Wizard of Oz

Novel Adaptations Emerge as Works of Originality

Posted on 06/4/2013 by | AARP Blog Author | Comments

Entertainment | Your LifeAdaptations of best-loved books from childhood are among my favorite graphic novels. The team of Eric Shanower and Skottie Young have produced five adaptations of L. Frank Baum’s Oz books. The award-winning adaptations are first issued as comic books and then collected in hardcover under the Marvel Comics imprint. Shanower is faithful to Baum’s singular vision. Generations are familiar with Dorothy, Toto, the Tinman and Cowardly Lion — largely due to that movie. Lesser known characters such as Johnny Dooit, …

QUIZ: How Well Do You Know Famous Imaginary Places?

Posted on 04/10/2013 by | AARP Bulletin | Comments

Entertainment | Your Life  Have you ever imagined yourself skipping down the yellow brick road? Felt the Lion’s furry arm and the Tin Man’s metal one linked with yours? Heard Toto yipping? Smelled the poppies of The Emerald City? And then realized, suddenly, that Oz isn’t actually a place you can visit? Some places –products of rich, creative minds—are as real to us as our own back yards. Grab a pencil and match these classic imaginary American places with their creators. Answers at …

Is ‘Oz’ Really So Wonderful? We’ll Tell You!

Posted on 03/8/2013 by | Movies & TV | Comments

Entertainment  We’re inching closer to the big spring movie season, and the first entry comes this weekend: Oz the Great and Powerful, a prequel to the 1939 classic The Wizard of Oz, which became an annual viewing experience in the homes of many a boomer during their growing up years. We’ve got a review of the new movie here and you can see clips from it on my new YouTube Movies for Grownups Show: The weekend’s sleeper selection is Emperor, starring Tommy …

Hugo on DVD: Will You Please See it Now??

Posted on 03/2/2012 by | Movies & TV | Comments

EntertainmentWell, I hope you’re satisfied. Martin Scorsese’s Hugo arrived on DVD and BluRay this week, and at that moment you missed out on any chance that you’ll ever get to see it the way it was meant to be experienced: On a floor-to-ceiling movie theater screen in glorious 3-D. Forget the film’s 11 Oscar nominations (and five wins) and the countless “Best Director” awards that were heaped upon Scorsese. The inconvenient fact remains that Hugo wasn’t seen by very many …

Soupy Sales, James Cagney, Johnny Carson, Excedrin Headaches, and More: Random Audio From the Movies for Grownups Radio Archives

Posted on 02/16/2012 by | Movies & TV | Comments

EntertainmentSo, I’ve been doing this Movies for Grownups radio show for eight years, and every week I prowl the web looking for audio clips that’ll make it sound, you know, interesting. The thing is, I never, ever throw any of this stuff out. So now I have hours and hours of the most random sound samples you can imagine. Last week here at the office they changed out my computer, and for some reason that forced to the front of …