Wicked

[The Mike]

Originally this project was in predevelopment hell. The producers wanted to capture the original buzz and even contacted Baz Lehrman to do the film. Then nothing. Here is some interesting movement on this front:

.J. Abrams, James Mangold, Ryan Murphy and Rob Marshall in Talks for Wicked
Posted on Sunday, July 11th, 2010 by Adam Quigley

Prepare yourselves now, because the profusion of Wizard of Oz projects hitting in the next few years may start to get a little overwhelming. In no particular order, we already have lined up: Oz, the Great and Powerful, starring Robert Downey Jr. and (potentially) directed by Sam Raimi; Drew Barrymore’s proposed Wizard of Oz sequel, Surrender Dorothy; the Polish brothers’ Oz prequel; Dorthy of Oz, an animated outing; and one of two Warner Bros. remakes, which could either be the Todd McFarlane-produced re-envisioning or the simply titled Oz, written by Darren Lemke (co-writer of Bryan Singer’s upcoming Jack the Giant Killer).

That enough Oz mayhem for you? Or do you think we need one more?

Yup, Universal thinks we need one more. To fill out that already full roster, there’s the upcoming musical adaptation Wicked, a prequel to the classic Wizard of Oz tale that’s told from the perspective of the witches. This will mark the title’s third incarnation, which started as a bestselling novel before finding great success as a stage musical. Which director will be bringing the material to the big screen? The current line-up is enough to titillate: J.J. Abrams, James Mangold, Ryan Murphy and Rob Marshall. More on these selections after the break.

Deadline reports that a number of meetings have already taken place with the musical’s producer (Marc Platt), writer (Winnie Holzman), and songwriter (Stephen Schwartz), and the aforementioned filmmakers were among those being met with and taken into consideration. The extent of the directors’ interest is unclear.

Out of the proposed directors, Rob Marshall and Ryan Murphy are the obvious choices. Marshall (director of Chicago and Nine) has the most experience with adapting stage musicals, and Ryan Murphy (creator of Glee) has had the past year to hone his musical abilities with dozens upon dozens of vibrant song-and-dance numbers.

James Mangold is a slightly more curious possibility, as he’s never directed a musical before, though he wasn’t too far off with the music-driven Walk the Line. He’s also an incredibly eclectic filmmaker, shifting genres more frequently than almost any director out there (e.g., he went from Kate & Leopold to Identity), so I could definitely see him stretching himself even further with a project like this.

Naturally, the stand-out of the group is J.J. Abrams. As somebody who’s known mostly for his work in the sci-fi and spy genres, Abrams likely wouldn’t be the first person you’d think of to tackle a stage musical adaptation. He is, however, a master of mystery and spectacle, and directing that energy toward the world of Oz could prove very promising. And it’s not as though Abrams has no musical sense. He was the composer of the main title themes for several of his shows, including Fringe, Alias, Felicity and even the opening of Lost.

 

[kenobiobi]

The missus will definitely enjoy this news, she raves about Wicked all the time. We were going to see the stage production when it came to Toronto this fall, but tickets are out of our financial reach atm, we'll have to see.

It will be interesting to see how long this takes to get going now.

 

[Darth Caedus]

The songs for the show are amazing, I would much rather see a $15 version than the $$$ stage version

 

[Darth Waller]

The stage version was pretty cool. I would imagine a big budget movie could look pretty awesome if done right.

 

[villainsfan42]

the show was overrated, predictable, and plain boring. the songs were dull, and not much different from each other.
one of the most disappointing shows i've ever seen.

 

[Shropt]

All I see is Iron Butt. Where is the dang article!?!?

 

[Darth Waller]

All I see is Iron Butt. Where is the dang article!?!?

Above the butt. Oh wait, that's the ****s.

 

[Morbach]

WTH? that's a little ridiculous honestly. Too much Oz crap. Leave it alone.

 

[Cloud]

I hope they get both Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenowith to play Elphaba and Glinda (they originated the roles). Better get working on it soon though!

And I'd like to see Oz by Todd McFarlane. That was a twisted and cool line of figures. Loved the Wizard especially.

 

[Wor-Gar]

Pretty funny to read these old posts...


Anyway, resurrected this thread for Jye.

And because I like Ariana Grande.

 

[EVILFACE]

No desire to see this after that broad’s comments.

 

[chrisstbh]

Is this Joker 3?

 

[Wor-Gar]

No desire to see this after that broad’s comments.

which broad? And what comments...?

 

[jye4ever]

Hated her comment was not going to go see it because of it.

Glad my sisters dragged me to it.

Spectacular movie, 9 out of 10!

 

[Wor-Gar]

what comment...?

 

[jye4ever]

what comment...?

A fan changed the movie poster to match the Broadway poster which covered up the Erivo’s face and she said it was the most offensive thing she’s ever seen I guess even worse than children dying in wars!

Dumb ***.

Both were amazing but especially Ariana she knocked it out of the park.

I still can’t believe I saw this lol

 

[Wor-Gar]

OMG, you and Evilface were offender by that comment?

I'm offender by you guys' shallow offense.

Ariana can do no wrong. Not with those legs.

 

[jye4ever]

OMG, you and Evilface were offender by that comment?

I'm offender by you guys' shallow offense.

Ariana can do no wrong. Not with those legs.

No it was the other actress not Ariana who reacted irrationally.

Ariana shows a ton of legs in this movie btw lol!

 

[crows]

No desire to see this after that broad’s comments.

which broad? And what comments...?

Hated her comment was not going to go see it because of it.

Glad my sisters dragged me to it.

Spectacular movie, 9 out of 10!

I shall bring clarity to this issue, with the actual post.
the witch lady saw this Photoshop version of the poster that hides her eyes, and freaked out.
she said it was racism. erasure. this her full response to the fan edit. to the photoshop edit.

 

[Wor-Gar]

I shall bring clarity to this issue, with the actual post.
the witch lady saw this Photoshop version of the poster that hides her eyes, and freaked out.
she said it was racism. erasure. this her full response to the fan edit. to the photoshop edit.

Not the complete truth -- she apparently was reacting to some lascivious remarks about the green shade of her 'other' lips (or something to that effect) in regards to the chatter over that fan poster when she flipped out.

Maybe you can AI a visual example for us.

No it was the other actress not Ariana who reacted irrationally.

Ariana shows a ton of legs in this movie btw lol!

No, I know it was the black girl, obviously. She must have the Disney play book by mistake for this Universal release.

And yes, I see Ariana kicking constantly in the trailer. Gets me hot.