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American McGee To Adapt Oz As Movie
Ant writes "According to ShackNews and Hollywood Reporter, American McGee's "Oz" is back on track in several ways. Infogrames dropped the Wizard of Oz based videogame a while ago, but it's being revived now that McGee will be writing an Oz movie script for producer Jerry Bruckheimer. McGee said: "The hero of the story, a teenage boy named Arthur, is whisked away from Earth to an Oz in turmoil. Like Neo in 'The Matrix' films, the boy makes a hero's journey and comes to grips with his powers," he said. "What Jerry Bruckheimer was able to do with 'Pirates of the Caribbean' was simply brilliant, and since 'Oz' is similar in tone to that film franchise, I'd like to follow that model.""
Wow, with a movie description that includes "it's like The Matrix or Pirates of the Caribbean", how can you go wrong? Hell, why now throw some other stuff in there. It's Gone With The Wind meets Citizen Kane in space like Star Wars... and they all can do Matrix stuff. Crapfest coming up...
On a more serious note, why does the Dorothy of this movie need "powers"? That's always been part of the draw to the Wizard of Oz. An innocent normal girl ends up in this strange land and has to make friends to surivive and find her way home. Give this character super powers and I don't see how it's going to be any good.
American McGee = Overrated Trash
"For one thing, there's a reference to "the darker side of Oz" and Frank Baum made it clear there was no darker side."
Maybe he confused Frank Baum's Oz with the HBO prison show "Oz." That would explain it. I saw one episode where a guy moved cells because he was afraid of his cellmate, but he ended up in a cell where he had to be someone's girlfriend. That's definately a dark side.
Frnak L. Baum's body, which is undoubtedly spinning in his grave, can probably be utilised to generate a not insignificant amount of power. It won't be clean power, admittedly, owing to the generation of reels and reels of garbage film, but it ought to rather cleaner than, say, coal.
Canthros
For a split second, I thought McGee was going to adapt the HBO prison series Oz. I found myself wondering how he could possibly make beatings, stabbings and prison rape any darker than they already are.
For one thing, there's a reference to "the darker side of Oz" and Frank Baum made it clear there was no darker side. His intent was to create a land of wonder and amazement without the creatures that caused kids nightmares.
Hmm...
Bitchy old woman that wants to kill cute little dog, CHECK.
Evil witch killed by falling house, CHECK.
Grotesque flying monkeys that have been giving kids nightmares for decades, CHECK
Evil witches that melt into a puddle of goo, CHECK.
Yep, no dark side whatsoever!
Mechanik