New Wizard of Oz Movies and its Impact on the Oz Books These are extremely difficult economic times for all of us, and we are being more cautious than ever about protecting our hard-earned savings. By placing your money in tangible collectible investments
News-Antique.com - Jun 28,2010 - Most of you probably saw the new Wizard of Oz movie announcements appearing all over the Internet. In June of last year I dedicated the entire newsletter article on the effect that the various productions have on collectible Oz books. Because of the recent events and renewed interest in the Oz topic, however, I would like to explore this area further.
Over the last few years we have witnessed a very active market in the Wizard of Oz books’ series. What is also clearly noticeable is a dwindling supply of certain first edition Oz titles that are in the above average condition and are reasonably priced. The number of copies that were around a few years ago as compared to what is available today is miniscule. We are beginning to see a big appetite for first edition copies in good and nearly fine conditions.
I recently read an article in the Daily Wealth about making money in collectibles. The author of the article outlined three secrets that apply to any collectibles: (1) purchase the best collectible you can afford; (2) buy from the best dealer; and (3) know a reason why it is collectible. These three parameters certainly also apply to Oz books. The collectors increasingly are buying the best copies they can afford, and they also are becoming more familiar with the details of collecting Oz books. Thus, what we are seeing is the increase in demand of approximately 15% to 20% for quality books, yet the supply is steadily decreasing. With the announcements of the new Wizard of Oz movie, I believe that the demand will be even greater. However, let’s first get some facts about the new Wizard of Oz movie and other Oz productions.
1. As reported by the LA Times, Warner Brothers has new Wizard of Oz movie in development from "Twilight" producers Temple Hill with a script from the screenwriter of "Shrek Forever After."
2. The Warner Brothers’ second "Wizard" movie will be the more modern tale that centers on the granddaughter of Dorothy who returns to fight evil in Oz. According to PRLOG press release on March 19, 2010 Basil Iwaynk has been assigned as Director and Josh Olson as screenwriter.
3. The producer of the most recent phenomenon "Alice in Wonderland,” Joe Roth at Disney, has been developing "Brick," a new feature that would take the point of view of the Wizard and explain how he came to sit behind the Emerald City's magic curtain. This would be a re-imagination of many of Baum's "Oz" storylines as the script begins with the Wizard as a con man in a traveling circus who goes on a similar adventure as Dorothy ending up in Oz. Disney and Roth are moving forward quickly with "Brick" and are already considering directors.
4. Universal Studios are going forward with getting "Wicked" into movie theaters.
5. New movie "The Witches of Oz" is due out in the summer of 2010.
