The Wizard of AUSSIE

Authors: Lee
Location: New Jersey

"The Wizard of AUSSIE "

Directed by collaborators Peter Jackson
Written by Tim Burton

Principal Cast:

Dorothy (Naomi Watts)
Hunk/The Scarecrow (Hugh Jackman)
Zeke/ Cowardly Lion (Heath Ledger)
Hickory/ The Tin Man (Russell Crowe)
Miss Gulch/The Wicked Queen of the East/The Wicked Queen of the West (Cate Blanchett)
Professor Marvel (Stellan Skarsgaard)
Glinda/The Good Witch of the North (Nicole Kidman)
Auntie Em (Sissy Spacek)
Munchkin (Peter Drinklage)

Tagline: N/A

Synopsis: Set in a fictional communist Austrailia in modern day, The Wizard of AUSSIE is the story of a woman named Dorothy, who dreams up a democratic and free world, when her dog Toto is threatened by Austrailia's evil monarchy, specifically the Wicked Queen of the East. Based loosely on the classic, "The Wizard of Oz," by Victor Fleming, this Wizard is much more political, much more adult than its souce material. An all-Austrailian, all-STAR cast deliver exemplary and Oscar-worthy performances as the eccentric characters that have touched the hearts of millions over the past 7 decades. Naomi Watts is mezmerizing in the role that made Judy Garland a star. She plays Dorothy as naive, good-hearted and scared, and in the second act, as a grown up capable of unparralelled courage and rebellion. Superimposition and digital film production allow for Peter Drinklage, who plays the role of Munchkin, to be all of the small characters on the screen. As the Wicked Queen, Cate Blanchett is frightening and chilling, Heath Ledger's cowarly lion is the stuff of ultimate empathy, and Russell Crowe's tin-man is oddly likeable.

What the press would say:

Roger Ebert--"I never thought the classic "The Wizard of Oz," a film that pioneered the family fantasy film genre, could be remade in an era such as ours-one in the image of the French New Wave, of Existentialism and of deep cynicism. Mr. Jackson and Mr. Burton have not taken us back to the ideals of the traditional family and the small town familiar to 1920's life--rather, they have constructed a reality of modern day ethicisim that is seemingly viable and remarkably shocking."

Peter Travers--"All directors are different, that we know for sure. Peter Jackson is one very different director in that all of his projects, in the tradition of Star Wars, are digitially produced with digital sets and the like. And we know that Tim Burton is different insofar as different means the direct opposite of everything that is not IT. But what is especially magnificent about "The Wizard of AUSSIE, is that two very different directors have come together and employed different techniques in order to achieve a common goal, and it worked!"

Kevin Smith--"Judy Garland's purity in the original is expertly updated by the world's most astonishingly pure actress, Naomi Watts."

Oscar Considerations:

Best Picture
Best Director, Peter Jackson & Tim Burton
Best Adapted Screenplay, Tim Burton
Best Actor, Hugh Jackman
Best Actress, Naomi Watts
Best Supporting Actor, Russell Crowe & Heath Ledger & Peter Drinklage
Best Supporting Actress, Nicole Kidman, Cate Blanchett & Sissy Spacek
Best Set Design, Judianna Makovsky
Best Visual Effects, Allen Hall
Best Film Editing, Hughes Winborne
Best Musical Score, Howard Shore