Posted 1/11/12 12:56 pm EST by Jeremy Gordon in News
Sam Raimi is making a prequel to "The Wizard of Oz," in case you forgot. It's a 3D prequel, too, and it's called "Oz The Great and Powerful," about the formative days of the titular wizard's rule over the kingdom. As the original movie is such a hallowed entry in the canon, Raimi's got to be very careful about how he approaches any new material.
One of the movie's stars, Joey King, told TeenSpot.com how the new movie will pay homage.
Posted 11/29/11 1:30 pm EST by Terri Schwartz in News, Video
An "Evil Dead" remake is on the way, and you have screenwriter Diablo Cody to thank -- partially, at least.
MTV News caught up with Cody while she was promoting her new movie "Young Adult" and couldn't resist asking about her revisions on the latest drafts of Fede Alvarez's "Evil Dead" script, and she admitted that she didn't know how many details she could spill about the highly anticipated remake. She was willing to share how she contributed to the project, though.
"It was really important again to the filmmakers that it remain totally grounded in reality and timeless. They weren't trying to make some hip trendy horror movie full of pop culture references. I really hope people don't think that that's what I was hired to do," Cody said. "I came in and worked on characters and relationships, things like that."
Posted 10/27/11 11:28 am EST by Kara Warner in News
Despite the fact that we know little-to-nothing about Sam Raimi's sure-to-be-excellent "Oz: The Great And Powerful," aside from its intriguing A-list cast and basic premise of course, we're pretty sure it's going to be one of our favorite movies of 2013. Raimi just seems like the perfect person to take us back to Oz, and since he has the likes James Franco, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz, Michelle Williams and Zach Braff with him for the ride, it just seems like a slam dunk.
Anyway, the only problem with the film so far is that none of the parties involved will tell us anything about it! When MTV News happened upon the lovely yet reserved Ms. Williams at the Hollywood Awards Gala recently however, we did get a few good descriptors about what life has been like on set and working with Mr. Sam Raimi.
Posted 4/25/11 12:57 pm EST by Aly Semigran in Casting Call
With the mystery of who will play "The Hunger Games" heroine Katniss Everdeen long over, the question of who will star as the important supporting characters still looms.
As Elizabeth Banks closes in on the over-the-top Effie Trinket, Hollywood Crush reports that Oscar-nominee John C. Reilly is in contention for the part of the boozy, but vital, "Hunger Games" ex-champ and mentor Haymitch Abernathy. Reilly, an inspired and more than well-suited choice for the role, would beat out the likes of other rumored Haymitch contenders such as Hugh Laurie.
Check out the rest of Monday's biggest casting news after the jump, including Sam Raimi's push to have Hilary Swank head to "Oz"!
Posted 3/31/11 11:30 am EST by Kara Warner in Interviews, News, Video
We still don't know much about Sam Raimi's mysterious forthcoming film, "Oz The Great And Powerful," but the fact that James Franco and Mila Kunis are set to star has our curiosity decidedly piqued. As such, when we stopped by the press day for "Your Highness" recently, we had to ask Franco for some details about the film, particularly what tone Raimi is taking with his trip into "Oz" and his thoughts on his co-star.
“It will have a lot of humor," Franco said, adding that he's very excited to work with Kunis on a big project. "I’ve done two small things with her. I’ve done something for Funny Or Die, a spoof of 'The Hills' TV show, and then we did a little scene in 'Date Night.' She’s great, I love working with her."
Posted 10/18/10 10:47 am EST by Josh Wigler in News
Sam Raimi broke every single "World of Warcraft" fan's hearts earlier this month with the announcement that "Oz the Great and Powerful" would be his next movie, but he may have had good reason — if a recently revealed plot synopsis is at all accurate, "Oz" is going to be one heck of a fun time at the movies.
Pajiba has an extensive report on the alleged plot for "Oz," a film that focuses on Robert Downey Jr.'s early days as the Wizard. True to RDJ form, the character sounds like a happy mixture of Tony Stark and Sherlock Holmes with some magic thrown in for good measure.
According to Pajiba, "Oz" focuses on, well, Oz, the great and powerful wizard who is actually something of a con man. Described as "a snake-oil salesman posing as a magician," Oz begins the movie on the run from an angry husband who just discovered that the magician has been sleeping with his wife. Read More...
Posted 8/24/10 2:13 pm EST by Adam Rosenberg in News
Sam Raimi's classic horror film "The Evil Dead" arrives on Blu-ray next Tuesday, exactly one week from today. In addition to a lovely-looking hi-def transfer and what is apparently the first available version of the movie in a 1.33:1 aspect ratio -- which is actually full screen, compared to the more standard 1.85:1 widescreen -- there's also a bonus DVD of behind-the-scenes content and an all-new audio commentary with Raimi, star Bruce Campbell and producer Robert Tapert.
The commentary is pretty stellar. Making "The Evil Dead" was a four-year process for these guys, 12 weeks of which were spent in what sounds like the absolute hell of shooting at that cabin. Joking statements are made comparing the experience there to that of Vietnam, and the anecdotes the shared range from appalling to downright frightening. Raimi, Campbell and Tapert have all known each other for a very long time, and that relationship really comes out in their back-and-forth banter.
Campbell was kind enough to take some time to chat with MTV News this past weekend, and he seemed very excited to be talking about this movie that was so instrumental in launching his career... and not just because it was his first feature. Read More...
Posted 7/2/10 5:00 pm EST by Josh Wigler in Interviews, News, Video
Director Sam Raimi is not a man without a franchise, even if he's no longer involved with the rapidly developing "Spider-Man" property at Sony. Currently, the filmmaker is wrestling between two projects: "Oz, The Great and Powerful" and "World of Warcraft."
In June, Raimi was said to be all but locked in as the director of the "Oz" update with Robert Downey Jr. attached to the title role. Speaking with MTV News, Raimi acknowledged that he is discussing the project with Disney, but his status as the film's director is not set in stone just yet.
"Right now, we're still talking about making the movie. We don't have an agreement to make the film yet," he told MTV. "But it's a great script, and it would be great if we could come to an agreement and make the film, but it hasn't happened yet." Read More...
Posted 6/29/10 11:37 am EST by Adam Rosenberg in News
I'm still holding out hope for that perfectly adapted video game movie. And while I'm not a fan of the MMORPG "World of Warcraft," I am a fan of Sam Raimi taking on an adaptation of the same, titled "Warcraft." There's very little known at this point about the movie, which is tentatively planned for a 2013 release. But now there's a little more, thanks to an update from Raimi on the red carpet at last weekend's Saturn Awards.
Speaking to Sci Fi Wire, Raimi revealed that screenwriter Robert Rodat ("Saving Private Ryan") has a 40-page treatment written, but nothing more. Raimi also revealed that the goal in fleshing out the story with known figures from the "Warcraft" universe is to "choose the ones that are interesting and could play a part in a drama that slowly develops." There's really nothing specific that emerges, but head over to the source link to get a better feel for how Raimi views this particular project, then share your thoughts in the comments section below!
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Johnny Depp Passes On 'Oz The Great And Powerful,' James Franco Next In Line
Posted 2/7/11 10:14 am EST by Terri Schwartz in Casting Call, Commentary, News
Depp has officially passed on the role, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Sad news for Depp and "Oz" fans, but at least this gives him more time to focus on his "Dark Shadows" remake with Tim Burton. Still, now two big time actors, both Depp and Robert Downey Jr., have chosen to pass on the title character of the Sam Raimi-directed film, which could have pushed the project down the deadly yellow brick road known as Hollywood limbo.
Not so, though, because THR has also reported that James Franco, aka the busiest man in Hollywood, is in early talks (not negotiations) for the lead role, and that personally sounds like the best casting news yet for the film. Find out why we think Franco is a better choice than RDJ or Depp after the jump.
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Tags james franco, johnny depp, Oz The Great and Powerful, sam raimi, the wizard of oz