Ashanti?!
I know, I know. This isn’t what you were expecting to hear. Particularly after the past week’s worth of stories here at JHM. Where we tried to keep you up to date about what’s being going on in the on-going effort to find a Dorothy for the soon-to-begin-shooting “Muppets’ Wizard of Oz.”
Just to review here: The folks at Henson supposedly wanted Natalie Portman to play the role of Dorothy Gale of Kansas. Disney — on the other hand — were said to be pulling for Anne Hathaway of the “Princess Diaries” movies. Thinking that she might make a good compromise candidate, the Mouse reportedly threw a copy of the “Muppets’ Wizard of Oz” teleplay at Hilary Duff earlier this month.
And — based on what I heard — Ms. Duff really WAS interested in taking on this role. Unfortunately, negotiations allegedly broke down fairly late in the game (How late? Possibly as late as last week) over compensation issues.
So what happened? In a nutshell, Ms. Duff’s agent (AKA Hilary’s mom) was said to be asking for a truly extraordinary sum of money in order for her daughter to pull on “Judy’s red pumps.” How much money are we talking here? Something along the lines of what Hilary would have earned to appear in a major motion picture, rather than in a TV movie.
When Disney refused to meet Ms. Duff’s initial financial demands, Hilary’s mom reportedly made a counter-offer. The tween star would accept less money up front IF Disney would agree to give Duff a sizable chunk of “The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz” DVD sales further on down the pike.
As you might imagine, the Mouse couldn’t swallow this proposal either. Which is why Hilary (who is said to be a huge Muppet fan) reluctantly had to take a pass on the project.
Okay. Now all of this supposedly went down over the past two weeks. Meanwhile, the sets for this TV movie are being constructed up in Northern Vancouver. The finishing touches are being made to all the Oz-ified characters & their costumes (Gonzo’s Tin Woodsman outfit and Fozzie’s Cowardly Lion get-up are both said to be particularly nifty). But — meanwhile — “The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz” still doesn’t have a Dorothy.
Things were really getting down to the wire here. When (I told) some particularly insightful executive at ABC Televison reportedly said: “Wait a minute. We’re modeling this TV movie on ‘Cinderella,’ right? The musical with Brandy and Whitney Houston? So how come we’re still only looking at white women to play Dorothy?”
And then — as quick as you can say “The Wiz” — a new battle plan was formed. Disney & Henson would now think multi-ethnically when it came to who they should cast as Dorothy Gale. And — given that Brandy has proven to be such an inspired (more importantly, affordable) choice for 1997’s “Cinderella” TV movie — the Mouse & the Muppets immediately began looking at black recording stars. Which is how they eventually arrived at Ashanti.
Now I know a lot of you out there are hearing about “The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz” ‘s initial casting choices (Ashanti?! Queen Latifah?! Quentin Taratino?!) and are automatically thinking “train wreck.” My advice is to hang in there, folks. What may sound unlikely now may seem truly inspired when “The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz” finally airs in Spring of 2005.
As for those of you who’d now like to chide me for supposedly getting this story wrong on Monday … Believe me, folks. As upset as you may be right now, you’re not a 10th as upset as Hilary Duff reportedly is. Though her staff is said to be trying to console the tween pop star (Insisting that maybe it was really for the best that this deal fell through. That — after her long tour this past summer — Hilary wasn’t in shape to jump straight into a seven week long movie shoot. That she’d just be too exhausted to do justice to the role of Dorothy Gale), Ms. Duff is supposedly truly broken-hearted that she won’t now be able to go “Over the Rainbow.”
So my apologies to those of you who are upset about Monday’s story. But that’s what happens when you try to report on an event that’s still unfolding. As for Ashanti: Congratulations! Here’s wishing you the best of luck in this part. As for Ms. Duff: My condolensces. Better luck next time, kid.
Beyond that … Here’s hoping that — now that “The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz” has finally its Dorothy — that production of this $18 million TV movie goes smoothly. More importantly, that this project turns out to be just the thing that the folks at Henson (as well as the team at Disney) are hoping that it will be: The very thing to revive the Muppets. Turns Kermit & Co. back into the hot commodity that they used to be.
Here’s hoping, anyway.
Your thoughts?