Trivia / Oz the Great and Powerful

• Acting for Two:
  • Michelle Williams plays Gilda and Annie.
  • Zach Braff voiced Finley and Frank.
  • Joey King voiced China Girl and a young girl in a wheelchair volunteering in Oscar's magic show in Kansas.
• Awesome, Dear Boy: Rachel Weisz got the script through her agent and loved the role, lobbying hard for it - despite Raimi not thinking she was right. After an audition and two hour conversation with Raimi, she got the part of Evanora.
• Cast the Runner-Up: Michelle Williams was the first choice for the role of Evanora, with Hilary Swank as the second.
• Creator Killer: While the film did okay at the box office, Oz: The Great and Powerful was nonetheless the last project Sam Raimi would make before retreating from directing for a solid nine years (though he would still produce stuff in the interim, and directed some episodes of Ash vs. Evil Dead). He would later experience a comeback after getting hired for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
• Dueling Works: With Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return; they're both Oz-related films connected to the 1939 classic, they both feature girls made of china as main characters, and they were released within a year of each other. While Great and Powerful wasn't a smash hit upon release, it's still leagues ahead of the critically-thrashed Dorothy's Return.
• Dyeing for Your Art: Mila Kunis' make-up took four hours to apply and another hour to remove. It took two months for her skin to recover from the damage.
• Playing Against Type:
  • Heavily for Rachel Weisz. She's normally cast as hyper competent or intelligent Brainy Brunette types - and usually always heroic characters. As noted above, she really had to lobby for the role.
  • Directing example too. Sam Raimi taking on a PG Disney fantasy blockbuster.
• Playing with Character Type: Theodora starts out within Mila Kunis' type but then turns into the Wicked Witch of the West.
• Production Posse:
  • Four out of five actors from The Evil Dead (1981) (Sam Raimi's first film) appear in this - Bruce Campbell as a Winkie guard and Ellen Sandweiss, Betsy Baker and Theresa Tilly as Quadlings.
  • Sam Raimi also worked with James Franco on the Spider Man trilogy. He and Danny Elfman had also worked together on the first two of those films.
• Stillborn Franchise: Mila Kunis and James Franco said they signed on for sequels. But as of 2023, nothing has materialised. Sam Raimi has also said he would not direct a second film. The controversies surrounding Franco following the rise of the #MeToo movement also haven't helped any potential sequel's chances.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Robert Downey Jr. was the first choice to play Oscar but wasn't interested. Johnny Depp was approached but he opted to work on The Lone Ranger (2013) instead.
  • Blake Lively was offered the role of Glinda but chose to do Savages instead. Other potential witches included Amy Adams, Kate Beckinsale, Rebecca Hall, Keira Knightley, Kristen Stewart and Olivia Wilde.
  • John C. Reilly was considered to play Frank.
  • Sam Mendes was approached to direct before Sam Raimi came on board.
  • Christoph Waltz was in early talks to play a role.

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