James Franco lands on Hollywood Boulevard as Disney’s “Oz The Great and Powerful” premieres at the El Capitan Theatre

Jim Hill

12 years ago

When “The Wizard of Oz” held its Hollywood
premiere back on August 15, 1939
at Grauman’s Chinese Theater …

… MGM really went all out. They took the courtyard of this
famous movie palace and transformed into a miniature version of the Land
of Oz. Complete with its very own
tiny version of the Yellow Brick Road
and a handful of Munchkins to greet the various celebrities who turned out for
this star-studded affair.

Mervyn LeRoy, the producer
of “The Wizard of Oz” (in the black tux)
and MGM star Wallace Beery
(in the light grey suit) interact with
cast members from this MGM musical in
the courtyard of
Grauman’s Chinese Theater. Copyright
Warner Bros.
Entertainment Inc. All rights reserved

Well, you know The Walt Disney Company.
They’re kind of a competitive bunch. So when it came time to hold the Hollywood premiere of
“Oz The Great and Powerful“
last night at the El Capitan Theatre …

… (which — FYI — is just down the street
/ right across the way from where the movie palace = which is now known as TCL
Chinese Theater – is located on Hollywood Boulevard), the Mouse wanted to top what MGM had done at its “Oz” premiere back in 1939. So Mickey wasn’t going to settle for a
mini Yellow Brick Road.

Rachel
Weisz (in orange) and Mila Kunis (in grey) stop and pose for pictures on the
Yellow
Brick Road at last night’s Hollywood
premiere of Disney’s “Oz the Great and
Powerful.” Copyright Disney
Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved

The PR team at Walt Disney Studios replaced the red carpet
that you usually find at film premieres with a nearly 500 feet-long recreation
of the Yellow Brick Road.
Not only that, but given that the title character of “Oz The Great and
Powerful” arrives in Oz via hot air balloon … Well, it only made sense
that James Franco would make a similar sort of entrance …

James Franco makes his
descent onto Hollywood
Boulevard.
Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc.
All rights reserved

… before he then hopped out of that balloon’s basket and
hustled into the El Capitan Entertainment Centre. Where Franco then put in a
quick appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” to help promote the March
8th release of this Sam Raimi film.

Franco on his way to
“Jimmy Kimmel Live!“
Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc.
All rights
reserved

And speaking of Sam, the director of “Oz the Great and
Powerful” put in an appearance at this film’s Hollywood
premiere. Raimi was accompanied by his brother Ted as well as frequent collaborator
Bruce Campbell.

Ted Raimi (right) just
can’t seem to recall who this
pointy-chinned performer might be. Copyright
Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved

Sam made a point of interacting with film fans who came
out last night for “Oz The Great and Powerful” ‘s Hollywood
premiere, signing any & all posters and photographs that came his way.

Academy Award nominee Michelle Williams was equally gracious
with the people standing along Hollywood Boulevard. Taking the time to sign dozens of autographs …

… before she then had to be hurried away to pose for those
inevitable publicity shots.

(L to R) James Franco,
Mila Kunis, Michelle Williams,
Rachel Weisz and Zach Braff. Copyright Disney
Enterprises,
Inc. All rights reserved

And speaking of people posing for shots: This famous trio
turned up on the Yellow Brick Road
last night as well. And — no — they’re not the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodsman
and the Cowardly Lion.

(L to R) Bob Iger,
Chairman & CEO of The Walt Disney Company; Joe Roth, producer of
“Oz
the Great and Powerful” and Alan Horn, Chairman of Walt Disney Studios.
Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved

It was a night full of quick fun reunions …

… and goofy moments in front of the camera.

Now as for the film itself … Nancy and I actually got to
see “Oz The Great and Powerful” this past Tuesday morning in NYC at a
screening that Walt Disney Studios Publicity set up for the media. And since we
were only allowed to attend this early, early screening of “Oz” if we
honored all conditions of the embargo that WDS Publicity had already put in place (i.e. no Facebooking, Tweeting or posting full-blown reviews of “Oz” until March 6th), it’ll be at least
20 days before I can then officially share what I thought of this upcoming Walt
Disney Pictures release.

On the other hand, starting this evening, D23 members are going
to get the chance to see special advance 3D screenings of this new Sam Raimi
film. Three of these are going to be held right on the Disney Lot inside of the Studio
Theatre. With one being held tonight, another on Friday night and a third on
Saturday night. And if after those advance screenings, some members of The
Official Disney Fan Club wanted to stop on by and post their thoughts on “Oz The Great
and Powerful” in the comments section attached to today’s article … Well,
who am I to stop them?

That said, without getting into any specifics here, if you
liked Tim Burton’s “Alice in
Wonderland,” I’m pretty sure that you’re going to enjoy Disney’s “Oz The Great and Powerful.”

Your thoughts?