Keyser and I-T-B's Independent Oz Film

[Keyser Sushi]

Last year we had a thread on here somewhere discussing our film, but I think it got pruned due to inactivity.

Anyway I wanted to share with anyone who is interested (and anyone who isn't) the current progress on our film. On Sunday, July 4th, we re-launched the official website to coincide with the release of our teaser trailer, which I'm embedding below:

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Our re-launched official site can be found at www.wonderfulwizardmovie.com

For anyone who doesn't know, a couple of years ago I-T-B and I began hatching plans to make our own film version of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. We both grew up (in different times and different states) with the book and the movie, and both of us reacted essentially the same way at the fact that the '39 film that everybody knows, is almost entirely unlike the book.

Each of us had been thinking about how we would approach the film, and we met here at the Hype a few years ago tracking the production of TDK. A comment by Cowleen in the 'Tusi got us talking about Oz, and the rest is history.

Our goal is to make a film that is much more faithful to the original book (and therefore unlike any Oz movie that you've ever seen).

Please check out the teaser, snoop around the official site and if you have any interest at all in helping us out, check out the "Contribute" section to see the various roles and jobs that are open (there's a lot) and then click "Contact" to send us an e-mail.

 

[Keyser Sushi]

Man, 28 views and no comments? No love OR hate? You're all so indifferent you couldn't even be bothered to type "meh"?

Make me have to bump my own damn thread.

 

[ross2287]

I wondered what happened to this!

Honest thoughts on the teaser? Well, it's been a while since I've read the book--probably close to five years--the teaser makes it seem like a horror/suspense movie. If that's what you're going for, then you did a great job!

Also, I'm really digging the tagline.

 

[DarkSovereignty]

looks very interesting, i love that tracking shot of the news paper.

 

[Figs]

Looks pretty cool man. Can't wait to check it out.

 

[Keyser Sushi]

Thanks Figs - how're things?

DS - that newspaper shot was one of the hardest to pull off. All of us contributed something to it. We experimented with doing the paper itself by practical means, but we just couldn't come up with a rig that would allow the newspaper to flutter convincingly. I-T-B met a guy over at theforce.net who worked on "The Hunt for Gollum" and he whipped up that lovely CGI paper that you see. Really gave I-T-B exactly what he wanted in terms of the movement and everything.

I wrote all the articles on that paper, created the masthead and did the layout on it. I-T-B modeled the background and of course designed the camera move. Drew, our FX guy, knocked out that paper while he was catching a quick nap, I think. That's how good he is.

Edit: Ross - good to know we weren't forgotten. I wouldn't want to forget to respond to you. That'd be a lousy thanks, huh? It's not a horror or suspense movie, but the teaser's meant to feel a bit creepy and foreboding as it is, after all, about an approaching tornado. Which, frankly, IS frightening.

The next footage you see is likely to have a somewhat different vibe, but after all, a teaser is meant to tease, right?

 

[Figs]

Things have been pretty good lately Keyser. Just working but planning on going back to school in the spring and i've been waiting to check out Predators to see if that's any good and am getting anxious to see Inception.

I was wondering, when this film of yours is all done how is it going to be released? Are you guys able to get an independent release or will it be even smaller?

 

[Keyser Sushi]

Things have been pretty good lately Keyser. Just working but planning on going back to school in the spring and i've been waiting to check out Predators to see if that's any good and am getting anxious to see Inception.

I'm definitely looking forward to Inception as well. Absolutely curious about Predators as well. I love the fact that it looks like a good oldschool 80's style Predator movie.

I was wondering, when this film of yours is all done how is it going to be released? Are you guys able to get an independent release or will it be even smaller?

That's an excellent question. The answer is whatever we can get. Our current plan is to put it in any film festival that will take it (Sundance, perhaps) and see what happens from there. Maybe we get a distributor that way.

If nothing else happens, we're certainly planning to sell it on DVD and Blu-Ray.

 

[Figs]

That's an excellent question. The answer is whatever we can get. Our current plan is to put it in any film festival that will take it (Sundance, perhaps) and see what happens from there. Maybe we get a distributor that way.

If nothing else happens, we're certainly planning to sell it on DVD and Blu-Ray.

Good to know.

 

[Marvel Spider]

I went to the site and checked out the trailer a couple days ago. Glad to hear it's coming along nicely. I've been following this for a while.

 

[Keyser Sushi]

Good to know.

Always glad to answer any and all questions, dude. Just glad folks are interested!

I went to the site and checked out the trailer a couple days ago. Glad to hear it's coming along nicely. I've been following this for a while.

Wow, excellent.

I'm really glad to hear that some of you have been keeping up with us and are still interested in what we've been doing, etc... because promoting this thing has proven to be a little bit difficult.

I think there are a lot of people out there who are like I-T-B and I are, which is that we grew up with Oz, we care about the story, but have never really gone to find an online fan community devoted strictly to all things Oz. So of course when we started working on the movie, we went out to see what kind of online Oz fandom was out there.

What we found is that there's a fandom, but it's hurting a bit. It's... essentially the Oz fandom has been around since at least the 1950's, keeping in touch through snail-mail publications and such, and while they've tried to make the jump to the internet, some of the older ones are not as active in the online community as would be ideal, and some of the younger ones are just... weird. The sort of people we'd flame into submission here at the Hype, you know what I mean?

So we REALLY need to figure out where and how to promote this thing. If anybody's got any ideas, I'm sure as hell about listening.

 

[ALP]

This looks good and sounds really nice. How have you done the oz creatures? CG or people in suits?

Anyway I'll subscribe to the thread, looking forward to seeing what you do with it.

 

[ross2287]

Viral marketing. Send everyone one ruby slipper.

...or not. I don't remember much of the book. I should really read it again soon.

 

[ALP]

Book used silver slipper. Technicolor was just coming about when Wizard was made, they wanted to show off what they could do so that's why the shoe is bright and ruby and Oz is like a gay pride parade hosted by midgets.

 

[Keyser Sushi]

Viral marketing. Send everyone one ruby slipper.

...or not. I don't remember much of the book. I should really read it again soon.

Man, if we had the money to pull off something like that, I'd be all for it. Except with silver slippers, of course.

Or maybe print out a bunch of blue Munchkin money and write "Why So Short?" on it. t:

This looks good and sounds really nice. How have you done the oz creatures? CG or people in suits?

Anyway I'll subscribe to the thread, looking forward to seeing what you do with it.

Hey ALP, thanks! A lot of what we're doing is CGI because we want to be able to make Kalidahs and Winged Monkeys look like living, breathing critters. And of course you've seen that Scarecrow's a puppet. The Tin Woodman is CGI, and the Lion shall be CGI as well.

Book used silver slipper. Technicolor was just coming about when Wizard was made, they wanted to show off what they could do so that's why the shoe is bright and ruby and Oz is like a gay pride parade hosted by midgets.

 

[Keyser Sushi]

Also, just to apologize to everybody, I was out of town the first week of August and didn't have my computer with me.

And don't I look foolish now?

 

[Keyser Sushi]

Hey everybody, thought I'd dig up my old thread. At midnight Eastern Time, I-T-B and I are putting up some finished footage of the Wicked Witch of the West. Anybody who's familiar with the book knows what not to expect.

The MGM crowd are sure in for a surprise.

You can find our countdown clock over at www.wonderfulwizardmovie.com, which you can also get to by clicking the big-ass link my sig.

You can comment here, of course, or on our Facebook page. I-T-B really busted his tail so if you like it, let him know. If you don't like it...it's okay, he doesn't like you either.

 

[Keyser Sushi]

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