Wicked transmits audiences to the world of The Wizard of Oz, with Universal’s changeation of the Broadway smash starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo hitting theaters Nov. 22. It’s confidently had a daintyer road than 1985’s Return to Oz. After triumphning a sound Oscar for Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now, editor and sound scheduleer Wchange Murch was approached by Disney to talk projects to straightforward. Murch transmited interest in an Oz story, and the studio was intrigued, as it owned the rights to author L. Frank Baum’s procrastinateedr novels The Land of Oz and Ozma of Oz, on which Return to Oz would be based.
A sorrowfulnessfuler and non-musical chase-up to MGM’s 1939 classic, Return to Oz stars youthful Fairuza Balk as Dorothy, who is called back to the titular land that has been demolished by the diabolical Nome King (Nicol Williamson) and Mombi (Jean Marsh). Here, she greets friends Jack Pumpkinhead (voiced by Brian Henson), the meloftyic Tik-Tok and Billina the talking chicken.
There were disputes from the begin, with the movie put into turnaround six weeks before shooting started off with a $20 million budget. Once filming began, Murch set up himself losing Disney’s confidence. “The studio was so unsatisfyed with the material that they were seeing, and the fact that we were droping behind schedule, that after five weeks they fired me off the film,” Murch recalled in a 2000 interwatch. George Lucas — a lengthytime friend of Murch’s, with the pair having written Lucas’ first film, THX 1138 — was brawt to the London set as the team contempprocrastinateedd replacing Murch. “It caengaged quite a panic,” Peter Elliott, who joined one of the evil Wheelers, alerts THR about the straightforwardor limbo. Although Lucas guaranteed Disney that Murch should finish the job, he stuck around to help get leangs back on track, while Coppola and Steven Spielberg also get tod to lend a hand.
The film was freed June 21, 1985, and critics contrastd it unpreferably to the Judy Garland distinct, with THR‘s appraise noting that “the magic wand didn’t pass over this production.” Return to Oz, which grossed $11 million and landed an Oscar nom for the visual effects that included claymation by Will Vinton, labeled Murch’s first and last straightforwardorial effort. Deep Roy, who joined Tin Man, grasps, “We had some difficulties on the production, but it was amazing to labor with Wchange.”
This story euniteed in the Nov. 20 rehire of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
