Oz News

(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.)

"There's no place like the home page."

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

June 25, 2013: The Baum Bugle, Spring 2013 issue

The latest issue of The Baum Bugle, the journal of the International Wizard of Oz Club, has been sent out and is making its way to members. Although some Club leaders have expressed regret over how late it was, it's only a few days into summer. Considering the checkered past of the Bugle getting to members in a timely manner, long-time members probably don't mind much at all!

In this issue:

• The front cover shows Oz and Theodora traversing the Ozian landscape in a scene from the new movie Oz the Great and Powerful.
• "Letter from the Editor" introduces the new editor, Craig Noble, and his connections and history with Oz.
• President Carrie Hedges delivers some "OZervations" on how members can assist the Club in its mission, including how to become a member of "Ozma's Honor Roll".

More about this issue will be posted here in the coming days.

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June 23, 2013: Richard Matheson

One of the most prolific and influential of modern science-fictions writers, Richard Matheson, died today. His career spanned over fifty years, and included acclaimed novels (I Am Legend, Stir of Echoes, The Shrinking Man, What Dreams May Come and Hell House, with his most recent, Generations, coming out just last year), short stories ("Button, Button" and "Real Steel", both of which were adapted not only as movies, but also episodes of The Twilight Zone), movies (he adapted many of his own stories into screenplays, including The Incredible Shrinking Man), and television ("Terror at 20,00 Feet" and "Little Girl Lost" for The Twilight Zone, and "The Enemy Within" for Star Trek, among many others). He received the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 1984, the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Horror Writers Association in 1991, and was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2010. Matheson died just days before he was due to receive the Visonary award at the Saturn Awards ceremony; it was presented posthumously. Among his many credits was The Dreamer of Oz, the 1990 television movie about the life of L. Frank Baum, for which Matheson co-wrote the story with David Kirschner, and wrote the screenplay.

(Information courtesy Blastr, The Internet Movie Database, and Wikipedia.)

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June 22, 2013: Oz Club Honors

The International Wizard of Oz Club presented two of its highest honors at its Winkie Convention tonight. The Winkie Award, voted on by convention members, was presented to Anna Wyatt for her many years of attendance and assistance. And the Club's highest honor, the L. Frank Baum Memorial Award, was presented to Eric Gjovaag for his many contributions to Oz research and fiction, assistance at the Winkie Convention, and being one of the first Oz fans with a major presence on the Internet. He is still stunned, and wonders when he will wake up and find out that he didn't receive it after all.

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April 26, 2013: The Baum Bugle, Winter 2012 issue

The latest issue of The Baum Bugle, the thrice-a-year journal of the International Wizard of Oz Club, is now back from the printers and making its way to members. It's a few months late (well, the streak couldn't last forever), but this is the final issue for members in 2012, and they will need to renew soon.

In this issue:

• The front cover features an illustration of Dorothy in the poppy field, as seen in the 1903 Broadway stage production of The Wizard of Oz. The original drawing was by H. C. Edwards, and appeared in the March 7, 1903 issue of Leslie's Weekly. For this cover, it was newly colored by Marcus Mébès.
• Former editor Sean P. Duffley returns as guest editor for this issue, and he talks about the 1902 play and how it helped to popularize Oz in "Letter from the Guest Editor".
• In "Oz and Ends:
  • Two recent successful Kickstarter campaigns are highlighted, for the movie L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and the Oz/Wonderland graphic novel mash-up The Red Queen of Oz.
  • The then-forthcoming release of the movie Oz the Great and Powerful, and the anticipated release this year of Dorothy of Oz (which has since been pushed back to 2014 and renamed The Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return.
  • Recently sold at auction are what appear to be a transcription disc of two episodes of the 1933-34 Wizard of Oz radio show (which would be the first known recordings to emerge of that show), and one of Judy Garland's dresses from the famous movie version, going for $480,000 in November.
  • New books include Everything Oz: The Wizard of Oz Book of Makes & Bakes by Christine Leech and Hannah Read=Baldrey; Kohl's edition of The Wizard of Oz illustrated by Charles Santore and matching Toto plush, which were used to raise money for charity (and are no longer available); and the forthcoming autobiography of MGM Flowerpot Munchkin actress Margaret Pellegrini, tentatively titled From the Outhouse to Oz.
  • The results of the Canadian talent search show Over the Rainbow, which cast Danielle Wade as Dorothy in the Toronto (and forthcoming North American touring) production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's stage adaptation of The Wizard of Oz.
  • A production of the play Oz in Lexington, Kentucky.
  • The new {https://www.facebook.com/appcenter/wozgame Wizard of Oz game on Facebook].
  • The forthcoming theatrical rerelease of the famous film version of The Wizard of Oz in theaters for its seventy-fifth anniversary and subsequent new home video release, including, for the first time, 3-D, as well as new anniversary merchandise.
  • New Oz-themed music videos, created by Australian Club members Sam Milazzo.
  • The premature but necessary release of Dorothy of Oz make-up and other sundries to Dollar General stores.
• Stephen J. Teller looks at various scripts, performances, and reviews of the 1902 stage play and how it evolved in "The Wizard of Oz and How It Grew".
• An article from the August 1902 issue of the periodical The Philharmonic about The Wizard of Oz play and how it was made.
• "Oz Under Scrutiny" looks at several contemporary reviews of the first stage adaptation of The Wizard of Oz.
• Reviewed in "The Oz Bookshelf":
  • Fairy Tales on the Stage by L. Frank Baum, newly reprinted in a hand-pressed edition by Michael O. Riley, reviewed by Paul R. Bienvenue.
  • Namesake Volume 1 by Isabelle Melançon and Megan Lavey-Heaton, reviewed by Marcus Mébès.
  • {http://www.madraspress.com/maguire/ Tales Told in Oz by Gregory Maguire], reviewed by Stephen J. Teller
• Susan Johnson is introduced as the Club's new online store manager.
• Sean P. Duffley examines the life and career of Lotta Faust, who shot to fame at the turn of the century by singing "Sammy" in The Wizard of Oz in "Lotta's Luster Lost?"
• "CuriOzity" looks at a late nineteenth century patent medicine, Hamlin's Wizard Oil, which indirectly led to The Wizard of Oz coming to the stage.
• The rear cover reproduces a picture of Lotta Faust from the January 1905 cover of the magazine The Theatre.

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March 20, 2013: Risë Stevens

Risë Stevens, the acclaimed mezzo-soprano who brought opera to the masses in the 1940s and '50s, died today at her home in New York City. She was 99 years old. Although she performed all over the world, Stevens was best remembered for her twenty-three seasons performing at the Metropolitan Opera. She was considered by many to be the definitive Carmen of her time, but also performed many other roles as well. For those who couldn't make it to see her in person, Stevens became known through records and radio and television appearances. She also acted in three movies: opposite Bing Crosby in Going My Way, with Nelson Eddy in The Chocolate Soldier, and as the voice of Glinda the Good in the animated feature Journey Back to Oz. Stevens is survived by her son and granddaughter.

(Information courtesy Scott Hutchins, Wikipedia, and The New York Times. Picture from Journey Back to Oz courtesy of The Everything Oz Club on Facebook.)

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November 27, 2012: The Baum Bugle, Autumn 2012

This year's Autumn issue of The Baum Bugle, the journal of the International Wizard of Oz Club, has now been published and is making its way to members' mailboxes now. This issue celebrates the centennial of Sky Island, L. Frank Baum's major fantasy story of 1912, and also the life of Martin Gardner, one of the founding members of what was originally called The Wizard of Oz Fan Club.

In this issue:

• The front cover reproduces one of the color plates from Sky Island.
• "From the Editor" sees current editor Scott Cummings writing about his reasons for becoming editor, and also why he's leaving the job; and Club President Carrie L. Hedges introduces the new editor, Craig Noble.
• The list of winners of the L. Frank Baum Memorial Award gets its annual bylaws-mandated printing, with this year's winner, Atticus Gannaway, added to the list.
• In "Oz & Ends":
  • The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was part of an exhibit at the Library of Congress, "The Books That Shaped America".
  • A flying monkey sculpture, made entirely from recycled metal, available at Modern Artisans.
  • Ruby Slipper socks
  • New Toto toys are available from Kohl's (which is also selling a new edition of the book) and Steiff (which is also selling a Dorothy teddy bear). (Bugle readers even get a code to receive a 10% discount code from Steiff!)
  • A new series coming to the E! network, Dorothy, about a girl from Kansas City falling for a man and moving to New York City to work at the Emerald Hotel.
  • The forthcoming children's opera, The Road to Oz, being developed in Camden, Maine.
  • A new soundtrack for the 1925 silent film version of The Wizard of Oz, performed earlier this year in Portland, Oregon.
  • A new production of The Wizard of Oz in Nagpur, India, in which a drunken Dorothy crushes a woman under the wheels of her car, then stumbling into a bar called the Land of Oz.
  • A new film adaptation of "The Box of Robbers", one of the stories L. Frank Baum wrote in his collection American Fairy Tales.
  • The latest rumors about a film based on the Wicked musical play, now with Stephen Daldry in the director's chair.
  • The announcement of the latest mural in Holland, Michigan, of L. Frank Baum daydreaming about writing The Wonderful Wizard of Oz at his summer home in nearby Macatawa.
  • The forthcoming conference in Manchester, Great Britain, "Returning to Oz: The Afterlife of Dorothy".
  • The Oz art of Australian illustrator Ben Wood and his exhibit earlier this year in Bendigo, Australia.
  • The auction of a rare British edition of L. Frank Baum's Mother Goose in Prose, which realized a price of $5,100.
  • The auction of two of John R. Neill's original illustrations for color plates for The Scarecrow of Oz, which sold for $10,625 (for the attempted burning of the Scarecrow) and $16,250 (Blinkie being carried away by Orks).
• An excerpt from Chapter 14 of Sky Island, to kick off the centennial celebration of that book.
• Mari Ness writes a critique of the book in "Fairylands in the Sky: L. Frank Baum's Sky Island".
• Richard Tuerk gives an overview of how the ruling classes do their job in the book in "'Suppose you jus' call yourself the Boss?' Governance in Sky Island".
• Scott Cummings edits and annotates some of the "Early Reviews of Sky Island".
• Mark I. West examines "Martin Gardner and His Contributions to the History of Oz".
• Scott Cummings provides "Martin Gardner's Oz Writings: A Checklinst".
• Kevin Thomas provides the transcript of a visit with Gardner in 2007 in "'I Grew Up on the Oz Books': An Interview with Martin Gardner".
• "The Hollow Men of Oz" by Michael Hernandez examines how Oz might have been an influence on T. S. Eliot and one of his most famous poems, "The Hollow Men".
• Blair Frodelius talks with one of the world's most renowned collectors of Judy Garland memorabilia in "Dress Rehearsal: A Conversation with Michael Siewert".
• In "The Oz Bookshelf":
  • Ozma of Oz, adapted for comics by Eric Shanower and Skottie Young (available in both hardcover and paperback), reviewed by Ken Cope.
  • The Ozopolis comic book series by Kirk Kushin, reviewed by Blair Frodelius.
  • The Royal Historian of Oz graphic novel by Tommy Kovac and Andy Hirsch, reviewed by Dennis Anfuso.
  • A Bouquet for the Gardner: Martin Gardner Remembered (a collection of essays about Gardner, including several about Oz), and the new Dover edition of The Little Wizard Stories of Oz with a new introduction by Gardner, both reviewed by Scott Cummings.
  • And Toto, Too: The Wizard of Oz as a Spiritual Adventure by Nathan G. Castle, reviewed by Richard C. Rutter.
  • A new Vietnamese edition of The Wizard of Oz, reviewed by Rutter.
  • All-Action Classics No. 4: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, adapted and illustated by Ben Caldwell.
  • The Army Alphabet/The Navy Alphabet by L. Frank Baum (in hardcover and paperback).
  • The Art of the Darkside of Oz by Tommy Castillo.
  • Emeralds: Hearts in Oz by Jer Alford and Erin Ptah (available as a mini comic or .pdf download).
  • Everything Oz by Hannah Read-Baldrey and Christine Leech.
  • Fairy Tales on the Stage by L. Frank Baum, newly reprinted in a very limited edition.
  • Freud in Oz: At the Intersections of Psychoanalysis and Children's Literature by Kenneth B. Kidd.
  • The Hackers of Oz by Tom Mula.
  • A new edition of The Magical Mimics in Oz by Jack Snow.
  • Namesake: Book 1 by Isabelle Melançon and Megan Lavey-Heaton.
  • Northern Oz: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road by Vincent J. Kelly.
  • Of Cabbages, Kings, and Even (Odd) Queens of Wonderland and Oz by Ron Baxley, Jr., and James C. Wallace II.
  • Operation Ruby Slipper by John Meyer.
  • The Oz Clan by Jeff Barstock.
  • Oz House by Alan Lindsay and Dennis Anfuso.
  • The Oz/Wonderland Chronicles series (Book 1, Book 2, and Prelude).
  • The Powder of Life by Paul Miles Schneider.
  • Professor Wogglebug and the Frogman of Oz by Cynthia Hanson.
  • The Red Gorilla of Oz by Richard Capwell.
  • The Royal Explorer of Oz series by Marcus Mébès, Jeff Rester, and Jared Davis — Book 1 (hardback and paperback) and Book 2 (hardback and paperback).
  • Santa Claus in Oz by Richard Capwell.
  • Shadow of Oz by Nick Damon.
  • A new edition of The Shaggy Man of Oz by Jack Snow.
  • A new edition of The Silver Princess in Oz by Ruth Plumly Thompson.
  • The Silver Tower of Oz by Margaret Baum (no relation).
  • Tales Told in Oz by Gregory Maguire.
  • Vampires and Oz by Nikki Kay Richardson.
  • The Witch Queens: The Hidden History of Oz, Book One (Volume 1) by Tarl Telford.
  • The Wizard of Oz ABC Coloring Book by Dennis Anfuso.
  • The Wizard of Oz as American Myth: A Critical Study of Six Versions of the Story, 1900-2007 by Alissa Burger.
• In "Oz Behind the Footlights", David Moyer looks at the summer 2012 production of The Wizard of Oz at the Haberdasher Theater in New York City.
• "The Magic Picture" looks back at the 2012 Winkie Convention (written by Frederick Wiegand) and the 2012 National Convention (written by John E. Cook).
• "In Memoriam" presents obituaries for Ray Bradbury, Evan McCord, Ginny Tyler, and Gore Vidal.
• As Martin Gardner was also a fan of Alice in Wonderland, the back cover reproduces the cover art for an issue of The Oz/Wonderland Chronicles comic book series.

Also included were notices sure to be of interest to all kinds of Oz fans:

• The registration form for the 2013 Winkie Convention.
• The 2013 Oz Club calendar can now be ordered from Peter Hanff, 1083 Euclid Avevenue, Berkeley, CA 94708. Enclose a check for $10 payable to IWOC.

Anyone interested in becoming a member of the International Wizard of Oz Club — membership includes all three issues of The Baum Bugle for the year — is encouraged to go visit http://www.ozclub.org/Quadling_Country_Join.html. (And hey, current members, it's also time to think about renewing!)

August 17, 2012: The 2012 L. Frank Baum Memorial Award winner

Tonight, the International Wizard of Oz Club bestowed its highest award, the L. Frank Baum Memorial Award, to Atticus Gannaway. Gannaway is a published author of several books, notably The Silver Sorceress of Oz. But his greatest contributions to Oz and the Club were as the editor in chief of the Club's journal, The Baum Bugle, for many years. It is a well-deserved honor!

July 28, 2012: The 2012 Winkie Award winner

During the awards ceremony at the Winkie Convention this evening, the Winkies gave their highest honor to Laura Gjovaag, for her editorship of the convention newsletter. Although she's not much of an Oz fan, she helps the Winkies out with the convention and communication throughout the year. It was a popular win!

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.)

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

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

• 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.
• Dorothy of Oz, an animated musical sequel based on the book by Roger S. Baum. Although some merchandise (notably a prequel comic book series) already came out under that name, a new distributor means that it has acquired a new name, Legends of Oz: Dorothy Returns. The release has now been announced for some yet-to-be-determined date in 2014.
• 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.
• Yes, it looks like a film version of Wicked is currently in pre-planning at Universal. But this is a long way off, and a lot can happen. However, the success of the play most likely means that there will be a film version some day. Winnie Holzman, who wrote the book for the play, has already been tapped to write the script.
• 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.
• Red Brick Road, a television series continuation of The Wizard of Oz in the style of Game of Thrones.
• A Wicked television miniseries, based on the original book (not the stage musical). Salma Hayak was attached to this as a producer. When last heard of, it was under development at ABC.

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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...

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It seems the Hash, Inc., animated production of The Tin Woodman of Oz was successful enough that they're going ahead with their next production, The Scarecrow of Oz. This one even has test footage on YouTube, which looks something like this:

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A computer animated production of Baum's 1902 book The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus is currently in the works. The producers are Hyde Park Entertainment, Toonz Entertainment, and Gang of 7 Animation. As with all movie projects, a lot can happen before release, which could cause them be delayed, or not to appear at all. Keep an eye on this website's news and events pages for details if they get closer to actually coming out.

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

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

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

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