OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL Production ... - Visual Hollywood

OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL (2013)
PRODUCTION NOTES
ABOUT THE CAST
"I think the audience can feel the soul of an actor in the performance."
-- Sam Raimi, director
The filmmakers had a distinct look in mind when they cast the five main characters in the film. "I
thought we should find a young, cutting-edge cast," says producer Joe Roth. "James Franco had
been nominated for an Academy Award®. Michelle Williams had been nominated three times.
Rachel Weisz won the Academy Award®. Zach Braff is a very talented actor/writer/stage and
movie director. And, last but not least, Mila Kunis is one the hottest actresses in Hollywood. This
film is populated by a very hot, young cast."
MAIN CAST
James Franco as Oscar Diggs/ Oz
Franco says about the character, “He’s kind of a cad. He’s a bit of a lothario, a seducer … In Oz
he’s allowed a second chance.”
For the part of the title character, Oscar "Oz" Diggs, the filmmakers sought out James Franco.
"James is a very sensitive guy and we really needed that for this character," says director Sam
Raimi. "We needed somebody who's in touch with his emotions because he plays a character with a
good heart. I really needed an actor who had that quality within him. James, while funny and loving,
has got real heart that he shares with the audience.
"Any actor can effectively portray the selfish qualities of his character, something that exists inside
Oz," Raimi adds in explaining why Franco was the best choice for the role. "Strip that away and
you can find who they really are inside. For this role, I don't think it would have worked as well
with an actor who is selfish inside. When the camera gets in close, you can't fake it. And James, despite
his great humor and good looks and great acting ability, really has a good heart and soul."
Franco enjoyed taking on the part of Oscar Diggs and exploring the origins of the wizard. He describes
Oscar by saying, "He starts off a little bit rakish. He's a magician in a traveling circus. When
he ends up in Oz, all of the issues that he wrestled with in the real world are now, in some ways,
made more extreme but also transformative.
"The character was written in a certain way--part goofball, part con man, part seducer, part vaudeville
guy, all of which appealed to me," adds Franco. "In some ways, he touches on many aspects of
Americana, while being a cross between Charlie Chaplin and Clark Gable. A goofball and a dashing
kind of guy, but a guy maybe not equipped in traditional ways to be a hero. He has unconventional
ways of tackling his problems and fumbling through them. I love the character because of all that."
Franco also enjoyed another aspect of playing the magician: he had to learn to perform some magic
tricks. He explains, "I actually came out here two weeks early to work with the great Las Vegas
magician Lance Burton. We worked every day. I learned dove tricks and fire tricks as well as pulling
things out of hats and making things levitate. And I think I got pretty good!"
Michelle Williams as Glinda (The Good Witch Of The South)
Raimi says of casting Williams for the role, "Michelle has a real positive spirit and depth of soul.
She's a good person and I needed that in the actress who was going to play Glinda."
© 2013 Walt Disney Pictures
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