steven@ism70.UUCP (07/07/84)
#R:gatech:-850200:ism70:13100027:000:1258 ism70!steven Jul 6 13:41:00 1984 Ramblings from Lotusland: Re: Your question on a sequel to The Wizard of Oz. Walt Disney Pictures will release "Oz" in the summer of 1985. This highly budgeted non-musical film is based on several of the Oz books written by L. Frank Baum (No I don't know which ones). Disney happens to own the rights to all of the Oz sequel books and has owned this for many years. Walter Murch directs, from a screenplay by Murch and Denis Gill. Paul Maslansky is executive producer. Newcomer Faruzia Balk (sure hope that's not a stage name) plays Dorothy. Yes, she's a kid. Also featured in the cast: Nicol Williamson, Piper Laurie and Jean Marsh. The hot rumor, which I heard from someone in the know at Disney who saw some of the rushes is that Murch did a horrible job (What do you expect when you give a first time director a 20 million + project?!?). The rumor went on to say that Murch's colleagues and friends Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg had winged over to Elstree Studios in London, where "Oz" was being filmed, to save his ass. I've read this rumor in Army Archerd's column in _D_a_i_l_y_ _V_a_r_i_e_t_y since, and it was also repeated in the _N_e_w_s_w_e_e_k interview with Steven Spielberg (when they review