Teaser Trailer: The Polish Brothers' Oz
Hollywood is going crazy with Wizard of Oz sequels, prequels, reboots and re-imaginings. Earlier this week it was confirmed that Sam Raimi had signed on to direct the Wizard of Oz prequel Oz The Great and Powerful starring Robert Downey Jr. It has been previously rumored that Drew Barrymore is planning to direct a Wizard of Oz sequel titled Surrender Dorothy. Meanwhile, Universal have their Wicked film (based on the Oz-related musical of the same name) somewhere along the pipeline. And I'm sure there are others in various stages of development.
A teaser trailer has appeared online today (found via the playlist) for a new film from Michael and Mark Polish titled Oz. It appears to be a Wizard of Oz prequel, as the clip features a younger-than-normal Dorothy walking down a hallway with the Cowardly Lion (who is played by a realistic-looking lion and not a man in lion make-up). Watch the teaser trailer for Oz after the jump, and please leave your thoughts in the comments below.
You might know the Polish Brothers from their previous films Twin Falls Idaho, Northfork, and The Astronaut Farmer. The identical twin siblings are known for their encouragement of the independent film movement (their first film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and they wrote a book called The Declaration of Independent Filmmaking) and their amazing minimalistic cinematography. They are workaholics, and have shot some of their projects back-to-back. They also have two other films completed and waiting release, The Smell of Success and Stay Cool. Last I heard, the Polish Brothers began filming For Lovers Only in May 2010, so I'm not sure where this new project came from. Or maybe it is test footage for their next film? Who knows. The Youtube page claims the movie will hit screens everywhere in 2011.