The Wizard of Oz

Credit: Disney

Oz The Great and Powerful Trailer Released

Originally posted 11/14/2012 11:10AM

Nostalgic fans of Dorothy, Toto and witches (both good and bad) will soon get to revisit the wonderful world of Oz – this time in a new film from Disney that takes viewers back in time before the beloved wizard behind the curtain found his magical groove.

Disney released its trailer for the ambitious prequel Oz The Great and Powerful, which stars James Franco as Oscar Diggs, a small-town circus magician who is swept away in a cyclone to ... somewhere over the rainbow. Diggs thinks he's found fame and fortune in the magical kingdom until he runs into trio of witches who doubt he's the wizard they were hoping for and expecting.

Signing on as witches for the 3-D movie, directed by Sam Raimi and set for a March 8 release, are Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz and Michelle Williams, who will play Glinda, the good witch of the original classic, The Wizard of Oz.

Permalink |

Filed Under: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, The Wizard of Oz, Movie Trailers, Movies, James Franco, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz

Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty

Oscars 2012

PEOPLE Review: Oscars Like Old Times – for Good and Bad

Originally posted 02/27/2012 01:00AM

Considering that last year's Oscars were so thumpingly bad – co-host James Franco behaved as if he'd been taken out of the freezer, left on the counter and unevenly thawed – last night's broadcast was a welcome relief.

The strength of the show ultimately rests on the heat of the biggest contests – I doubt Americans were on the edge of their seats wondering whether the cosmically inscrutable Tree of Life could score an upset over the French silent The Artist – but the production looked great and flowed well.

Billy Crystal was hosting for his ninth time, brought on after Eddie Murphy dropped out in November, and it felt no different from his seventh, eighth or (if one were to project) fifty-seventh time.