REMAKE. -WIZARD OF OZ- RELIGHT

 

LOS ANGELES : Remake of 'Wizard of Oz' in the world. Warner Bros developing a new film.

Hollywood is preparing to take another trip down the yellow brick road with a remake of the classic  The Wizard of Oz, one of the most celebrated films of all time.

New Line Cinema, a unit of At&T Inc's Warner Bros Studio, said on Tuesday it was developing a fresh take on the story of Dorothy and her visit to the Land of Oz that was detailed in L Frank Baum's children's book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, published in 1900.

Nicole Kassell, an executive director and producer of HBO's Emmy-winning Watchmen series, will direct the new film, the studio said. ''The opportunity to examine the original themes - the quest for courage, love, wisdom and home-feels more timely and urgent than ever,'' Kassell said in a statement.

''These are profoundly iconic shoes to fill and I am eager to dance alongside these heroes of my childhood as we pave a newly-minted yellow brick road.!''

FEW details were provided but the new film will not be a musical. The original 1939 film starring  Judy Garland the song Over the Rainbow, which won an Academy Award for Best Original Song. The film lost the  Best Picture trophy that year to  Gone With the Wind.

Since, there have been several remakes and spinoffs, including long-running Broadway hit   Wicked   and 2013 Disney film  Oz the `great and Powerful, starring James Franco. [Reuters]