Well… if Zooey Deschanel is Dorothy… why not?!

I’m sure this trailer is going to inspire some moaning and groaning among Oz enthusiasts. After all, there are quite a few adaptations out there already, and few have been built to last.

But I don’t know why people tend to complain when we’re treated to multiple cinematic versions of a single story. Sure… when a remake is done poorly, criticism is appropriate. But nobody complains when the stage comes alive with new and bold interpretations of Shakespeare every year. I’d like to see a hundred big screen versions of Seven Samurai, or Citizen Kane, or Beowulf, so long as they’re imaginative and well-crafted. All the better to test the resilience of the source material, and to dazzle us with creativity, showing up the hacks and introducing an occasional visionary!

If you could remake a movie, rising to the challenge of remaking a great film or trying to make something good out of a bad one, which would you choose? Who would you cast? Who would you like to see direct?

I do hope I see another ambitious version of The Lord of the Rings in my lifetime.

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