The Latest Wizard of Oz News

The Winter 2007 issue of The Baum Bugle, the journal of the International Wizard of Oz Club, has been published and sent off to Club members. Celebrating the centennial of the book Ozma of Oz, it's another in a long line of comprehensive (if somewhat chronically challenged) issues.

In this issue:

• The front cover features a sample of Dale Ulrey's artwork for an updated edition of Ozma of Oz in the 1950s, which never came about. The original work was colored and put against an appropriate background by Marcus Mébès
• Editor Sean P. Duffley's "Letter from the Editor" includes a vintage photograph of a young contemporary Oz fan holding a very early copy of Ozma of Oz
• "Oz and Ends" reports on:
  • A forthcoming reality series on the web, High Drama: Against All Oz, chronicling a high school's spring musical production of The Wizard of Oz from casting to curtain call
  • A forthcoming Spanish-language telenovela produced for Nickelodeon Latin America entitled La Maga y el Camino Dorado (The Sorceress and the Golden Road) which chronicles Dorana's real life drama and contrasts it with her fantasy life that resembles a certain famous movie.
  • The new Wicked Witch of the West talking keychain from Red Bat, joining their previously release talking Dorothy keychain
  • The forthcoming Oz Collectible Card Game from Orion's Bell
  • The Toner Doll Company's 2008 addition to their Wizard of Oz line, the Wicked Witch of the East
  • Volume 1 of the English trnaslation of the multi-Oz-allusioned manga series Toto! The Wonderful Adventure
  • Teh forthcoming Marvel comic book Avengers Fairy Tales #4, which features She-Hule being whisked away to Oz and helping Thor, Iron Man, and Captain America and battling the Scarlet Witch of the West
  • The current production of The Wizard of Oz at the South Bank Theatre in London
  • Sam Arlen appearing in Las Vegas with the musical show about his father, Wizard: The Musical Journey of Oz Composer Harold Arlen
  • The Oz Enthusiast, the blog of Oz artist, collector, and fan Bill Campbell
  • The Ozmatron, an online Oz text treasury with search engine and image galleries
  • An online virtual tour of the Worlds' Columbian Exhibition of 1893 in Chicago, which may have inspired some of the events that L. Frank Baum wrote in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
  • The new Hungry Tiger Press editions of two L. Frank Baum novels originally published pseudonymously, The Flying Girl and The Amazing Bubble Car (which was first published in 1907 as Sam Steele's Adventures in Panama)
  • Short and Sweet: The Life and Times of the Lollipop Munchkin by Jerry Maren
  • A new biography of Baum for younger readers, The Road to Oz: Twists, Turns, Bumps, and Triumphs in the Life of L. Frank Baum by Kathleen Krull
  • The forthcoming 70th anniversary Wizard of Oz cruise, celebrating seven decades of the famous movie version of The Wizard of Oz
  • The recent death of Lewis "Idaho" Croft, one of the actors who played a Munchkin soldier in The Wizard of Oz
  • An appeal by the organizers of the 2009 Munchkin Convention for pictures of previous conventions for a display celebrating forty years of the convention
• Atticus Gannaway writes a centennial appreciation of L. Frank Baum's major book for 1907, Ozma of Oz
• Michael O. Riley presents Ozma of Oz in the context of the rest of the Oz series and Baum's career in "Ozma of Oz: The Beginning of the End?"
• "The Outer Limits: Sci-Fi Channel's Tin Man Updates The Wizard of Oz" by Eric Gjovaag reviews the 2007 miniseries, while sidebars present an overview of Tin Man advertising and memorabilia, and reactions to Tin Man from other Oz fans
• The MGM Scrapbook presents an interview with Barbara Freed Saltzman about her father, Arthur Freed, and his uncredited role in making the famous film version of The Wizard of Oz
• "The Oz Bookshelf" reviews:
  • In Other Lands Than Ours by Maud Gage Baum, edited and with an introduction and photographs by L. Frank Baum, reviewed by David Moyer
  • Tamawaca Folks by L. Frank Baum, reviewed by Blair Frodelius
  • The Twinkle Tales by L. Frank Baum, reviewed by Michael O. Riley
  • The Barnes & Noble Classics edition of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, reviewed by Denise Sciandra
  • The Wizard of Oz: A Pop-Up Book illustrated by John Patience, reviewed by Suzanna E. Henshon
  • An edition of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz illustrated by Scott McKowen and reviewed by Henshon and Sciandra
  • The Pop Quiz Book by Shannon Payette Seip, a book of pop culture trivia that includes many Wizard of Oz questions, reviewed by Henshon
• Lee Speth presents "The Fred Meyer Memorial Quiz" in honor of the man who started the tradition of quizzes in the Bugle
• The roster of winners of the L. Frank Baum Memorial Award is updated to include the 2007 winner, Nancy Tystad Koupal
• The Oz Club announced a new set of its maps, revised for the first time in twenty years.
• Finally, the back cover reproduces a stained glass panel of Ozma, from the endpapers of The Emerald City of Oz, designed and created by Irwin Terry and Bill Campbell.

The nominations came out to day for the 60th Annual Prime Time Emmy Awards, for excellence in television, and the Sci-Fi Channel miniseries Tin Man received nine nominations. They are for:

• Best Miniseries
• Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Miniseries or a Movie
• Outstanding Art Direction for a Miniseries or a Movie
• Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special
• Outstanding Costumes for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special
• Outstanding Hairstyling for a Miniseries or a Movie
• Outstanding Makeup for a Miniseries or a Movie (Non-Prosthetic)
• Outstanding Sound Editing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special
• Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Miniseries or a Movie

The International Wizard of Oz Club presented the Winkie Award, for those who have contributed to the west coast Winkie Convention, tonight to David Maxine. As the force behind Hungry Tiger Press and an expert in Oz dramatizations, he has made many presentations to the convention, and also worked behind the scenes in many ways as well. At the same time, the Club announced that earlier, the L. Frank Baum Memorial Award, the Club's highest honor given for outstanding contributions to Oz, was awarded to Meinhardt Raabe, the actor who played the Munchkin Coroner in the famous 1939 film version of The Wizard of Oz. Club President Angelica Carpenter was given the award to present to Meinhardt at a later date.

Tonight, the American Film Institute (AFI) unveiled its annual list of the best of American filmmaking, sure to cause all kinds of discussions by cinephiles around the snack bar. This year, instead of its usual Top 100 format, the AFI presented ten top 10 lists in ten different film genres. The list of interest to Oz fans would be the fantasy list, which was:

1. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
2. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) (and probably, by implication, the rest of the trilogy)
3. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
4. King Kong (the original 1933 version)
5. Miracle on 34th Street (the original 1947 version)
6. Field of Dreams (1989)
7. Harvey (1950)
8. Groundhog Day (1993)
9. The Thief of Baghdad (1924)
10. Big (1988)

The results of this year's election for the Board of Directors of the International Wizard of Oz Club were announced today. The winners:

• Steve Teller, retaining his seat for a second term
• Michael Gessel, voted back onto the Board
• Scott Cummings, a first-time Board member

The latest issue of The Baum Bugle, the journal of the International Wizard of Oz Club, is now in the mail and making its way to members. With a cover date of Autumn 2007, this issue celebrates the Club and the Bugle for their fiftieth anniversary. And it is indeed a milestone to celebrate.
In this issue:

• The cover, designed by Marcus Mébès, features a collage of numerous Bugle covers from the journal's first five decades, with L. Frank Baum himself looking on.
• "Oz and Ends" has items about:
  • The Sci-Fi Channel miniseries Tin Man, including critical reaction.
  • The comic book adaptations of The Land of Oz: The Manga by David Hutchison; The Wonderful Wizard of Oz from Marvel Comics, written by Eric Shanower and illustrated by Skottie Young; and L. Frank Baum's short story "The Glass Dog" in Fantasy Classics: Graphic Classics, volume 15.
  • New sequined Chuck Taylor All-Star shoes, available from Converse.com (search for "Chuck Taylor Sequins"), available in red, gray (either of those should look hip-yet-Ozzy), and black.
  • The forthcoming Wizard of Oz-themed edition of The Game of Life.
  • New Wizard of Oz fabric from Quilting Treasures.
  • The release of the 30th Anniversary DVD edition of The Wiz.
  • The new online video series The Wonders of Oz.
  • The 1909 John R. Neill-illustrated version of Longfellow's Hiawatha, now available online.
  • New Oz books, including The Wizard of Oz Books Collector's Price Guide, a new reprint of In Other Lands Than Ours by Maud G. Baum, and the twentieth anniversary edition of Toto in Oz.
  • Upcoming events: The thirtieth Chittenango Oz-Straveganza (Chittenango, New York, May 30-June 1), and "A Wonderful Weekend in Oz" at the Matilda Joslyn Gage Foundation (Fayetteville, New York, October 10-12).
  • The 2002 "Portrait of Hollywood" mural at Hollywood (California) High School, painted by artist Eloy Torrez.
  • And Oz Club member Dave Bowman shares the two story Oz-themed playhouse he made for his grandchildren.
• "Fifty Years of the Oz Club" by Club founder Justin G. Schiller looks back at the early days of the Club and how it influenced his life.
• "How the Oz Club Started and What Happend Next" by Martin Gardner looks at the genesis of the Oz Club and how it influenced his life.
• "The Early History of The Baum Bugle: Reminiscences of a Former Editor-in-Chief" by David L. Greene examines how the Club's magazine started with very humble roots and developed into the respected journal that it is now.
• "Oz Club Milestones: Fifty Years on the Road to Oz" is a timeline of Club and Club-influenced events, from 1957 to the present day, interspersed with remembrances by Club members past and present.
• "The Oz bookshelf" reviews new Oz books, including:
  • The Wish Express by Ruth Plumly Thompson, reviewed by Marcus Mébès.
  • Drama! The Four Dorothys by Paul Ruditis, reviewed by Angelica Carpenter.
  • Issues 1 and 2 of The Oz/Wonderland Chronicles comic book by Ben Avery and Casey Heying, reviewed by Blair Frodelius.
  • Halloween in Oz: Dorothy Returns by Leo Moser and Carol Nelson, reviewed by Jeffrey Rester.
  • The short story "The Wizard of Macatawa" by Tom Doyle from issue 11 of Paradox magazine, reviewed by Blair Frodelius.
  • Issues 15 and 16 of Dunkiton Press, compilations of old newspaper stories and illustrations by Oz contributors put together by Ruth Berman, reviewed by M. A. Berg.
• "The Magic Picture" looks back at the Munchkins getting their star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Autumn at Oz party at the old Land of Oz Park in North Carolina, and the Winkie Convention.
• Long-time Oz fan and Club Member Hal Lynch is remembered in "In Memoriam."
• In "CuriOzity," what may be the earliest ever Oz reference in a political cartoon is uncovered, from The Syracuse Sunday Herald on January 20, 1901.

"Idaho" Lewis Croft, who played a Munchkin in the famous 1939 film version of The Wizard of Oz, died today after being bedridden for some time. He would have turned 89 on May 2. (Information courtesy Charlene S. Baum and Jane Albright.)

The Spring 2007 issue of The Baum Bugle, the journal of the International Wizard of Oz Club, is now being mailed to members. This issue celebrates the books L. Frank Baum wrote for older readers under several different pen names.
In this issue:

• The front cover is E. A. Nelson's frontpiece for Aunt Jane's Nieces Abroad, colored by Marcus Mébès
• "Oz and Ends" looks at:
  • the Munchkins getting their star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
  • the rumors of a new Oz movie based on the Todd McFarlane "Twisted Oz" toys
  • the new Wonderful Wizard of Oz Game from Front Porch Classics
  • the Oz-themed promotion from the Library of Congress to encourage lifelong literacy
  • a new membership pin from the Club
  • the Wicked Witch of the East doorstop
  • the second issue of the Oz/Wonderland Chronicles comic book
  • the first volume of the English-language collection of the Korean comic story Dorothy of Oz
  • the second issue of Into the Dust
  • the puppet show Unauthorized Magic in Oz being available on YouTube (in three parts — 1, 2, and 3)
  • the Volkov Magic Land books being available at http://volkov.anuta.org/
  • and new editions of Denslow's Humpty Dumpty and Tamawaca Folks
• As a child, Angelica Shirley Carpenter was a big fan of the Oz books by L. Frank Baum and the Aunt Jane's Nieces books by Edith Van Dyne. So imagine her surprise when she found out, as an adult, that these two authors were the same person! She looks for Baum in the Aunt Jane's Nieces books in "The Man Behind the Curtain: Can the Read Spot a Ringer in the Aunt Jane's Nieces Books?"
• "Baum Under Scrutiny" looks at some of the contemporary reviews of Aunt Jane's Nieces, Annabel, and Sam Steele's Adventures on Land and Sea.
• "Recycled Steele: L. Frank Baum's Boys' Series Books" by H. Alan Pickrell looks at how the short-lived Sam Steele books by "Capt. Hugh Fitzgerald" morphed into the longer "Boy Fortune Hunters" series by "Floyd Akers," as well as how the books fit into the bigger picture of late nineteenth/early twentieth century boys adventure stories.
• "Bibliographia Pseudonymiana" by Bill Thompson looks at the publication history and bibliographic points of Sm Steele's Adventues on Land and Sea and The Boy Fortune Hunters in Alaska.
• "Odd One Out: Annabel; or, Suzanne Metcalf's Unexpected Homage to Horatio Alger" by Sean P. Duffley looks at the roots of the only book by "Suzanne Metcalf."
• "Little-Known Writings of L. Frank Baum" presents "The Orchestra," a poem originally written for and privately printed by the Los Angeles Athletic Club.
• "Muli-MediOz" looks at the DVD release of the 1964 animated version of Return to Oz and Injoy Games' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz computer game.
• "The Oz Bookshelf" reviews new Oz offerings:
  • The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, adapted for comics by David Chauvel and Enrique Hernández, adapted into English by Joe Keatinge (reviewed by Eric Shanower)
  • The Collected Short Stories of L. Frank Baum, reviewed by Blair Frodelius
  • The new reprint edition of Aunt Jane's Nieces in the Red Cross, reviewed by Jeffrey Bester
  • The Bashful Baker of Oz by Marcus Mébès, reviewed by Suzanna E. Henshon
  • Lost in Oz by Joshua Patrick Dudley, reviewed by Chris Dulabone
  • Scratch and Sketch Wizard of Oz: An Art Activity Book for Artists on Both Sides of the Rainbow by Mara Conlon, reviewed by Suzanna E. Henshon
  • An anonymous review of Toto of Oz and the Surprise Party by Roger S. Baum
• "The Magic Picture" looks at the Hollins Oz-Fest earlier this year at Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia.
• The back cover reproduces an Eric Shanower illustration that originally appeared as the frontpiece for the 1998 limited edition reprint of The Boy Fortune Hunters in Yucatan from Hungry Tiger Press.

The Munchkins from the classic 1939 movie version of The Wizard of Oz received a collective star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame today, with ceremonies at Grauman's Chinese Theater. Of the nine surviving Munchkins, seven were present, as seen in this picture:

For more articles about the ceremony, see the links at CNN and USA Today.

• Lost in Oz, a series that was to feature Melissa George as a Kansas university student who is whisked to Oz sixty years after the events of The Wizard of Oz and helping to spearhead a rebellion against the new Wicked Witch of the West. Although developed for the WB and a pilot film produced, it was never picked up, nor the pilot shown. (But keep an eye out on auction sites, as a bootleg DVD sometimes shows up...)
• A telelvision miniseries based on Gregory Maguire's novel Wicked, with Demi Moore in the title role. (There are stories that the people developing this version later pushed their involvement into the musical version now playing on Broadway and touring North America.)
• The O. Z., a hip-hop flavored re-telling of The Wizard of Oz for Fox. Among the rumored Dorothy's at one point were Brandy, Mya, and the late Aaliyah. Justin Timberlake, John Leuizamo, and Little Richard were mentioned for other parts.
• Surrender Dorothy. Drew Barrymore as Dorothy's great-granddaughter coming to Oz, and battling the Wicked Witch of the West's granddaughter.
• Somewhere starring Elizabeth Taylor as Dorothy, now a grandmother, returning to Oz. (Rod Steiger was one of the forces behind this project, so his death likely means that it won't be developed.)
• Pamela West, where the Wicked Witch is the innocent victim and Dorothy (with Toto as a pit bull) is the evil interloper.
• The Land of Oz (not based on the book of the same name), produced by Hallmark for NBC.

If progress is made on any of these projects, such as actually going into production or a release date announced, the news will be posted as quickly as possible on this page. But at this stage, any of these going into production is very unlikely.