being held for the first time online.
[[file:Bbspring25.png|400 px|right]] The latest issue of ''The Baum Bugle'', the journal of the International Wizard of Oz Club, is now making its way to members. This issue celebrates the release of ''Wicked'' (Part 1).
* This issue's craft is a paper version of one of the Three Adepts at Magic, from ''Glinda of Oz'', in the form of a fish. (Which fish it is depends on how you color it!)
 
* And ''The Oz Gazette'', the newsletter for younger Oz fans (of all ages) features:
In this issue:
** An interview with Polychrome, the Rainbow's Daughter.
* The front cover reprints the publicity shot of ''Wicked'' stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande recreating the original poster design for the ''Wicked'' stage show.
** A look back at the 1939 MGM film version of ''The Wizard of Oz''.
* The inside covers reprint Anton Loeb's endpaper design for the 1950 book adaptation of ''The Wizard of Oz''.
** A contest to draw the Jitterbug.
* The table of contents includes Mark Manley's ''Wicked'' tribute painting, "The Melting Occurred at the Thirteenth Hour".
** The Scarecrow, the new editor of ''The Oz Gazette'', introduces himself in the Editorial.
* In "Letters", Oz Club President Ryan Bunch looks back at how the ''Bugle'' covered the path ''Wicked'' has taken from page to stage to screen, and ''Bugle'' editor Sarah K. Crotzer looks at how this issue's features came about.
** The news flash that Aujah, one of the Three Adepts, decided to go exploring the world by becoming a fish again.
* In "The Bugle Bulletin":
** The National Library Service (NLS) has [https://www.loc.gov/nls/new-materials/book-lists/wicked-and-the-wizard-of-oz/ a large collection of Oz materials] for the blind and print disabled.
** "Beyond the Shifting Sands" remembers recently passed Oz contributors Jean Marsh, Stephen J. Teller, Jack Van Camp, and Sally Roesch Wagner.
* Sarah K. Crotzer reacts to the ''Wicked'' film in "What Is This Feeling?"
* "What the Papers Said" looks at a number of reviews of ''Wicked'' from around the world.
* "Wicked Wares: Toys, Plushes, and Cinema Exclusives" by Jane Albright looks at a variety of ''Wicked'' movie collectibles.
* David Diket looks at the history and evolution of Wicked Witch of the West dolls in "My Beautiful Wickedness" and "David's Timeline of Beautifully Wicked Dolls".
* Karyl Carlson looks back at how she started creating [https://karylsozdolls.com/ custom Oz dolls] in "The Dollmaker of Oz".
* It's been twenty-five years since the last installment, but Carl Rexroad continues his look at political cartoons themed around ''The Wizard of Oz'' in "The Editorial Cartoons of Oz, Part 1: 125 Years Later, ''The Wizard of Oz'' Still Drives Political Debate".
* William STillman looks at the history of one of the bestselling Oz adaptations in "75 Years of Anton Loeb's ''The Wizard of Oz''".
* In "Oz in the Arts", Robert Lamont reviews [https://wizmusical.com/ the recent Broadway revival of ''The Wiz''] (now on tour).
* In "The Bugle Review":
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0063377012/thewonderwizardo/ ''Elphie: A Wicked Childhood'' by Gregory Maguire], reviewed by Alan Wise.
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0DNKY21JB/thewonderwizardo/ The blu-ray release of ''Wicked''], reviewed by Sarah K. Crotzer.
** [https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/publisher/21442/double-critical-llc ''Adventules in Oz: Campaign Setting'' and ''Beasts & Beings'' role-playing campaign books], reviewed by Sarah K. Crotzer.
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0CSYB4B12/thewonderwizardo/ ''Wicked: The Game'' by Spin Master], reviewed by Sarah K. Crotzer.
* Michael Gessel remembers a recently deceased long-time Oz fan in "The Lifelong Scholar: Stephen J. Teller's Journey from Kansas to Oz".
* The back cover shows the Tonner Doll versions of Glinda and the Wicked Witch of the West.
 
Also included with this issue:
* This issue's Oz craft is a miniature version of the Emerald City Express train from the ''Wicked'' movie.
* And in the final (for now?) issue of ''The Emerald City Gazette'', the newspaper for younger Oz fans (of all ages), Bungle and Toto stroll through the Emerald Palace to ensure that those pesky nomes are finally gone for good.
 
<br clear=all>
 
----
 
==''Wicked'' and ''Wicked: For Good'' Accolades and Awards==
With high profile movie releases, naturally ''Wicked'' and ''Wicked: For Good'' will receive acclaim during the film award seasons. Here, then, we will keep track of awards presented to the ''Wicked'' movies and their cast and crew, plus nominations for awards to be given later. Keep an eye on this list or [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_accolades_received_by_Wicked_(2024_film) the Wikipedia page] as more news comes in.
 
The awards are presented here in the chronological order they were presented:
* September 27, 2024: International Cinematographers "Manaki Brothers" Film Festival, SUMOLIGHT Creative Energy Award: Alice Brooks (Cinematographer) and Dave Smith (Gaffer)
* November 18, 2024: Heartland Film Festival, Truly Moving Picture Award: ''Wicked''
* November 23, 2024: The International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography Camerimage, Production Designer Award: Nathan Crowley
* December 4, 2024: National Board of Review
** Best Film: ''Wicked''
** Best Director: Jon M. Chu
** Spotlight Award: the creative collaboration of Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande
* December 5, 2024: American Film Institute Awards, Top 10 Films of the Year: ''Wicked'' (alongside nine other movies)
* December 8, 2024: Washington DC Area Film Critics Film Critics Association
** Best Feature: ''Wicked''
** Best Production Design: Nathan Crowley and Lee Sandales
* December 8, 2024: Astra Film and Creative Arts Awards
** Best Picture: ''Wicked''
** Best Actress: Cynthia Erivo
** Best Supporting Actress: Ariana Grande (tied with Zoe Saldaña for ''Emilia Pérez'')
** Best Director: Jon M. Chu
** Best Casting: Tiffany Little Canfield and Bernard Telsey
** Best Costume Design: Paul Tazewell
** Best Marketing Campaign: ''Wicked''
** Best Production Design: Nathan Crowley and Lee Sandales
* December 9, 2024: Celebration of Black Cinema and Television, Actress Award—Film: Cynthia Erivo
* December 9, 2024: Michigan Movie Critics Guild, Best Supporting Actress: Ariana Grande
* December 9, 2024: Atlanta Film Critics Circle, Best Supporting Actress: Ariana Grande
* December 9, 2024: San Diego Film Critics Society
** Best Supporting Actress: Ariana Grande
** Best Production Design: Nathan Crowley and Lee Sandales
** Best Costume Design: Paul Tazewell
* December 13, 2024: African-American Film Critics Association, Innovator Award: Paul Tazewell
* December 13, 2024: Las Vegas Film Critics Society
** Best Costume Design: Paul Tazewell
** Best Family Film: ''Wicked''
* December 15, 2024: St. Louis Film Critics Association, Best Costume Design: Paul Tazewell
* December 16, 2024: Phoenix Film Critics Society
** Best Supporting Actress: Ariana Grande
** Best Costume Design: ''Wicked''
* December 16, 2024: Seattle Film Critics Society, Best Costume Design: Paul Tazewell
* December 16, 2024: Iowa Film Critics Association, Best Supporting Actress: Ariana Grande (tied with Isabella Rossellini in ''Conclave'')
* December 16, 2024: Southeastern Film Critics Association, Best Supporting Actress: Ariana Grande
* December 21, 2024: Nevada Film Critics Society
** Best Actress: Cynthia Erivo
** Best Visual Effects: Pablo Helman
* December 30, 2024: TiBS Editors Choice Awards:
** Best Actress: Cynthia Erivo
** Best Supporting Actress: Ariana Grande
** Best Director: Jon M. Chu
** Best Ensemble: ''Wicked''
* January 2, 2025: Capri Hollywood-International Film Festival Award, Best Sound: ''Wicked''
* January 2, 2025: Critics Association of Central Florida
** Best Cast: ''Wicked''
** Best Production Design: ''Wicked''
** Best Sound Design: ''Wicked''
* January 3, 2025: Palm Springs International Film Festival
** Creative Impact in Acting Award: Cynthia Erivo
** Rising Star Award: Ariana Grande
* January 3, 2025: Oklahoma Film Critics Circle, Best Supporting Actress: Ariana Grande
* January 4, 2025: DiscussingFilm Global Critic Award, Best Production Design: ''Wicked''
* January 5, 2025: Golden Globe Awards, Cinematic and Box Office Achievement: ''Wicked''
* January 10, 2025: Music City Film Critics Association, Best Music Film: ''Wicked''
* January 10, 2025: Minnesota Film Critics Association, Best Costume Design: ''Wicked''
* January 12, 2025: Puerto Rico Critics Association
** Best Comedy/Musical: ''Wicked''
** Best Production Design: ''Wicked''
** Best Costume Design: ''Wicked''
* January 13, 2025: North Dakota Film Society, Best Costume Design: Paul Tazewell
* January 13, 2025: Hawaii Film Critics Society
** Best Art Direction: ''Wicked''
** Best Costume Design: ''Wicked''
** Best Visual Effects: ''Wicked''
* January 14, 2025: Portland Critics Association, Best Supporting Performance (Female): Ariana Grande
* January 16, 2025: North American Film Critics Association, Best Supporting Actress: Ariana Grande
* January 24, 2025: Denver Film Critics Society, Best Supporting Performance by an Actor, Female: Ariana Grande
* January 26, 2025: Satellite Awards
** Best Supporting Actress—Motion Picture: Ariana Grande
** Best Production Design: ''Wicked''
** Best Costume Design: ''Wicked''
** Best Sound: ''Wicked''
** Make-Up Award: ''Wicked''
* January 27, 2025: Online Film Critics Society, Technical Achievement Award — Choreography: ''Wicked''
* February 6, 2025: Costume Designers Guild Awards, Excellence in Sci-Fi/Fantasy Film: Paul Tazewell
* February 7, 2025: Set Decorators Society of America, Best Achievement in Décor/Design of a Comedy or Musical Feature Film: Lee Sandales and Nathan Crowley
* February 7, 2025: Critics' Choice Movie Awards
** Best Director: Jon M. Chu
** Best Costume Design: Paul Tazewell
** Best Production Design: Nathan Crowley and Lee Sandales
* February 7, 2025: AACTA Awards, Audience Choice Award for Favourite Film: ''Wicked''
* February 9, 2025: Santa Barbara International Film Festival, Virtuoso Award: Ariana Grande
* February 9, 2025: AARP Movies for Grownups Awards, Best Screenwriter: Winnie Holzman
* February 12, 2025: Artios Awards, Outstanding Achievement in Casting – Big Budget Feature (Comedy): Bernard Telsey, Tiffany Little Canfield, Ryan Bernard Tymensky, Tamsyn Manson
* February 13, 2025: Dorian Awards
** Supporting Film Performance of the Year: Ariana Grande
** "We're Wilde About You" Rising Star Award: Jonathan Bailey
** Galeca LGBTQIA+ Film Trailblazer: Cynthia Erivo
* February 15, 2025: Art Directors Guild Awards, Excellence in Production Design for a Fantasy Film: Nathan Crowley
* February 15, 2025: Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild
** Best Period and/or Character Make-Up in a Feature-Length Motion Picture: Frances Hannon, Alice Jones, Nuria Mbornio, Johanna Nielsen, Branka Vorkapic
** Best Period and/or Character Hair Styling in a Feature-Length Motion Picture: Frances Hannon, Sarah Nuth, Sim Camps, Gabor Kerekes
* February 16, 2025: BAFTA Film Awards
** Best Production Design: ''Wicked''
** Best Costume Design: ''Wicked''
* February 17, 2025: Black Reel Awards
** Outstanding Soundtrack: ''Wicked''
** Outstanding Costume Design: Paul Tazewell
* February 17, 2025: Latino Entertainment Journalists Society
** Best Production Design: Nathan Crowley and Lee Sandales
** Best Costume Design: Paul Tazewell
* February 22, 2025: NAACP Image Awards
** Outstanding Costume Design: Paul Tazewell
** Outstanding Soundtrack/Compilation Album: ''Wicked: The Soundtrack''
* February 23, 2025: Online Film and Television Association
** Best Production Design: ''Wicked''
** Best Costume Design: ''Wicked''
** Best Adapted Song: "Defying Gravity"
* February 23, 2025: Golden Reel Awards, Outstanding Achievement in Music Editing–Feature Motion Picture: Catherine Wilson, Robin Baynton
* February 28, 2025: International Cinematographers Guild Publicists Awards, Maxwell Weinberg Award for Motion Picture Publicity Campaign: ''Wicked''
* March 2, 2025: Academy Awards
** Best Costume Design: ''Wicked''
** Best Production Design: ''Wicked''
* March 11, 2025: Queerties
** Drama Movie: ''Wicked''
** Film Performance: Jonathan Bailey
** Next Big Thing: ''Wicked: For Good''
* March 14, 2025: American Cinema Editors Awards, Best Edited Feature Film – Comedy or Musical: Myron Kerstein
* March 17, 2025: iHeartRadio Music Awards, Favorite Soundtrack: ''Wicked: The Soundtrack''
* April 22, 2025: Webby Awards, Variety and Reality, General Video and Film: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7Inn_IA-MA&ab_channel=Variety ''Wicked'' Stars Ariana Grande & Cynthia Erivo Break Down Viral "Holding Space" Interview]
* June 9, 2025: The BET Awards, Best Actress: Cynthia Erivo
* June 21, 2025: Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards:
** Favorite Movie: ''Wicked''
** Favorite Movie Actress: Ariana Grande as Glinda
** Favorite Song from a Movie: "Defying Gravity"
* August 5, 2025: Las Culturista Culture Awards, Harshest Truth About ''Wicked'': Phannee not realized, we don't get into his gay story (What was that like? Was it hard coming out or was Pfannee born wealthy? Prequel idea about this.)
* November 3, 2025: ''People'' Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive: Jonathan Bailey
* November 4, 2025: Media Access Awards, Christopher Reeve Acting Award: Marissa Bode


----
----


==July 18, 2020: The 2020 Winkie Award==
==July 19, 2025: Crotzer Wins L. Frank Baum Memorial Award==
[[File:Colin Ayres.jpg|center]]
This evening, Sarah K. Crotzer was presented the L. Frank Bam Memorial Award for her contributions to Oz. She has been a tireless Oz researcher and writer, with a special interest in the history of Oz games. She is also the current editor of ''The Baum Bugle'', the journal of the International Wizard of Oz Club, and recently became the longest-serving editor in Club history.
OzCon International, the world's longest running Oz event, met for the first time online as a virtual event, due to restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This did not prevent the convention from presenting its highest honor, the Winkie Award, to Colin Ayres. Colin only started attending OzCon relatively recently, but he quickly jumped in and involved himself deeply, putting on many panels and presentations. Two years ago, he became vice chair, succeeding as chair last year, and decided to serve as chair again for a second year. Little did he know that one of the decisions he would have to make would be to cancel the convention and move it all online! But even before that happened, his fellow OzCon attendees voted him as the one who deserves the award.
 
Also presented tonight were the Club's annual prizes for writing and art. This year's winners are:
* The Fred Otto Prize for Fiction:
** First place, Jesse Jury for "Four Friends of Oz"
** Second place, J. L. Bell for "Who's Got the Button?"
* The C. Warren Hollister Prize for Non-Fiction:
** First place, Rachel Graham for "An Essential Quickening: John R. Neill and the Art of Oz"
** Second place, Cynthia Ragni for "Project Ozma"
* The Rob Roy MacVeigh Prize for Art:
** First place, Jime Wimmer for "Dorothy and the Cyclone"
** Second place, Rob Lauer for "Ruth and Her Friends in Oz"


----
----


==April 17, 2020: ''The Baum Bugle'', Winter 2019 issue==
==June 21, 2025: The Winkie Award==
[[File:Bbwinter19.jpg|600 px|right]]
Tonight, OzCon International gave its highest honor, the Winkie Award, to Sam Milazzo. The award recognizes all of the contributions Sam has made to the convention over the past few years, with presentations, panels, and generally helping out.
The final issue of ''The Baum Bugle'', the journal of the International Wizard of Oz Club, has come out for the 2019 membership year. Because of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the printers were not able to print the issue in a timely manner; so, in an unprecedented move, the Club sent out the issue to Club members as a .pdf file via e-mail. ('''UPDATE''', May 9: The printer has come through, and the print version is now making its way into members' mailboxes.) This marks the end of the 2019 membership year, and members are encouraged to [https://shop.ozclub.org/product-category/iwoc-membership/ renew their memberships for 2020] soon.
 
----
 
==May 6, 2025: ''The Baum Bugle'' Winter 2024==
[[File:Bbwinter24.png|400 px|right]]
It may be slipping back in the calendar a bit, but the latest issue of ''The Baum Bugle'', the journal of the International Wizard of Oz Club, is making its way to members' mailboxes now.


In this issue:
In this issue:
* The front cover reproduces Michael Herring's painting for the 1981 Del Rey edition of ''The Magic of Oz''—appropriate, as 2019 marks the centennial of L. Frank Baum's penultimate Oz book, ''The Magic of Oz''.
* All four covers celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of ''The Wiz'':
* The inside front cover is one of John R. Neill's color plates from ''The Magic of Oz''.
** The front cover features Stephanie Mills and Hinton Battle in [https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/0599e600-5cf5-0130-4cf7-58d385a7b928 a 1974 publicity shot for the musical].
* The first page, besides the indicia and table of contents, reproduces an illustration by Leonid Vladimirsky from ''Волшебник Изумрудного Города'' (''The Wizard of the Emerald City'').
** The inside front cover shows several costumes from the play on exhibit at [https://www.si.edu/museums/african-american-museum the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture].
* In "Letters", Oz Club President Jane Albright seeks contributors who can update [https://ozclub.org/oz-timeline/ the Oz Timeline], while ''Bugle'' Editor-in-Chief Sarah K. Crotzer previews the issue at hand and how it came about.
** The inside back cover features production art for the play by Tom John.
* In "The Bugle Bulletin":
** The back cover reproduces a new work, [https://artsofimagination.org/the-wiz-at-50/ ''The Journey from Home: Revisiting ''The Wiz'' at 50''], also by Tom John.
** The 2017 Russian animated film ''Fantastic Journey to Oz'' has spawned a sequel, ''Урфин Джюс бозбращаемся'' (''Fantastic Return to Oz''), based on the Magic Land book ''The Fiery God of the Marrans''.
* In "Letters", Oz Club President Ryan Bunch reflects on fifty years of ''The Wiz'' and invites members to [the 2025 edition of the Club's annual convention in Aberdeen, South Dakota], while ''Bugle'' editor Sarah K. Crotzer also looks back at ''The Wiz'', as well as other anniversaries celebrated in this issue.
** The debut of the new Oz dramatic podcast, [https://hitthebricks.com/ ''Hit the Bricks''].
* News items highlighted in "The Bugle Bulletin":
** A Yellow Brick Sidewalk is being constructed in Chicago that leads to 1167 N. Humboldt Blvd., where L. Frank Baum wrote ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' when he lived in a house that is no longer there. (The sidewalk will end at a mural commemorating the creation of Oz.)
** ''Wicked'' wins two Academy Awards, with [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZtKj5-xE1I&ab_channel=Oscars Paul Tazewell becoming the first Black man to win the Oscar for Best Costume Design].
** [https://www.broadwaybox.com/daily-scoop/category/broadway-celebrates-oz/ "Broadway Celebrates Oz"] is a photographic exhibit celebrating the eightieth anniversary of the famous film version of ''The Wizard of Oz''.
** The latest auction of a pair of Ruby Slippers shatters all records for the price paid for any kind of movie memorabilia.
** An exhibit at the Los Angeles Public Library, "The Autograph Book of L. A.", includes a contribution by L. Frank Baum from 1908 (several years before he moved to the area himself).
** Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande team up to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eedVl_LGwE4&ab_channel=PhVolleyball open the Oscars telecast with a medley of music from Oz movies].
** A new Oz book, [https://github.com/NaNoGenMo/2018/issues/61 ''The Valley Girl of Oz, Bjork Bjork Bjork''], that involves running ''The Emerald City of Oz'' through a computer algorithm that changed the descriptions to, like, Valleyspeak, while the dialogue was rendered into Swedish Chef.
** Recently passed Oz contributors remembered in "Beyond the Shifting Sands":
** "Through the Tube" presents an all-commercials collection of Oz clips on YouTube:
*** [https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?an=Baum&cm_sp=SearchF-_-home-_-Results&kn=Greg%20Hildebrandt&ref_=search_f_hp&sts=t&tn=The%20Wizard%20of%20Oz Greg Hildebrandt] and [https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?an=Baum&cm_sp=SearchF-_-home-_-Results&kn=Graham%20Rawle&ref_=search_f_hp&sts=t&tn=The%20Wizard%20of%20Oz Graham Rawle], both of whom illustrated ''The Wizard of Oz''.
*** [https://youtu.be/7_nJjI_aVrM White Lily cornmeal mix (1987)]
*** Legendary composer and arranger Quincy Jones, who was an instrumental part of how ''The Wiz'' sounded in movie theaters.
*** [https://youtu.be/IdH--kRrLdo Energizer batteries (1993)]
* "Awards and Honors" announces Oz Club President Ryan Bunch as the recipient of the L. Frank Baum Memorial Award, the Club's highest honor, for 2024.
*** [https://youtu.be/fJw33PFUS7U Chef Boyardee (2006)]
* "They Call My Name: An Interview with George Faison" looks at the life and career of the choreographer. His credits include the original Broadway production of ''The Wiz''.
* In "Awards and Honors":
* "The ''Wiz'' That Wasn't" by Sarah K. Crotzer digs into the casting process for the original company of ''The Wiz'' and reveals who else tried out, or was at least considered, for the major rolls. (There are some definite surprises!)
** Ozma's Honor Roll for 2019, those Club members who have gone above and beyond the Club's regular membership rates to give more to the Club.
* "The ''Wiz'' That Was" by Sarah K. Crotzer looks at ''The Wiz'' costumes held by the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
** The list of recipients of the L. Frank Baum Memorial Award is updated with the 2019 winner, Bill Beem.
* Crotzer also considers Grampa's game leg and the game you play with it in "A Few Inessential Thoughts About the Game of Scrum".
** Part of Renée Zellweger's acceptance speech for her Oscar, portraying Judy Garland in ''Judy'', is printed.
* "Coming and Going" looks at a few short thoughts about ''Grampa in Oz''.
* Dennis Wilson Wise writes about the history of magic words, with emphasis on the ones used in the Oz books, in "Pyrzqxgl, or How to Do Things with Magic Words".
* "Oz Under Scrutiny", once again compiled by Scott Cummings, looks at what the press of 1924 thought of ''Grampa in Oz''.
* In a new regular feature, "The Lost Art of Oz", Brady Schwind looks at the development of Dick Martin's 1960 dust jacket for ''The Magic of Oz''. (The inside and outside back covers of this issue reprints some of Martin's preliminary work for the jacket.)
* In part two of the interview "Journey to the ''Annotated Wizard'' with Michael Patrick Hearn", the author of ''The Annotated Wizard of Oz'' recounts the aftermath of the book's original 1973 publication.
* Ian Davis Smith writes about renowned Chinese magician Ching Ling Foo and his performance for the Uplifters—whose members included L. Frank Baum—in "A Magic Night with the Uplifters".
* L. Frank Baum's great-granddaughter, Gita Dorothy Morena, solves the mystery of a Baum family treasure in "A Letter to Oz Enthusiasts from a Forgotten Baum Illustration".
* The short story "The Believing Child" by Zenna Henderson, first published in 1970, is reprinted to celebrate both its own fiftieth birthday and the centennial of the book that causes the problems in the story, ''The Magic of Oz''.
* "Guaranteed For a Thousand Years", a wrap-up of recent Oz events, reports on the 2024 editions of OzCon International and Oz, The National Convention.
* "Oz Under Scrutiny" looks at the original 1919 reviews and reactions to ''The Magic of Oz''.
* New products presented in "The Bugle Review":
* "Monuments of Magic Land" looks at monuments to characters created by Aleksandr Volkov, for his very Oz-like Magic Land series, in Tomsk, Slovakia and Saint Petersburg, Russia.
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0DVQSJLLX/thewonderwizardo/ ''After Oz'' by Gordon McAlpine], reviewed by Mike Penick
* The examination of the Smithsonian Institution's efforts to preserve their pair of Ruby Slippers concludes in part two of "Keep Them Ruby: Following the Steps of the Ruby Slippers" by Jonathan Shirshekan.
** [https://hungrytigerpress.store/product/all-wound-up-the-making-of-the-tik-tok-man-of-oz/ ''All Wound Up: The Making of ''The Tik-Tok Man of Oz by Eric Shanower], [https://hungrytigerpress.store/product/the-tik-tok-man-of-oz-performance-script/ ''The Tik-Tok Man of Oz Performance Script'' by L. Frank Baum], and [https://hungrytigerpress.store/product/the-tik-tok-man-of-oz-piano-vocal-score/ ''The Tik-Tok Man of Oz Piano-Vocal Score'' by Louis F. Gottschalk and L. Frank Baum], reviewed by Atticus Gannaway.
* "A Beginner's Guide to Collecting" celebrates the eightieth anniversary of the most watched movie in history with an examination of some of the earliest collectibles for the 1939 film version of ''The Wizard of Oz''.
** [https://joetunes.ca/ ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'', ''The Marvelous Land of Oz'', and ''Ozma of Oz'' complete audio books by the Toronto Civic Light Opera Company], reviewed by Sarah K. Crotzer.
* Cynthia Ragni gives a preview of [http://www.ozconvention.org/ the Club's big annual event] in "Arts and Crozfts: Come to the 2020 OzClub Convention".
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0CST87Z4J/thewonderwizardo/ The ''Wicked'' edition of ''Monopoly''], reviewed by Sarah K. Crotzer.
* In "Oz in the Arts", Fadia Mereani reviews one of the first big musicals to tour Saudi Arabia, [https://wizardofoztour.com/ ''The Wizard of Oz''].
** A quartet of ''Wicked'' tie-in books ([https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0593896866/thewonderwizardo/ ''I Am Elphaba''], [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0593896882/thewonderwizardo/ ''I Am Glinda''], [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0CZJQXCQY/thewonderwizardo/ ''Defying Gravity: The Illustrated Lyrics''] and a replica of [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0CZJRSY9M/thewonderwizardo/ ''The Story of Oz & the Wonderful Wizard'']), reviewed by Atticus Gannaway.
* "The Bugle Review" reviews and notes of several new books, including:
* "Adventures in Oz" sees Brady Schwind interviewing Tom John, the original scenic designer for ''The Wiz''.
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1733715150/thewonderwizardo/ ''Immortal Longings of Oz'' by Paul Dana], reviewed by Mari Ness.
 
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/080717047X/thewonderwizardo/ ''Amazons in America: Matriarchs, Utopians, and Wonder Women in U. S. Popular Culture'' by Keira V. Williams], reviewed by Angelica Shirley Carpenter.
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1732431736/thewonderwizardo/ ''Book Restoration Unveiled: An Essential Guide for Bibliophiles'' by Sophia S. W. Bogle], reviewed by Cynthia Ragni.
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0190663170/thewonderwizardo/ ''Adapting The Wizard of Oz: Musical Versions fromBaum to MGM and Beyond'', edited by Danielle Birkett and Dominic McHugh].
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1096980266/thewonderwizardo/ ''Beyond Oz: A Crazy Ink Anthology'', edited by Erin Wolf].
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/138781320X/thewonderwizardo/ ''The Cardboard King in Oz'' by Gil S. Joel].
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0486821676/thewonderwizardo/ ''Creative Haven Wizard of Oz Designs Coloring Book'' by Marty Noble].
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0486821676/thewonderwizardo/ ''Delusions Beyond the Deadly Desert: A Novella'' by Lisa Valenti].
** [http://thewizardofoz.info/wiki/Dunkiton_Press ''Dunkiton Press #26: The Perhappsy Chaps #6'', ''Dunkiton Press #27: Mice #1'' and ''Dunkiton Press #28: Mice #2'' by Ruth Plumly Thompson, edited by Ruth Berman].
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1701012324/thewonderwizardo/ ''Emerald City Academy, Book 1: Sentinels of Oz''] and [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1709524154/thewonderwizardo/ ''Emerald City Academy, Book 2: Francesca, the Great and Terrible'' by J. B. Trepagnier].
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0062348779/thewonderwizardo/ ''Emeralds of Oz: Life Lessons from Over the Rainbow'' by Peter Guzzardi].
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1387080156/thewonderwizardo/ ''The Fairy Wand of Oz'' by Marin Elizabeth Xiques and Carol P. Silva].
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1718060718/thewonderwizardo/ ''Forever in Oz'' by Matthew J. Norcross].
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1707291365/thewonderwizardo/ ''Frankenstein's Monster in Oz'' by Carl Scott Harker].
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1733715118/thewonderwizardo/ ''The Haunted Castle of Oz'' by Marcus Mébès].
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1985795833/thewonderwizardo/ ''Hidden Heroes of Oz, Book 1: Chopper''] and [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/198579585X/thewonderwizardo/ ''Hidden Heroes of Oz, Book 2: Guardian Martyr'' by Tarl Telford].
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1075254914/thewonderwizardo/ ''Kingdoms of Oz, Book 1: The Ruby Fortress''], [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1076195202/thewonderwizardo/ ''Kingdoms of Oz, Book 2: The Quartz Tower''], and [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1079218130/thewonderwizardo/ ''Kingdoms of Oz, Book 3: The Prism City'' by Carrie Whitehorne].
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0991199197/thewonderwizardo/ ''Lost Histories from the Royal Librarian of Oz'' by Joe Bongiorno].
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1070784745/thewonderwizardo/ ''Mr. Wizardo'' by Eva Pasco].
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0998058254/thewonderwizardo/ ''O. Z. Diggs Himself Out'' by Ron Baxley, Jr.]
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1574330489/thewonderwizardo/ ''Ozhouse Reopened: The Curse of Budistiltskin'' by Alan Lindsay and Dennis Anfuso].
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0545953227/thewonderwizardo/ ''Ozland (Everland, Book 3)'' by Wendy Spinale].
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1492868116/thewonderwizardo/ ''The Red Brick Road'' by Robert P. Wills].
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/3030065901/thewonderwizardo/ ''The Road to Wicked: The Marketing and Consumption of Oz from L. Frank Baum to Broadway'' by Kent Drummond, Susan Aronstein, and Terri L. Rittenburg].
** [https://www.lulu.com/en/us/shop/marcus-mebes/royal-explorers-of-oz-book-4-hb/hardcover/product-12qjmgmv.html ''The Royal Explorers of Oz, Book 4: Into the Wild'' by Marcus Mébès and Alejandro Garcia].
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1790107229/thewonderwizardo/ ''Salma and the Play from Oz'' by Jodie Nikela].
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1698839413/thewonderwizardo/ ''Shakespeare's Oz'' by Jordan Monsell] (with apologies to William Shakespeare).
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1729226663/thewonderwizardo/ ''Stairway to Oz'' by Robin Hess].
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1093389028/thewonderwizardo/ ''Theodore Gale in Oz'' by KuroKoneko Kamen].
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1387742892/thewonderwizardo/ ''The Umbrellaphant in Oz'' by Carol P. Silva and Marin Elizabeth Xiques].
** [https://www.lulu.com/shop/marin-elizabeth-xiques-and-chris-dulabone/under-the-influence-of-oz/paperback/product-24186547.html ''Under the Influence of Oz'' by Marin Elizabeth Xiques and Chris Dulabone].
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0998479861/thewonderwizardo/ ''Upon the Name of Oz'' by Charles Shearer].
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1524788309/thewonderwizardo/ ''What Is the Story of The Wizard of Oz?'' by Kirsten Anderson].
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1790753031/thewonderwizardo/ ''Wicked Origins''], [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1796683167/thewonderwizardo/ ''Wicked Gambit''], and [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1097738329/thewonderwizardo/ ''Wicked Rebel'' by Paula Black].
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1980391939/thewonderwizardo/ ''Witch Queens: Tales from Oz'' by S. Cinders].
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/172632558X/thewonderwizardo/ ''The Wonderful Animated World of The Wizard of Oz'' by Kevin Scott Collier].
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1643723243/thewonderwizardo/ ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Poster Coloring Book'' by Victoria Marble].
* In "Adventures in Oz", Zoe O'Haillin-Berne tells the story of how her cosplaying at Oz festivals led to founding a traveling character troupe.
Also included with this issue:
Also included with this issue:
* A 2020 membership form (for those who don't want to renew their membership online).
* A registration form for [https://www.ozclub.org/oz-in-aberdeen-a-convention-to-remember/ the 2025 editino of Oz, the National Convention] in Aberdeen, South Dakota.
* A registration form for the National Oz Convention.
* A flyer for one of the Club's latest publications, [https://www.ozclub.org/product/bibliographia-baumiana/ ''Bibliographia Baumiana''].
* The third part of the Emerald City toy theatre.
* This issue's craft is a melting Evillene, based on the original Broadway run of ''The Wiz''.
* An "Oz Live 2019" supplement, reporting on:
* And in the latest issue of ''The Oz Gazette'', the newsletter for younger Oz fans (of all ages):
** The 2019 National Oz Convention in Thibodeaux, Louisiana.
** Editor-in-Chief Katie Jones, with assistance from the Head of Security the Gump, updates readers on the hunt for Nomes and the Glass Cat.
** Oz-Stravaganza! in Chittenango, New York.
** The Scarecrow's book column looks at other books puplished in 1924, like ''Grampa in Oz''.
** The Quadling Convention in Moore, Oklahoma.
** Based off of the article speculating what scrum might be like in ''The Baum Bugle'', the Patchwork Girl presents the board, pieces, and rules for Camette, a simplified (for space reasons) version of the game Camelot.
** The Judy Garland Festival and Children's Wizard of Oz Festival in Grand Rapids, Minnesota.
** Finally, a little bit of verse from…the Glass Cat?
** The Michigan Wizard of Oz Festival in Ionia, Michigan.
 
** OzCon International in Pomona, California.
<br clear=all>
** Autumn in Oz in Banner Elk, North Carolina.
----
** Oztoberfest in Wamego, Kansas.
 
** Ohio Oz Fest in Twinsburg, Ohio.
==May 5, 2025: Mattydale, New York, to Honor L. Frank Baum==
* The latest issue of ''The Oz Gazette'', the newsletter for younger Oz fans (no matter what age their birth certificate might say), featuring:
Mattydale, New York, will honor native son L. Frank Baum and his greatest work, ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'', on May 17. Mattydale was the site of Baum's childhood home, Roselawn, and the city will commemorate Baum's birth and the 125th anniversary of the publication of the first Oz book with a historical marker at the site. The marker will be at 2601 Brewerton Road, which will soon be the site of a community center.A reception will be held from 1:00 to 5:00 pm at the Kreuger Funeral Home.
** A new expedition for Trot and Cap'n Bill.
 
** Dorothy's final "Editorial", as she's handing over the reins as Editor in Chief to the Scarecrow.
(Information courtesy [https://cnycentral.com/news/local/mattydale-celebrates-125-years-of-the-wonderful-wizard-of-oz-with-historical-marker CNYCentral].)
** The conclusion to the biography of L. Frank Baum.
 
** A play written by the Scarecrow, relating some of the events of ''The Magic of Oz''.
----
** In "Ask Glinda", the sorceress and some of her friends answer the question, "How do I get to Oz?"
 
==April 13, 2025: Jean Marsh, 1934-2025==
[[File:Jean_Marsh.jpeg|left]]
Jean Marsh, OBE, the lauded British actor, passed away today from complications of dementia. She was 90. Born July 1, 1934 in Stoke Newington, London, she studied dance, singing, and acting before beginning her professional career in the 1950s. Among her movies were ''Cleopatra'', ''Jane Eyre'' (1972), ''Frenzy'', ''The Eagle Has Landed'', and ''Willow''. She was probably best known for her television work, however, in shows in both the United States and the United Kingdom, including appearances in ''The Twilight Zone'', ''The Saint'', ''Doctor Who'', ''I Spy'', ''Adam Adamant Lives!'', ''UFO'', ''The Waltons'', ''Hawaii Five-O'', the ''9 to 5'' series, ''The Love Boat'', ''Murder, She Wrote'', and the 1990s revival of ''The Tomorrow People''. But she is best known for co-creating, with Eileen Atkins, the period drama ''Upstairs, Downstairs'', about the servants in a great house. Marsh also starred in the show as maid Rose Buck, for which she won an Emmy Award in 1975 as well as other awards. When the BBC revived the show in 2010, Marsh was the only actor to return. Marsh and Atkins also created the series ''House of Elliott'' in 1991, which she did not appear in. For her services to drama, Marsh was made a member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II in 2012. For Oz fans, however, as well as many movie-going kids in the 1980s, she will always be known for her dual role as Nurse Wilson and Princess Mombi in the 1985 Disney film ''Return to Oz''.
 
(Information courtesy [https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c045dk29xqqo the BBC] and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Marsh Wikipedia].)


Stay tuned, because more from this issue will be coming over the next few days.
<br clear=all>
<br clear=all>


----
----


==February 9, 2020: ''Judy'' and the 2019 Movie Awards Season==
==March 18, 2025: Saliterman, Ruby Slipper Thief, Dies==
Renée Zellweger was presented with the Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role tonight for her performance as Judy Garland in the later years of her life in the film ''Judy''. This culminates the 2019-20 movie award season, which saw Zellweger give early notice that she would be a factor, as she also won the following awards:
Charges against Jerry Hal Saliterman, who had pled guilty to playing a part in the 2005 theft of the Ruby Slippers from the Judy Garland Museum, have been dismissed when prosecutors informed the court that he had died the day before. Saliterman's defense attorney, John Brink, confirmed the passing. The 77-year-old Saliterman had been hospitalized with lung disease and other ailments, and his most recent court appearance, in January, had been a remote feed from his hospital room. At that time, he changed his initial plea to guilty of charges of theft of a major artwork and witness tampering.
* Hollywood Actress Award at the 2019 Hollywood Film Awards.
* Best Actress at the 2019 British Independent Film Awards.
* Best Lead Actress at the 2019 Atlanta Film Critics Circle.
* Best Actress at the 2019 Phoenix Film Critics Society.
* Best Actress at the 2020 Houston Film Critics Society.
* The Desert Palm Achievement Award at the 2020 Palm Springs International Film Festival.
* Best Actress in a Motion Picture—Drama at the 2020 Golden Globe Awards.
* Best Actress from the National Board of Review.
* Best Actress from the 2020 AARP's Movies for Grownups Awards.
* Best Actress from the 2020 Critics' Choice Movie Awards.
* The American Riviera Award at the 2020 Santa Barbara International Film Festival.
* Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role at the 2020 Screen Actors Guild Award.
* Actress of the Year from the 2020 London Film Critics Circle.
* Best Actress in a Leading Role at the 2020 British Academy Film Awards (the BAFTAs).
* Best Female Lead at the 2020 Independent Film Awards.
Zellweger was also a runner-up for Best Actress from the San Diego Film Critics Society.


Renée Zellweger wasn't the only award presented to ''Judy'' or one of its contributors:
(Information courtesy [https://apnews.com/article/stolen-ruby-slippers-wizard-of-oz-death-b82e6ed5049d2f11cf9a38b38e5eb463 The Associated Press].)
* Jeremy Woodhead won Make Up and Hair Design from the British Independent Film Awards. (Woodhead was also nominated for the Oscar in the same category, but lost to ''Bombshell''.)
* The film was one of the top ten independent films named by the National Board of Review.


----
----


==November 27, 2019: ''The Baum Bugle'' Autumn 2019==
==January 3, 2025: Saliterman to Plead Guilty to Hiding Ruby Slippers==
[[File:Bbautumn19.jpg|center]]
Jerry Hal Saliterman, accused of theft of a major artwork and witness tampering in connection with the 2005 theft of the Ruby Slippers in Minnesota, now plans to plead guilty to the charges in a court appearance on January 10. It is not currently known how Saliterman is connected to Terry John Martin, who pled guilty to stealing the slippers in 2023. Saliterman originally pled not guilty when first charged in March of 2024, but his age (77) and poor health may have resulted in a deal that allows him to stay out of jail like Martin.
The latest issue of ''The Baum Bugle'', the journal of the International Wizard of Oz Club, is now in the mail and finding its way to members. This issue celebrates the legacy of L. Frank Baum and his creation in the centennial year of his crossing the shifting sands.
 
(Information courtesy [https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/minnesota/articles/2025-01-03/man-accused-of-hiding-stolen-wizard-of-oz-ruby-slippers-plans-to-plead-guilty-attorney-says ''U. S. News and World Reports''].)
 
----
 
==December 13, 2024: The Baum Bugle's Celebratory 200th Issue==
[[File:Bbautumn24.jpg|center|800 px]]
The Autumn 2024 issue of ''The Baum Bugle'', the journal of the International Wizard of Oz, has come back from the printers and is on its way to members' mailboxes. This is the two hundredth issue of the ''Bugle'', so the journal celebrates itself, for once.


In this issue:
In this issue:
* The wraparound cover by Mark Manley shows L. Frank Baum meeting with many of the characters he created in the Emerald City. The inside covers show some of Manley's preliminary sketches and the development of the final artwork.
* The wraparound cover pays tribute to the first illustrated cover of the ''Bugle'' (for the May 1959 issue), showing many different illustrators' versions of the Scarecrow and Tin Woodman
* "Letters" sees Oz Club President Jane Albright outlining how Ozzy her summer was, while ''Baum Bugle'' editor in chief Sarah K. Crotzer looks at the process of putting this issue together.
* The inside front cover reproduces Maxfield Parrish's cover for the January 1917 issue of ''Metropolitan''.
* "Awards and Honors" tells the world that Bill Beem won the L. Frank Baum Memorial Award for 2019, written up by Peter E. Hanff and Bill Thompson.
* In "Letters", Oz Club President Ryan Bunch reflects on winning the L. Frank Baum Memorial Award during a hurricane, while ''Bugle'' editor Sarah K. Krotzer looks at the production of this issue within the overall history of the journal.
* In "The Bugle Bulletin":
* In "The Bugle Bulletin":
** The original set parts for "Over the Rainbow" were found in the collection of Angela White, the daughter of Dave Rose, Judy Garland's first husband (not her third husband, as the ''Bugle'' reports). It was performed in public for the first time on September 14, 2019.
** The Club opens its archive with reprints of selected articles from past issues of [https://www.ozclub.org/publications/the-baum-bugle/ ''The Baum Bugle''].
** A black-and-white dress, worn onscreen by Bobby Koshay as she doubled for Judy Garland in ''The Wizard of Oz'', two Munchkin jackets, an Emerald City townsfolk jacket, and an Emerald City soldier's musket all went up for auction at [https://profilesinhistory.com/auctions/the-icons-legends-of-hollywood-auction/ Profiles in History]. Meanwhile, Ray Bolger's Tony Award for Charley's Aunt was auctioned off in August.
** The town of Salina, New York breaks ground on a new community center at the site of Rose Lawn, the Baum family estate. The center will include a Baum-themed museum.
** The successful Kickstarter campaign to issue [https://cloverpress.us/collections/all/oz#MainContent a new edition of ''The Royal Book of Oz''], plus [http://www.seawolfpress.com/ Sea Wolf Press's] "100th Anniversary Collection" of all fourteen Oz novels by L. Frank Baum.
** Gregory Maguire's writing another book set in his version of Oz. [https://bookshop.org/p/books/elphie-a-wicked-childhood-gregory-maguire/21025444 ''Elphie''], coming out March 25, 2025, will recount tales of the childhood of Elphaba, who will later become the Wicked Witch of the West.
** The forthcoming ''Wizard of Oz'' escape room at [https://www.stlouisescape.com/escape-room-games-in-st-louis-missouri.html St. Louis Escape Rooms] in St. Louis, Missouri.
** The stolen pair of Ruby Slippers, now recovered, are on tour and will go up for auction in December.
** A correction to last issue's review of ''Oz Behind the Iron Curtain'', giving the correct date for an early edition of ''Волшебник Изумрудного Города''.
** The latest revival of ''The Wiz'' surpasses one hundred performances on Broadway.
** To celebrate The Movie's eightieth anniversary, Google added some interactivity to [https://www.google.com/search?safe=off&source=hp&ei=p7b6XbfTA4bb-gSAkbyYDg&q=the+wizard+of+oz&oq=the+wizard+of+oz&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0l10.1512.5325..5556...0.0..0.197.1707.10j6......0....1..gws-wiz.......0i131.A_51fXVA2hg&ved=0ahUKEwj3wrqsrcDmAhWGrZ4KHYAID-MQ4dUDCAg&uact=5 its search results for ''The Wizard of Oz''] (click on the Ruby Slippers in the upper right hand corner to see for yourself).
** The release of the first ''Wicked'' movie is moved up to November 22, 2024.
** The National Endowment for the Arts gives a grant to [https://www.eastman.org/ The George Eastman Museum] to help preserve its movie holdings, which include the only known copy of the 1910 film version of ''The Wizard of Oz'', as well as the original negative of the famous 1939 movie version.
** ''Marvelous: A Musical Opera'' based on ''The Marvelous Land of Oz'' premieres in Sisterville, West Virginia on April 5, 2025
** The Dublin Zoo in Ireland has a classic children's literature theme to their annual [https://www.dublinzoo.ie/wildlights/ "Wild Lights"] holiday attraction. Among the stories profiled is ''The Wizard of Oz''.
** "Beyond the Shifting Sands" recognizes the passing of Ken Page, who understudied for Ted Ross in the original Broadway production of ''The Wiz'' before taking over the role himself.
** This year's New York State Fair had a sand sculpture celebrating the eightieth anniversary of The Movie. Not to be outdone, the Kansas State Fair this year featured butter sculptures of Dorothy and other Oz characters.
* One of the original charter members of the International Wizard of Oz Club, Ruth Berman, looks back on how it all started in "A Gleam in Justin's Eye: Oz Club Origins".
** "Beyond the Shifting Sands" notes the passing of artist Charles Santore.
* In "In Search of Snow White: The Unrealized Dream of Maxfield Parrish and L. Frank Baum", Scott Cummings looks at a second Parrish-Baum collaboration that ultimately never came to be, a book and stage play of ''Snow White'' in the late 1910s.
** "Through the Tube" features the following YouTube videos:
* Peter E. Hanff looks at how one man changed the ''Bugle'' from a humble newsletter to a comprehensive journal in "Martin's Marvels: Dick Martin's Graphical Contributions to the History of ''The Baum Bugle''". Accompanying this article is a color supplement of ''Bugle'' covers Martin contributed to, including examples of color separations; and "A Checklist of Cover Art for ''The Baum Bugle'' by Dick Martin".
*** [https://youtu.be/CmMN9bNwyDQ Peter Harrington Rare Books looks at the first edition of ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz''].
* J. L. Bell examines the development of cartography in the Oz books in the award-winning "The Inspiring Maps of Oz".
*** [https://youtu.be/uOWJDjmt4GU "The Traveller and the Pie" from the 1903 stage version of ''The Wizard of Oz''], as presented by the Canton Comic Opera Company.
* "Keepers of the Record" presents reminiscences of three previous ''Bugle'' editors:
*** [https://youtu.be/jr7WbWgr3c0 A History of the Hotel del Coronado] in California, where L. Frank Baum wrote several of his books in the earliest years of the twentieth century.
** "A Brief Reminiscence of My ''Bugle'' Editorship, 1996-2000" by William Stillman.
* As a tribute to the late Fred M. Meyer, the Club's longtime Secretary, the ''Bugle'' published a previously unpublished item found in Meyer's files, "What Might L. Frank Baum Have Written Next?"
** "Notes from an Old ''Bugle'' Editor" by Michael Gessel.
* What may be a fragment of an unfinished Oz story by L. Frank Baum, previously published in the ''Bugle'' in 1965, is reprinted as "An Oz Story", with a new illustration by Mark Manley.
** "The Call of a ''Bugle''—and Where It Led" by John Fricke.
* Gita Dorothy Morena, L. Frank Baum's great-granddaughter, and daughter of Ozma Baum Mentele, writes about her experiences with Oz and her family in "Living Inside the Oz Legacy".
* "How It Began (Again)" looks at some mocked-up dummy pages, created by Dick Martin, for the Spring 1979 issue of the ''Bugle''.
* Mark Manley writes about his artistic journey in "Drawn to Oz".
* The inside back cover reproduces the earliest known map of Oz, a slide from the 1908 multimedia show ''The Fairylogue and Radio-Plays''.
* "The First Oz Fan Fiction" presents just that—at least the first published one—written by ten-year-old Henry Kutz and nine-year-old Max Stolz, from the June 5, 1909 edition of the ''Syracuse Post-Standard''.
* "'Written Solely to Please Children': Is Oz Still a Story for Kids?" by Dina Schiff Massachi looks at the audience(s) of the many different interpretations of Oz in mass media over the decades.
* Jane Albright takes a visit to "The Oz Museum: A World of Its Own in Wamego, Kansas", and catalogs other Oz and Oz-related museums around the United States.
* Albright also initiates a new column, "Guaranteed for a Thousand Years" with "The Empty Case for Oz", looking at how Oz fans can show off some of their collection in a local museum or library exhibit space. (Further contributions come from David C. Diket and Sarah K. Crotzer.)
* In "The Great Book of Records", Scott Cummings looks at contemporary accounts of the passing of the Royal Historian of Oz in "'The Maker of Fairies Is Dead': America Responds to the Death of L. Frank Baum".
* Presented in "Oz in the Arts":
** The recent movie [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B07YMHC328/thewonderwizardo/ ''Judy''], reviewed by Garrett Kilgore.
** ''The Wiz'', put on in Murfreesboro, Tennessee and reviewed by Sarah K. Crotzer.
* Books written up in "The Bugle Review":
** The French art album [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/2749148081/thewonderwizardo/ ''Oz'', illustrated by Stéphane Levallois], reviewed by David Maxine.
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0190639040/thewonderwizardo/ ''Ray Bolger: More Than a Scarecrow'' by Holly van Leuven], reviewed by Sarah K. Crotzer.
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0359223508/thewonderwizardo/ ''The Ruby Slippers of Oz: Thirty Years Later'' by Rhys Thomas, reviewed by Bill Campbell.
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0451480171/thewonderwizardo/ ''Sea Sirens: A Trot and Cap'n Bill Adventure'' by Amy Chu, illustrated by Janet K. Lee], reviewed by Eric Shanower.
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/173371510X/thewonderwizardo/ ''How the Wizard Came to Oz, Volume 1'' by Donald Abbott], reviewed by Atticus Gannaway.
** [https://www.amazon.com/stores/page/47176AA8-31E6-4E18-8366-D0F397DF4ED3 The 100 Anniversary Oz Collection], reprints of the first editions of L. Frank Baum's fourteen Oz books, reviewed by Sarah K. Crotzer.
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0143132431/thewonderwizardo/ ''The Women's Suffrage Movement'', edited by Sally Roesch Wagner] and reviewed by Angelica Shirley Carpenter.
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1594633436/thewonderwizardo/ ''The Swan Gondola'' by Timothy Schaffert], reviewed by Dee Michel.
* In "Adventures in Oz", Raymond Francis Wohl recounts his discovery of Oz and how he turned it into a one man show about L. Frank Baum in "The Stories Behind the Stories".


Also included with this issue are:
Also included with this issue:
* Autumn Issue #5 of ''The Oz Gazette'', the newsletter for younger Oz fans. In this issue:
* The craft project is a map of Oz to color.
** News of a missing Munchkin named Kiki Aru.
* In Issue No. 20 of ''The Oz Gazette'', the newsletter for younger Oz fans (of all ages):
** An editorial by editor Dorothy Gale.
** Editor-in-Chief Katie Jones and Number Nine outline efforts to clean up the Emerald City after the Nome King's recent occupation, and reveal the Gump as the new Head of Security.
** The second part of the story of "How L. Frank Baum Became the Royal Historian of Oz".
** Polychrome reveals a puzzle where weather-related clues help you to unscramble Oz place names.
** The Scarecrow writes about how important illustrations can be to a story.
** Scraps opines on issues of writing Oz poetry.
** The "Ask Glinda" column covers a little bit of the history of the Nome King.
** The Scarecrow gives story recommendations:
** And the Glass Cat produces her first society column (even typed by herself).
*** [https://www.amazon.com/Wizard-Meg-McLaren-illustrator-Sam/dp/1405286296/ ''The Wizard of Oz'', adapted by Meg McLaren and Sam Hay]
* Plus, the second part of the Emerald City toy theatre, showing the background (and a little bit of what's happening behind the scenes).
*** "Dorothy and the Mushroom People" by Eric Shanower, from [https://www.abebooks.com/book-search/title/salt-sorcerer-stories/author/shanower-eric/used/ ''The Salt Sorcerer of Oz and Other Stories].
*** [https://bookshop.org/p/books/snow-queen-hb-hans-christian-andersen/6431554?ean=9780062209504 ''The Snow Queen'' by Hans Christian Andersen].
** And throughout the issue, mysterious figures seem to be scouting out the country for nefarious purposes. But is someone scouting them out in turn?


----
----


==November 17, 2019: ''Oziana'' 2019==
==December 7, 2024: Ruby Slippers Auction Sets New Movie Memorabilia Record==
[[File:Oziana_2019.jpeg|right]]The 2019 issue of ''Oziana'', the annual literary journal of the International Wizard of Oz Club, is now available for anyone to buy, whether they are Club members or not. It is available at [http://www.lulu.com/shop/marcus-mebes/oziana-2019/paperback/product-24323515.html this link to Lulu.com].
[[File:Ruby_Slippers_2024.jpeg|right|400 px]]
The most notorious pair of Ruby Slippers used during production of the famous 1939 film version of ''The Wizard of Oz'' went up for auction today, and the final price shattered all records for the price paid for a piece of movie memorabilia. Of the four pairs of Ruby Slippers known to still exist, this pair, "The Traveling Shoes", were stolen from the Judy Garland Museum in 2005 and recovered in 2018, when they acquired a new nickname, "The Stolen Pair". They were ultimately returned to owner Michael Shaw who decided it was time to sell them. Estimated to go for at least $3,000,000, online bidding reached $1,550,000 before live bidding on site at Heritage Auctions began. The estimate was quickly surpassed, and when bidding ended, the final bid was $28,000,000, far outpacing any previous price for movie memorabilia. With commission and other fees, the total final price paid was $32,500,000. The Ruby Slippers alone surpassed the previous record for an entire movie memorabilia auction, the $22,800,000 that Debbie Reynolds' collection was sold for in 2011.
 
Other Oz items available in the auction:
* One of Margaret Hamilton's Wicked Witch of the West hats, and the only one known to carry Hamilton's name inside, earned the second highest price for an item from ''The Wizard of Oz'', $2,930,000
* Producer Mervyn LeRoy's script from the MGM art department, $50,000
* The screen door from the Gale farmhouse, $37,500
* Judy Garland's blonde wig from the first week of shooting, $30,000
* The MGM contract for songwriters Harold Arlen and E. Y. Harburg, $23,125


In this issue:
Other items of interest at the auction included a sceen-used Jumanji board game from the eponymous movie; a crate used to hold bombs in the original 1933 version of ''King Kong''; a hoverboard from ''Back to the Future II''; Kevin's scarf, coat, hat, and mittens from ''Home Alone''; Wilson, Tom Hanks' volleyball co-star in ''Castaway''; and a screen-used golden ticket from '' Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory''.
* The front cover by David Valentin is entitled "Friends and Family".
 
* In "An Odd Transformation" by Sara Philips, with illustrations by Lyan Tjally, some of Oz's more unusual but noteworthy citizens are transformed in an unexpected way. (Tjally also provides a full-color illustration for this story on the back cover.)
(Information and image courtesy [https://www.ha.com/heritage-auctions-press-releases-and-news/dorothy-s-ruby-slippers-from-the-wizard-of-oz-sell-for-32.5-million-at-heritage-auctions-to-become-world-s-most-valuable-movie-memorabilia.s?releaseId=5122&ic=hero-www-dorothyRubySlippers-resultsLearnMore-7388-120724 Heritage Auctions].)
* "Bitsy, the Patchwork Cat of Oz" by Jane Albright, with illustrations by Steve Smith, relates the adventures of Oz's newest animal citizen, accidentally created from some of Scraps' patches.
* "The Epiphany of Miss Gulch" by Paul Dana, with illustrations by [https://blackdaisies.com/ Mela Pagayonan], looks at what happened to Miss Gulch after Toto escaped from her basket.
* "The End of the Road" is a poem by E. J. Hagadorn.
* "The Giant Weasel of Oz" by Nathan M. DeHoff, with illustrations by Darrell Spradlyn, sees the title character decide to collect a roc egg, with several Emerald City celebrities getting involved.


<br clear=all>
<br clear=all>
Line 255: Line 365:
----
----


==September 20, 2019: ''The Baum Bugle'' Spring 2019==
==December 2, 2024: Paul Maslansky 1933-2024==
[[File:Bbspring19.jpg|500 px|left]]The Spring 2019 issue of ''The Baum Bugle'', the journal of the International Wizard of Oz Club, has finally been published and is making its way to Club members. This issue was delayed due to editor in chief Sarah K. Crotzer having to deal with a series of unforeseen hospital visits, but a new ''Bugle'' is always welcome whatever the season.
Longtime Hollywood producer Paul Maslansky died today in a hospital in San Robles, California. He was 91. His first credit was for the 1964 horror film ''Castle of the Living Dead'' with Christopher Lee, and he worked on many films in the 1970s and '80s. His biggest success was the ''Police Academy'' series, beginning in 1984 with the first movie which spawned several other movies, a television series, and an animated series. Another of his credits at the time was ''Return to Oz''. He is survived by his long-time partner Sally Emr, three children, and two grandchildren.
<br clear=all>In this issue:
* The front cover features the pair of Ruby Slippers purchased by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, soon to be on display at [https://www.academymuseum.org/en/exhibitions/making-of-the-wizard-of-oz their museum].
* The inside front cover features "And Yer Lil' Dog Too!" by [http://www.derekart.com/index.html Derek Yaniger], which has been on display at [https://www.animazing.com/wizard-of-oz-art-1 the Animazing Gallery] in Las Vegas as part of a ''Wizard of Oz'' exhibit.
* "Letters" presents notes from Oz Club President Jane Albright and ''Bugle'' Editor-in-Chief Sarah K. Krotzer about the latest developments (including Krotzer's hospital visits that delayed this issue for so long).
* In "The Bugle Bulletin":
** Brittney Johnson becomes [http://www.playbill.com/article/inside-brittney-johnsons-whirlwind-experience-going-on-as-wickeds-first-glinda-of-color Broadway's first African-American Glinda in ''Wicked''].
** The postponement of the ''Wicked'' movie until December 22, 2021.
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1493036297/thewonderwizardo/ ''The Road to Oz''], William Stillman and Jay Scarfone's latest book about the famous movie version of ''The Wizard of Oz'', won the Movies and TV award at [https://www.indieexcellence.com/13th-annual-winners the 13th annual National Indie Excellence Book Awards].
** The first biography of one of The Movie's most popular actors, [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0190639040/thewonderwizardo/ ''Ray Bolger: More Than a Scarecrow'' by Holly van Leuven], is published.
** To honor their appearance in [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B07MHQ5FDY/thewonderwizardo/ ''The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part''], LEGO has finally issued [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B07MB84DDL/thewonderwizardo/ minifigs of Dorothy, Toto, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and the Cowardly Lion].
** Designer Virgil Abloh's [https://hypebae.com/2019/1/virgil-abloh-spring-summer-2019-louis-vuitton-collection-online ''Wizard of Oz''-inspired men's fashions] for the spring/summer 2019 Louis Vitton collection.
** William F. Brown, who wrote the book for the original Broadway musical version of ''The Wiz'', is remembered upon his passing in "Beyond the Shifting Sands…"
** A new one-woman show, [https://www.broadwayworld.com/long-island/article/Bay-Street-Theater-Announces-MY-WITCH-The-Stories-Of-Margaret-Hamilton-20190525''My Witch, the Stories of Margaret Hamilton''], starring Jean Tafler.
** The MeTV show [https://www.metv.com/collectors-call ''Collector's Call''] features the Oz collection of Walter Krueger.
** The recent auction of previously unknown photos taken on the set of The Movie during production at MGM.
** A new Oz television series in development at [https://www.legendary.com/ Legendary Entertainment].
** The new card game [https://homefromoz.com/ ''Home from Oz''].
** Recently unearthed home movie footage of [https://youtu.be/N2Go2lRr61c the Land of Oz park in North Carolina] from the 1970s.
** [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvvKhIb2hsI A tour of the Land of Oz at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas] (from the 1990s).
** [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGU8I5tcAQY The ''Wizard of Oz'' section of the Great Movie Ride] at Walt Disney World's Hollywood Studio (alas, no longer a ride there).
** ''Wizard of Oz'' art exhibits at [https://www.animazing.com/wizard-of-oz-art-1 The Animazing Gallery] in Las Vegas; the [https://esmoa.org/experience/oz/ El Segundo Museum of Art] in California; and an exhibit devoted to the late Barry Moser, including some of his illustrations for ''The Wizard of Oz'' at [https://gallery.bromer.com/searchResults.php?category_id=238&action=browse&orderBy=author The Bromer Gallery] in Boston.
* Jonathan Shirshekan looks at the history of Hollywood's most famous pair of shoes in part 1 of "Keep Them Ruby: Following the Steps of the Ruby Slippers".
* Jay Scarfone and William Stillman look back at the caravan used to publicize ''The Wizard of Oz'' on its release in ""Oz on Tour: 1939".
* The new "Great Book of Records" column sees Scott Cummings reporting on a 1933 event to publicize the new Oz book for 1933, ''Ojo in Oz'', and the new ''Wizard of Oz'' radio show, in "A Tea Party for Oz".
* "Collector's Corner" sees Bill Thompson writing about a curious item, Reilly and Britton's ''Children's Stories That Never Grow Old'', illustrated by John R. Neill.
* At long last, Jane Albright wraps up her examination of Oz puppetry in part 2 of "Pulling Strings".
* In "Oz in the Arts":
** [https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0007l6x ''Friday Night Is Music Night: The Wizard of Oz 80th Anniversary], hosted by Warwick Davis in London, reviewed by Dave Ward.
** ''The Wizard of Oz Unplugged'' at the Waukesha Civic Theatre in Waukesha, Wisconsin, reviewed by Laura DeNooyer.
* Books featured in "The Bugle Review":
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1496823370/thewonderwizardo/ ''Oz Behind the Iron Curtain: Aleksandr Volkov and His Magic Land Series'' by Erika Haber], reviewed by Michael Patrick Hearn.
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0525622101/thewonderwizardo/ ''Finding Dorothy: A Novel'' by Elizabeth Letts], reviewed by Dee Michel.
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0991199162/thewonderwizardo/ ''The Lost Tales of Oz'', edited by Joe Bongiorno] and reviewed by Atticus Gannaway
* In "Advetures in Oz", Christopher Rhoton relays his experience designing for a stage production of ''The Wizard of Oz'' in Chicago, with color photos from the show reproduced on the back cover.
* The inside back cover reproduces a Reilly and Britton advertisement for ''Children's Stories That Never Grow Old'' from a 1908 edition of ''Publishers' Weekly''.


Also included with this issue:
(Information courtesy [https://variety.com/2024/film/news/paul-maslansky-dead-police-academy-1236242106/ ''Variety''] and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Maslansky Wikipedia].)
* Issue number four of the revived version of ''The Oz Gazette'', dedicated to younger (or young at heart) Oz fans. Among the items are a contest to draw a new map of Oz; how L. Frank Baum met W. W. Denslow; the Scarecrow reviews [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/042528784X/thewonderwizardo/ ''Fantastic Mr. Fox'' by Roald Dahl]; Glinda explaining why animals in Oz can talk (and why some can't); and an interview with the Cowardly Lion.
* The craft project is part one of an Emerald City toy theater, with the proscenium arch, box seats, and four Oz characters. (More parts and characters are promised in the remaining two parts, coming in the Autumn and Winter issues.)


----
----
Line 304: Line 377:
----
----


The previously announced release date for the movie adaptation of the Broadway musical version of ''Wicked'' turns out to have been premature—''again''. Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic shuffling release schedules around, the original first-postponed December 22, 2021 release date was given over to ''Sing 2''. So the ''Wicked'' movie is on hold again, but it is still in development, although it has no definitive release date yet.
''Dorothy'' is in development for Prime Video, with executive producers Gwen Stefani, Blake Shelton, and Gina Matthews. You can see the initial report on this [https://deadline.com/2025/08/gwen-stefani-blake-shelton-wizard-of-oz-prime-video-1236497977/ right here].


----
----


The latest Oz project 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].)
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]).


----
----
Line 349: Line 422:


*''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…)
*''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 television 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.
*''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.)
*''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.)

Latest revision as of 21:59, 21 November 2025

(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.)

Colorbar.gif
Home.gif
"There's no place like the home page."
Colorbar.gif

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

Colorbar.gif

November 13, 2025: The Baum Bugle Autumn 2025 Issue

Bbautumn25.jpg

The latest issue of The Baum Bugle, the journal of the International Wizard of oz Club, is making its way to members now. This issue celebrates forty years of Return to Oz, and includes a comprehensive checklist of collectibles from the 1985 Disney movie. Keep an eye on this space for future updates.


October 8, 2025: Robert A. Baum, 1942-2025

Robert A Baum Jr.webp

Robert A. "Bob" Baum, great-grandson of L. Frank Baum and an important Oz scholar in his own right, passed away today at the age of 83. His generosity in sharing his family's collection and history has been a boon to Oz in many ways. Museums, documentaries, and Oz festivals and conventions have all been enhanced by Bob's donations. He was a consultant on the 1990 television movie The Dreamer of Oz, a biopic of his great-grandfather, and even recreated Frank's home office on set using items from his own collection. He served the International Wizard of Oz Club as a director and contributor to The Baum Bugle, as well as frequent convention guest. The 2022 issue of Oziana, the Club's literary magazine, was a collection of Bob Baum's fanciful stories about his family history. He and his wife, Claire, would sometimes appear at events as L. Frank and Maud Baum to tell stories about their lives. For his many contributions, he was awarded the Oz Club's highest honor, named after his great-grandfather, in 2002.

(Information courtesy Jane Albright on Facebook. Photo courtesy The Oz Wiki.)

September 21, 2025: Elaine Merk Binder, 1930-2025

Elaine Merk Binder, one of the last remaining actors who played a Munchkin in The Wizard of Oz, passed away today at the age of 94. Born in Colorado, she appeared as an extra in several movies in the '30s, including an Our Gang short. She was one of a dozen young girls who filled in the ranks of background female Munchkins after Judy Garland's Dorothy arrives in Oz. But after 1940 she left show business, and went on to earn degrees in education and music. She appeared in the 2024 documentary series Memories of Oz, reminiscing about making the movie.

(Information courtesy Variety and IMDB.)

August 8, 2025: The Baum Bugle Spring 2025

Bbspring25.png

The latest issue of The Baum Bugle, the journal of the International Wizard of Oz Club, is now making its way to members. This issue celebrates the release of Wicked (Part 1).

In this issue:

  • The front cover reprints the publicity shot of Wicked stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande recreating the original poster design for the Wicked stage show.
  • The inside covers reprint Anton Loeb's endpaper design for the 1950 book adaptation of The Wizard of Oz.
  • The table of contents includes Mark Manley's Wicked tribute painting, "The Melting Occurred at the Thirteenth Hour".
  • In "Letters", Oz Club President Ryan Bunch looks back at how the Bugle covered the path Wicked has taken from page to stage to screen, and Bugle editor Sarah K. Crotzer looks at how this issue's features came about.
  • In "The Bugle Bulletin":
    • The National Library Service (NLS) has a large collection of Oz materials for the blind and print disabled.
    • "Beyond the Shifting Sands" remembers recently passed Oz contributors Jean Marsh, Stephen J. Teller, Jack Van Camp, and Sally Roesch Wagner.
  • Sarah K. Crotzer reacts to the Wicked film in "What Is This Feeling?"
  • "What the Papers Said" looks at a number of reviews of Wicked from around the world.
  • "Wicked Wares: Toys, Plushes, and Cinema Exclusives" by Jane Albright looks at a variety of Wicked movie collectibles.
  • David Diket looks at the history and evolution of Wicked Witch of the West dolls in "My Beautiful Wickedness" and "David's Timeline of Beautifully Wicked Dolls".
  • Karyl Carlson looks back at how she started creating custom Oz dolls in "The Dollmaker of Oz".
  • It's been twenty-five years since the last installment, but Carl Rexroad continues his look at political cartoons themed around The Wizard of Oz in "The Editorial Cartoons of Oz, Part 1: 125 Years Later, The Wizard of Oz Still Drives Political Debate".
  • William STillman looks at the history of one of the bestselling Oz adaptations in "75 Years of Anton Loeb's The Wizard of Oz".
  • In "Oz in the Arts", Robert Lamont reviews the recent Broadway revival of The Wiz (now on tour).
  • In "The Bugle Review":
  • Michael Gessel remembers a recently deceased long-time Oz fan in "The Lifelong Scholar: Stephen J. Teller's Journey from Kansas to Oz".
  • The back cover shows the Tonner Doll versions of Glinda and the Wicked Witch of the West.

Also included with this issue:

  • This issue's Oz craft is a miniature version of the Emerald City Express train from the Wicked movie.
  • And in the final (for now?) issue of The Emerald City Gazette, the newspaper for younger Oz fans (of all ages), Bungle and Toto stroll through the Emerald Palace to ensure that those pesky nomes are finally gone for good.


Wicked and Wicked: For Good Accolades and Awards

With high profile movie releases, naturally Wicked and Wicked: For Good will receive acclaim during the film award seasons. Here, then, we will keep track of awards presented to the Wicked movies and their cast and crew, plus nominations for awards to be given later. Keep an eye on this list or the Wikipedia page as more news comes in.

The awards are presented here in the chronological order they were presented:

  • September 27, 2024: International Cinematographers "Manaki Brothers" Film Festival, SUMOLIGHT Creative Energy Award: Alice Brooks (Cinematographer) and Dave Smith (Gaffer)
  • November 18, 2024: Heartland Film Festival, Truly Moving Picture Award: Wicked
  • November 23, 2024: The International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography Camerimage, Production Designer Award: Nathan Crowley
  • December 4, 2024: National Board of Review
    • Best Film: Wicked
    • Best Director: Jon M. Chu
    • Spotlight Award: the creative collaboration of Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande
  • December 5, 2024: American Film Institute Awards, Top 10 Films of the Year: Wicked (alongside nine other movies)
  • December 8, 2024: Washington DC Area Film Critics Film Critics Association
    • Best Feature: Wicked
    • Best Production Design: Nathan Crowley and Lee Sandales
  • December 8, 2024: Astra Film and Creative Arts Awards
    • Best Picture: Wicked
    • Best Actress: Cynthia Erivo
    • Best Supporting Actress: Ariana Grande (tied with Zoe Saldaña for Emilia Pérez)
    • Best Director: Jon M. Chu
    • Best Casting: Tiffany Little Canfield and Bernard Telsey
    • Best Costume Design: Paul Tazewell
    • Best Marketing Campaign: Wicked
    • Best Production Design: Nathan Crowley and Lee Sandales
  • December 9, 2024: Celebration of Black Cinema and Television, Actress Award—Film: Cynthia Erivo
  • December 9, 2024: Michigan Movie Critics Guild, Best Supporting Actress: Ariana Grande
  • December 9, 2024: Atlanta Film Critics Circle, Best Supporting Actress: Ariana Grande
  • December 9, 2024: San Diego Film Critics Society
    • Best Supporting Actress: Ariana Grande
    • Best Production Design: Nathan Crowley and Lee Sandales
    • Best Costume Design: Paul Tazewell
  • December 13, 2024: African-American Film Critics Association, Innovator Award: Paul Tazewell
  • December 13, 2024: Las Vegas Film Critics Society
    • Best Costume Design: Paul Tazewell
    • Best Family Film: Wicked
  • December 15, 2024: St. Louis Film Critics Association, Best Costume Design: Paul Tazewell
  • December 16, 2024: Phoenix Film Critics Society
    • Best Supporting Actress: Ariana Grande
    • Best Costume Design: Wicked
  • December 16, 2024: Seattle Film Critics Society, Best Costume Design: Paul Tazewell
  • December 16, 2024: Iowa Film Critics Association, Best Supporting Actress: Ariana Grande (tied with Isabella Rossellini in Conclave)
  • December 16, 2024: Southeastern Film Critics Association, Best Supporting Actress: Ariana Grande
  • December 21, 2024: Nevada Film Critics Society
    • Best Actress: Cynthia Erivo
    • Best Visual Effects: Pablo Helman
  • December 30, 2024: TiBS Editors Choice Awards:
    • Best Actress: Cynthia Erivo
    • Best Supporting Actress: Ariana Grande
    • Best Director: Jon M. Chu
    • Best Ensemble: Wicked
  • January 2, 2025: Capri Hollywood-International Film Festival Award, Best Sound: Wicked
  • January 2, 2025: Critics Association of Central Florida
    • Best Cast: Wicked
    • Best Production Design: Wicked
    • Best Sound Design: Wicked
  • January 3, 2025: Palm Springs International Film Festival
    • Creative Impact in Acting Award: Cynthia Erivo
    • Rising Star Award: Ariana Grande
  • January 3, 2025: Oklahoma Film Critics Circle, Best Supporting Actress: Ariana Grande
  • January 4, 2025: DiscussingFilm Global Critic Award, Best Production Design: Wicked
  • January 5, 2025: Golden Globe Awards, Cinematic and Box Office Achievement: Wicked
  • January 10, 2025: Music City Film Critics Association, Best Music Film: Wicked
  • January 10, 2025: Minnesota Film Critics Association, Best Costume Design: Wicked
  • January 12, 2025: Puerto Rico Critics Association
    • Best Comedy/Musical: Wicked
    • Best Production Design: Wicked
    • Best Costume Design: Wicked
  • January 13, 2025: North Dakota Film Society, Best Costume Design: Paul Tazewell
  • January 13, 2025: Hawaii Film Critics Society
    • Best Art Direction: Wicked
    • Best Costume Design: Wicked
    • Best Visual Effects: Wicked
  • January 14, 2025: Portland Critics Association, Best Supporting Performance (Female): Ariana Grande
  • January 16, 2025: North American Film Critics Association, Best Supporting Actress: Ariana Grande
  • January 24, 2025: Denver Film Critics Society, Best Supporting Performance by an Actor, Female: Ariana Grande
  • January 26, 2025: Satellite Awards
    • Best Supporting Actress—Motion Picture: Ariana Grande
    • Best Production Design: Wicked
    • Best Costume Design: Wicked
    • Best Sound: Wicked
    • Make-Up Award: Wicked
  • January 27, 2025: Online Film Critics Society, Technical Achievement Award — Choreography: Wicked
  • February 6, 2025: Costume Designers Guild Awards, Excellence in Sci-Fi/Fantasy Film: Paul Tazewell
  • February 7, 2025: Set Decorators Society of America, Best Achievement in Décor/Design of a Comedy or Musical Feature Film: Lee Sandales and Nathan Crowley
  • February 7, 2025: Critics' Choice Movie Awards
    • Best Director: Jon M. Chu
    • Best Costume Design: Paul Tazewell
    • Best Production Design: Nathan Crowley and Lee Sandales
  • February 7, 2025: AACTA Awards, Audience Choice Award for Favourite Film: Wicked
  • February 9, 2025: Santa Barbara International Film Festival, Virtuoso Award: Ariana Grande
  • February 9, 2025: AARP Movies for Grownups Awards, Best Screenwriter: Winnie Holzman
  • February 12, 2025: Artios Awards, Outstanding Achievement in Casting – Big Budget Feature (Comedy): Bernard Telsey, Tiffany Little Canfield, Ryan Bernard Tymensky, Tamsyn Manson
  • February 13, 2025: Dorian Awards
    • Supporting Film Performance of the Year: Ariana Grande
    • "We're Wilde About You" Rising Star Award: Jonathan Bailey
    • Galeca LGBTQIA+ Film Trailblazer: Cynthia Erivo
  • February 15, 2025: Art Directors Guild Awards, Excellence in Production Design for a Fantasy Film: Nathan Crowley
  • February 15, 2025: Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild
    • Best Period and/or Character Make-Up in a Feature-Length Motion Picture: Frances Hannon, Alice Jones, Nuria Mbornio, Johanna Nielsen, Branka Vorkapic
    • Best Period and/or Character Hair Styling in a Feature-Length Motion Picture: Frances Hannon, Sarah Nuth, Sim Camps, Gabor Kerekes
  • February 16, 2025: BAFTA Film Awards
    • Best Production Design: Wicked
    • Best Costume Design: Wicked
  • February 17, 2025: Black Reel Awards
    • Outstanding Soundtrack: Wicked
    • Outstanding Costume Design: Paul Tazewell
  • February 17, 2025: Latino Entertainment Journalists Society
    • Best Production Design: Nathan Crowley and Lee Sandales
    • Best Costume Design: Paul Tazewell
  • February 22, 2025: NAACP Image Awards
    • Outstanding Costume Design: Paul Tazewell
    • Outstanding Soundtrack/Compilation Album: Wicked: The Soundtrack
  • February 23, 2025: Online Film and Television Association
    • Best Production Design: Wicked
    • Best Costume Design: Wicked
    • Best Adapted Song: "Defying Gravity"
  • February 23, 2025: Golden Reel Awards, Outstanding Achievement in Music Editing–Feature Motion Picture: Catherine Wilson, Robin Baynton
  • February 28, 2025: International Cinematographers Guild Publicists Awards, Maxwell Weinberg Award for Motion Picture Publicity Campaign: Wicked
  • March 2, 2025: Academy Awards
    • Best Costume Design: Wicked
    • Best Production Design: Wicked
  • March 11, 2025: Queerties
    • Drama Movie: Wicked
    • Film Performance: Jonathan Bailey
    • Next Big Thing: Wicked: For Good
  • March 14, 2025: American Cinema Editors Awards, Best Edited Feature Film – Comedy or Musical: Myron Kerstein
  • March 17, 2025: iHeartRadio Music Awards, Favorite Soundtrack: Wicked: The Soundtrack
  • April 22, 2025: Webby Awards, Variety and Reality, General Video and Film: Wicked Stars Ariana Grande & Cynthia Erivo Break Down Viral "Holding Space" Interview
  • June 9, 2025: The BET Awards, Best Actress: Cynthia Erivo
  • June 21, 2025: Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards:
    • Favorite Movie: Wicked
    • Favorite Movie Actress: Ariana Grande as Glinda
    • Favorite Song from a Movie: "Defying Gravity"
  • August 5, 2025: Las Culturista Culture Awards, Harshest Truth About Wicked: Phannee not realized, we don't get into his gay story (What was that like? Was it hard coming out or was Pfannee born wealthy? Prequel idea about this.)
  • November 3, 2025: People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive: Jonathan Bailey
  • November 4, 2025: Media Access Awards, Christopher Reeve Acting Award: Marissa Bode

July 19, 2025: Crotzer Wins L. Frank Baum Memorial Award

This evening, Sarah K. Crotzer was presented the L. Frank Bam Memorial Award for her contributions to Oz. She has been a tireless Oz researcher and writer, with a special interest in the history of Oz games. She is also the current editor of The Baum Bugle, the journal of the International Wizard of Oz Club, and recently became the longest-serving editor in Club history.

Also presented tonight were the Club's annual prizes for writing and art. This year's winners are:

  • The Fred Otto Prize for Fiction:
    • First place, Jesse Jury for "Four Friends of Oz"
    • Second place, J. L. Bell for "Who's Got the Button?"
  • The C. Warren Hollister Prize for Non-Fiction:
    • First place, Rachel Graham for "An Essential Quickening: John R. Neill and the Art of Oz"
    • Second place, Cynthia Ragni for "Project Ozma"
  • The Rob Roy MacVeigh Prize for Art:
    • First place, Jime Wimmer for "Dorothy and the Cyclone"
    • Second place, Rob Lauer for "Ruth and Her Friends in Oz"

June 21, 2025: The Winkie Award

Tonight, OzCon International gave its highest honor, the Winkie Award, to Sam Milazzo. The award recognizes all of the contributions Sam has made to the convention over the past few years, with presentations, panels, and generally helping out.

May 6, 2025: The Baum Bugle Winter 2024

Bbwinter24.png

It may be slipping back in the calendar a bit, but the latest issue of The Baum Bugle, the journal of the International Wizard of Oz Club, is making its way to members' mailboxes now.

In this issue:

Also included with this issue:

  • A registration form for the 2025 editino of Oz, the National Convention in Aberdeen, South Dakota.
  • A flyer for one of the Club's latest publications, Bibliographia Baumiana.
  • This issue's craft is a melting Evillene, based on the original Broadway run of The Wiz.
  • And in the latest issue of The Oz Gazette, the newsletter for younger Oz fans (of all ages):
    • Editor-in-Chief Katie Jones, with assistance from the Head of Security the Gump, updates readers on the hunt for Nomes and the Glass Cat.
    • The Scarecrow's book column looks at other books puplished in 1924, like Grampa in Oz.
    • Based off of the article speculating what scrum might be like in The Baum Bugle, the Patchwork Girl presents the board, pieces, and rules for Camette, a simplified (for space reasons) version of the game Camelot.
    • Finally, a little bit of verse from…the Glass Cat?


May 5, 2025: Mattydale, New York, to Honor L. Frank Baum

Mattydale, New York, will honor native son L. Frank Baum and his greatest work, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, on May 17. Mattydale was the site of Baum's childhood home, Roselawn, and the city will commemorate Baum's birth and the 125th anniversary of the publication of the first Oz book with a historical marker at the site. The marker will be at 2601 Brewerton Road, which will soon be the site of a community center.A reception will be held from 1:00 to 5:00 pm at the Kreuger Funeral Home.

(Information courtesy CNYCentral.)

April 13, 2025: Jean Marsh, 1934-2025

Jean Marsh.jpeg

Jean Marsh, OBE, the lauded British actor, passed away today from complications of dementia. She was 90. Born July 1, 1934 in Stoke Newington, London, she studied dance, singing, and acting before beginning her professional career in the 1950s. Among her movies were Cleopatra, Jane Eyre (1972), Frenzy, The Eagle Has Landed, and Willow. She was probably best known for her television work, however, in shows in both the United States and the United Kingdom, including appearances in The Twilight Zone, The Saint, Doctor Who, I Spy, Adam Adamant Lives!, UFO, The Waltons, Hawaii Five-O, the 9 to 5 series, The Love Boat, Murder, She Wrote, and the 1990s revival of The Tomorrow People. But she is best known for co-creating, with Eileen Atkins, the period drama Upstairs, Downstairs, about the servants in a great house. Marsh also starred in the show as maid Rose Buck, for which she won an Emmy Award in 1975 as well as other awards. When the BBC revived the show in 2010, Marsh was the only actor to return. Marsh and Atkins also created the series House of Elliott in 1991, which she did not appear in. For her services to drama, Marsh was made a member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II in 2012. For Oz fans, however, as well as many movie-going kids in the 1980s, she will always be known for her dual role as Nurse Wilson and Princess Mombi in the 1985 Disney film Return to Oz.

(Information courtesy the BBC and Wikipedia.)


March 18, 2025: Saliterman, Ruby Slipper Thief, Dies

Charges against Jerry Hal Saliterman, who had pled guilty to playing a part in the 2005 theft of the Ruby Slippers from the Judy Garland Museum, have been dismissed when prosecutors informed the court that he had died the day before. Saliterman's defense attorney, John Brink, confirmed the passing. The 77-year-old Saliterman had been hospitalized with lung disease and other ailments, and his most recent court appearance, in January, had been a remote feed from his hospital room. At that time, he changed his initial plea to guilty of charges of theft of a major artwork and witness tampering.

(Information courtesy The Associated Press.)

January 3, 2025: Saliterman to Plead Guilty to Hiding Ruby Slippers

Jerry Hal Saliterman, accused of theft of a major artwork and witness tampering in connection with the 2005 theft of the Ruby Slippers in Minnesota, now plans to plead guilty to the charges in a court appearance on January 10. It is not currently known how Saliterman is connected to Terry John Martin, who pled guilty to stealing the slippers in 2023. Saliterman originally pled not guilty when first charged in March of 2024, but his age (77) and poor health may have resulted in a deal that allows him to stay out of jail like Martin.

(Information courtesy U. S. News and World Reports.)

December 13, 2024: The Baum Bugle's Celebratory 200th Issue

Bbautumn24.jpg

The Autumn 2024 issue of The Baum Bugle, the journal of the International Wizard of Oz, has come back from the printers and is on its way to members' mailboxes. This is the two hundredth issue of the Bugle, so the journal celebrates itself, for once.

In this issue:

  • The wraparound cover pays tribute to the first illustrated cover of the Bugle (for the May 1959 issue), showing many different illustrators' versions of the Scarecrow and Tin Woodman
  • The inside front cover reproduces Maxfield Parrish's cover for the January 1917 issue of Metropolitan.
  • In "Letters", Oz Club President Ryan Bunch reflects on winning the L. Frank Baum Memorial Award during a hurricane, while Bugle editor Sarah K. Krotzer looks at the production of this issue within the overall history of the journal.
  • In "The Bugle Bulletin":
    • The Club opens its archive with reprints of selected articles from past issues of The Baum Bugle.
    • The town of Salina, New York breaks ground on a new community center at the site of Rose Lawn, the Baum family estate. The center will include a Baum-themed museum.
    • Gregory Maguire's writing another book set in his version of Oz. Elphie, coming out March 25, 2025, will recount tales of the childhood of Elphaba, who will later become the Wicked Witch of the West.
    • The stolen pair of Ruby Slippers, now recovered, are on tour and will go up for auction in December.
    • The latest revival of The Wiz surpasses one hundred performances on Broadway.
    • The release of the first Wicked movie is moved up to November 22, 2024.
    • Marvelous: A Musical Opera based on The Marvelous Land of Oz premieres in Sisterville, West Virginia on April 5, 2025
    • "Beyond the Shifting Sands" recognizes the passing of Ken Page, who understudied for Ted Ross in the original Broadway production of The Wiz before taking over the role himself.
  • One of the original charter members of the International Wizard of Oz Club, Ruth Berman, looks back on how it all started in "A Gleam in Justin's Eye: Oz Club Origins".
  • In "In Search of Snow White: The Unrealized Dream of Maxfield Parrish and L. Frank Baum", Scott Cummings looks at a second Parrish-Baum collaboration that ultimately never came to be, a book and stage play of Snow White in the late 1910s.
  • Peter E. Hanff looks at how one man changed the Bugle from a humble newsletter to a comprehensive journal in "Martin's Marvels: Dick Martin's Graphical Contributions to the History of The Baum Bugle". Accompanying this article is a color supplement of Bugle covers Martin contributed to, including examples of color separations; and "A Checklist of Cover Art for The Baum Bugle by Dick Martin".
  • J. L. Bell examines the development of cartography in the Oz books in the award-winning "The Inspiring Maps of Oz".
  • "Keepers of the Record" presents reminiscences of three previous Bugle editors:
    • "A Brief Reminiscence of My Bugle Editorship, 1996-2000" by William Stillman.
    • "Notes from an Old Bugle Editor" by Michael Gessel.
    • "The Call of a Bugle—and Where It Led" by John Fricke.
  • "How It Began (Again)" looks at some mocked-up dummy pages, created by Dick Martin, for the Spring 1979 issue of the Bugle.
  • The inside back cover reproduces the earliest known map of Oz, a slide from the 1908 multimedia show The Fairylogue and Radio-Plays.

Also included with this issue:

  • The craft project is a map of Oz to color.
  • In Issue No. 20 of The Oz Gazette, the newsletter for younger Oz fans (of all ages):
    • Editor-in-Chief Katie Jones and Number Nine outline efforts to clean up the Emerald City after the Nome King's recent occupation, and reveal the Gump as the new Head of Security.
    • Polychrome reveals a puzzle where weather-related clues help you to unscramble Oz place names.
    • Scraps opines on issues of writing Oz poetry.
    • The Scarecrow gives story recommendations:
    • And throughout the issue, mysterious figures seem to be scouting out the country for nefarious purposes. But is someone scouting them out in turn?

December 7, 2024: Ruby Slippers Auction Sets New Movie Memorabilia Record

Ruby Slippers 2024.jpeg

The most notorious pair of Ruby Slippers used during production of the famous 1939 film version of The Wizard of Oz went up for auction today, and the final price shattered all records for the price paid for a piece of movie memorabilia. Of the four pairs of Ruby Slippers known to still exist, this pair, "The Traveling Shoes", were stolen from the Judy Garland Museum in 2005 and recovered in 2018, when they acquired a new nickname, "The Stolen Pair". They were ultimately returned to owner Michael Shaw who decided it was time to sell them. Estimated to go for at least $3,000,000, online bidding reached $1,550,000 before live bidding on site at Heritage Auctions began. The estimate was quickly surpassed, and when bidding ended, the final bid was $28,000,000, far outpacing any previous price for movie memorabilia. With commission and other fees, the total final price paid was $32,500,000. The Ruby Slippers alone surpassed the previous record for an entire movie memorabilia auction, the $22,800,000 that Debbie Reynolds' collection was sold for in 2011.

Other Oz items available in the auction:

  • One of Margaret Hamilton's Wicked Witch of the West hats, and the only one known to carry Hamilton's name inside, earned the second highest price for an item from The Wizard of Oz, $2,930,000
  • Producer Mervyn LeRoy's script from the MGM art department, $50,000
  • The screen door from the Gale farmhouse, $37,500
  • Judy Garland's blonde wig from the first week of shooting, $30,000
  • The MGM contract for songwriters Harold Arlen and E. Y. Harburg, $23,125

Other items of interest at the auction included a sceen-used Jumanji board game from the eponymous movie; a crate used to hold bombs in the original 1933 version of King Kong; a hoverboard from Back to the Future II; Kevin's scarf, coat, hat, and mittens from Home Alone; Wilson, Tom Hanks' volleyball co-star in Castaway; and a screen-used golden ticket from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

(Information and image courtesy Heritage Auctions.)


December 2, 2024: Paul Maslansky 1933-2024

Longtime Hollywood producer Paul Maslansky died today in a hospital in San Robles, California. He was 91. His first credit was for the 1964 horror film Castle of the Living Dead with Christopher Lee, and he worked on many films in the 1970s and '80s. His biggest success was the Police Academy series, beginning in 1984 with the first movie which spawned several other movies, a television series, and an animated series. Another of his credits at the time was Return to Oz. He is survived by his long-time partner Sally Emr, three children, and two grandchildren.

(Information courtesy Variety and Wikipedia.)

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.)

Dorothy is in development for Prime Video, with executive producers Gwen Stefani, Blake Shelton, and Gina Matthews. You can see the initial report on this right here.

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 television 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.)

Colorbar.gif
Home.gif
"There's no place like the home page."
Retrieved from "http://thewizardofoz.info/w/index.php?title=Oz_News&oldid=11430"