James Franco is our new Dorothy?

[Temis the Vorta]

Johnny Depp is busy being a vampire, James so Franco may be starring in Oz.

No, not a big-screen version of the prison drama. I shudder to think of Franco in that! It's supposedly a Wizard of Oz "prequel," explaining how the Wizard got his gig in the Emerald City:

Franco may be, at first blush, an odd choice to topline the tale of a young illusionist with a grandiose attitude who is forced to flee a traveling circus. His hot air balloon is swept up by a tornado to the land of Oz, which is run by two magical wicked witches.

But from acting pinned to a rock in 127 Hours to a cameo as a drug lord in Green Hornet to his stint on General Hospital, Franco is showing he is not following anyone’s playbook, but his own.

So what's up with the witches? There should be three of them at this point - East, West, South. Or is this a West vs South Cold War type situation? Are they friends? They're getting Kristin Chenowith for Glinda, right?

 

[Jetfire]

I think James Franco is great.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

So I assume this will contradict the plot of Wicked? I like James Franco, but this strikes me as, ultimately, an extremely unnecessary movie.

 

[Dark Gilligan]

A shame Downey is out. He'd been attached to this project for at least a year now.

 

[Kelso]

Wow. Franco is... quite a step down from Downey.

 

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

I can't imagine the studio is too happy at the prospect of Franco stepping in for Depp and RDJ. Either of the latter two would be a very good box office bet in the role, while Franco headlining such an expensive film is much more risky.

 

[Holdfast]

James Franco is our new Dorothy?

With that post title, I figured he must eventually have come out from behind the curtain, so to speak...

 

[Mr. Adventure]

Interesting, Franco is getting a lot of buzz from 127 Hours so this might be the kind of thing he needs to really launch him as a leading man type.

 

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

Vulture is reporting that Franco has indeed now signed on and that Mila Kunis has signed to play Theodorah, who goes on to become the Wicked Witch of the West. Kunis had also been offered the female lead in the Hughes Bros' live action remake of Akira, but opted for Oz instead as WB is struggling to find a star willing and available to take on Akira who they're comfortable with headlining such an expensive film, which has put the project's future in some doubt. Oz: The Great and Powerful is slated to start shooting in July.

 

[Snaploud]

James Franco needs to tone it down a bit. He's going to burn out from all this work.

 

[Broccoli]

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4-_8iDzkgU[/yt]

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Mila Kunis has signed to play Theodorah, who goes on to become the Wicked Witch of the West.

Wow, the years were not kind to her, huh?

Hey I know, how about Amanda Seyfried as Glinda?

 

[Chaos Descending]

I don't understand how someone who sucks as bad as James Franco gets all this work.

Nevertheless, I like this premise even if I don't care for the lead actor.

 

[OdoWanKenobi]

^Clearly you haven't seen 127 Hours. Franco really proved he's got the stuff in that film. I'm fine with this casting choice. I've always found him to be an incredibly watchable actor.