Disney’s fantastical
adventure Oz The Great And Powerful uncovers the origins of
the beloved wizard character first brought to life in L. Frank Baum’s
book The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz. As a cinematic prequel to the
book, the eye-popping action follows the story of Oscar Diggs, a
small-time circus magician with dubious ethics. When Diggs is hurled
away to the vibrant Land of Oz, he thinks he’s hit the jackpot –
until he meets three witches, who aren’t convinced he’s the great
wizard everyone is expecting. Reluctantly drawn into epic problems
facing Oz and its inhabitants, Oscar must find out who is good and
who is evil before it’s too late.
Sam Raimi is the
acclaimed director behind the action-packed spectacle, which boasts a
stellar cast including James Franco as Oscar Diggs, the predestined
wizard; Mila Kunis as the tormented young witch Theodora; Rachel
Weisz as Theodora’s older sister, Evanora, the witch who rules over
the Emerald City; and Michelle Williams as Glinda, the good witch.
With the Blu-ray Combo
Pack and DVD of Oz The Great And Powerful about to be
released, we chat to James Franco to discover more about the project…
Is it true that you
trained with acclaimed Las Vegas magician Lance Burton in order to
tackle the role of Oscar Diggs?
That’s very true. We
shot the movie in Detroit and they hired Lance Burton to come out and
train me there. [Oz The Great And Powerful director] Sam Raimi
was very insistent that I have two weeks of magic training, so I went
to Detroit two weeks early in order to do that.
What magic tricks did
you learn?
Lance taught me a lot of
tricks, so I got to the point where I could materialize doves out of
nowhere. I start with a flame in my hand and then I turn it into a
dove. Or I take off my gloves and I turn them into a dove. I also
know a ‘rabbit out of the hat’ trick and other things like that.
I did all that work and then the scenes that were going to feature
the magic tricks turned out to be too long, so they were quickly cut
from the finished movie. We never got to see them on the big screen.
Do you know enough
tricks to entertain at a children’s birthday party?
Sure, I could do that! A
lot of the tricks involve intricate preparations, so I would need an
assistant like Lance Burton to help me set them up – but I could
pull it off. If you have any kids parties and you want to pay me a
lot, I’ll definitely come and do it. [Laughs]
What does magic mean
to you?
I wouldn’t say I am the
biggest magic enthusiast, but I do enjoy that world. What’s the
name of the guy who works with David Mamet? Ricky Jay. I really
enjoyed his show, Ricky Jay & His 52 Assistants at the
Geffen in Los Angeles. He’s a huge magic scholar. I would say that
I definitely like the world of magic, but I am not a magic
specialist.
What does the fantasy
genre mean to you?
The first movie that I
can remember seeing in theaters was Jim Henson’s The Dark
Crystal. I guess I liked it so much that my parents kept taking
us back to see it over and over again. I saw it many times in the
theater, so that maybe started the ball rolling for me with fantasy.
Soon after that, my father read The Hobbit to me, and that was
one of the main books that started my love of reading. That’s what
got me reading the Oz books of Frank L. Baum, on which this
movie is based. If we are talking about fantasy books, those were the
two things that really sparked my imagination: the Oz books
and the Tolkien books. It all started from there.
What is it like to
work with Sam Raimi on a project like this?
Sam is one of the most
fun directors to work with. A director really sets the tone of how
people go about things, so when you have someone like Sam involved,
everybody is happy. He’s a very collaborative director, not just
with the actors but with all departments and it really makes people
want to do their best because they all feel like they are a big part
of the movie. I love working with Sam. I’d do anything with him.
What did you enjoy the
most about working with the various witches of Oz: Theodora, played
by Mila Kunis; Evanora, played by Rachel Weisz, and Glinda, played by
Michelle Williams?
It was great because they
all played very different witches, so the scenes that I played with
all of them were all very different. With Mila’s character,
Theodora, I play more of a seducer and charmer. Rachel’s character
is trying to dupe me, so I play a little bit more of a fool or a
buffoon with her. And then with Michelle’s character, Glinda, it’s
more of a straightforward romance. It was nice to have that variety.
How would you describe
your female co-stars?
I got to work with three
of the best actresses working today, which was very exciting. They
are all very different actresses, and they all played very different
parts. But one thing I can say about them all is the fact that they
are very good at doing research and background on their characters. I
think Michelle read most of the books and did a bunch of research
that really manifested itself in her scenes. She was very focused on
detail. And with Rachel, we only had one or two scenes together, but
she was very good at improvising and looking for alternative takes
once we’d got the scripted scene down.
What was it like to
work with Mila Kunis?
Mila is amazing. She’s
a very talented actress who is great to work with because she’s so
collaborative. She’s very open and she’s very quick on her feet.
When I first met with [Oz The Great And Powerful producer] Joe
Roth and Sam Raimi, they were already talking to Mila – and that
was a big plus for me.
The sets created for
the movie are incredibly impressive, but there was also a lot of blue
screen work. Do you prefer to work on movies where you have to use
your imagination and blue screen? Or do you prefer the
ultra-realistic work of movies like 127 Hours?
I don’t prefer one or
the other. I don’t think like that. When I look at a new film
project, I don’t say, “Oh, I love independent films. That’s the
only time I get to do what I truly love.” And I don’t say, “I
only want to do big budget films.” I just think about what one
wants to achieve with the film. With this film, half of the movie is
a fantastical world that needs to be created in a particular way that
costs a lot of money, so this movie needed to be made by a big
studio. I was really happy and excited to be involved with it. I
think it’s great.
You’re an actor, a
producer, a writer, a director and a teacher… Is there anything
left for you to conquer in the entertainment industry?
There’s always more to
learn. I guess it would be cool to write a play one day. I love the
theater and I love going to plays, so that might be good for me. I’ve
only acted in small theaters in Los Angeles, but I like acting on
stage in front of live audiences, so that would also be great. Who
knows what’s next? I’ll guess we’ll just have to wait and see…
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