Fresh off the success of Iron Man and Sherlock Holmes, it appeared as if Robert Downey Jr. would next star in Oz: The Great and Powerful for Sam Raimi. However, when talks mysteriously fell through, it was James Franco who ended up reuniting with the director of the Spider-Man trilogy (Johnny Depp was approached, but a commitment to The Lone Ranger meant otherwise). Why didn't RDJ take the job? Well, here's an excerpt fom their report...
Producer Joe Roth had been talking to Downey before Raimi even joined the project in summer 2010. But after an initial meeting between the director and star, things didn't look good. Months later, Raimi visited Downey at his Los Angeles home, still attempting to land him, but upon entering the house, Raimi spotted a plant that he had given the actor as a goodwill gesture wilting in a corner. (The filmmaker declines to elaborate.)
Oh dear! While I'm sure that the
Iron Man actor would have been TREEmendous in the role, Franco is a great actor who appears to have done a great job from what we've seen of the movie so far (he also must be pretty pleased as Disney's urgent need to find a leading man meant that he was able to nab a $7 million payday). Be sure to click on the link below to read the feature in full - there are a lot of fascinating bits and pieces of information in there!
"Oz The Great and Powerful" imagines the origins of L. Frank Baum’s beloved character, the Wizard of Oz. When Oscar Diggs (James Franco), a small-time circus magician with dubious ethics, is hurled away from dusty Kansas to the vibrant Land of Oz, he thinks he’s hit the jackpot—fame and fortune are his for the taking—that is until he meets three witches, Theodora (Mila Kunis), Evanora (Rachel Weisz) and Glinda (Michelle Williams), who are not convinced he is the great wizard everyone’s been expecting. Reluctantly drawn into the epic problems facing the Land of Oz and its inhabitants, Oscar must find out who is good and who is evil before it is too late. Putting his magical arts to use through illusion, ingenuity—and even a bit of wizardry—Oscar transforms himself not only into the great and powerful Wizard of Oz but into a better man as well.
STARRING:
James Franco as Oscar Diggs/Oz
Mila Kunis as Theodora
Michelle Williams as Glinda the Good Witch
Rachel Weisz as Evanora
Zach Braff as Frank and Finley
Joey King as China Girl
Abigail Spencer as Mrs. Hamilton
Ted Raimi as Skeptic/Tinker
Tony Cox as Knuck
Tim Holmes as The Strong Man
RELEASE DATE: March 8th, 2013.