Filming Oz the Great and Powerful

sam raimi on recreating land of oz under legalities.

the film technically prequel 1939 metro-goldwyn-mayer film, wizard of oz, not allowed considered such. filmmakers had toe fine line between calling film mind not infringing upon it. end, had copyright expert on set ensure no infringement occurred. production team worked under constraint of abiding stipulations set forth warner bros., legal owner of rights iconic elements of 1939 film (via turner entertainment subsidiary purchased mgm film library in 1986), including ruby slippers worn judy garland. therefore, disney unable use them nor character likenesses particular film. extended green of wicked witch s skin, disney used legal department considered sufficiently different shade dubbed theostein (a portmanteau of theodora , frankenstein ). additionally, studio not use signature chin mole of margaret hamilton s portrayal of wicked witch of west, nor employ yellow brick road s swirl design munchkinland. expert ensured emerald city not close in appearance emerald city in 1939 film.

while wb , disney did not engage in copyright battle, did file rival trademarks. disney filed trademark on oz great , powerful. 1 week later, wb filed own trademarks great , powerful oz. patent , trademark office suspended wb s attempt @ trademark because disney had filed same 1 week earlier.

in addition legal issues, film faced delays when several cast members went on hiatus due unrelated commitments , circumstances. rachel weisz left halfway through shoot film entire role in bourne legacy, michelle williams required promote release of week marilyn, , franco s father died during production. roth compared task of managing overlapping schedules being air-traffic controller. mila kunis s makeup , prosthetics supervised greg nicotero , demanded 4 hours apply , hour remove, kunis taking 2 months recover subsequent removal of makeup skin. raimi had edit frightening nature of several scenes secure disney s desired pg rating mpaa. sony pictures imageworks contracted create film s visual effects.