Did you hear that The Wizard of Oz is returning to the big screen? Oh, this isn’t going to look like the Oz you may remember. The reboot musical will come to us sometime in 2012 in 3D. BSCKids brought the word of this to the BSC Empire over the weekend at this exciting new project thanks to Collider.com and www.dorothyofozthemovie.com. Make sure to check out our sister site’s write-up for the other images! There is casting news that comes along with these fantastic character sketches the animated feature Dorothy of Oz. Glee’s Lea Michele will be filling Dorothy’s ruby slippers. Dan Aykroyd will voice the Scarecrow. Kelsey Grammar is the Tin man. Jim Belushi is the Lion. Megan Hilty, Hugh Dancy, Martin Short, Oliver Platt, and Patrick Stewart also fill out the voice talent.

The source material is from the book by by Roger S. Baum, the great-grandson of L. Frank Baum, the creator of Oz!. To accompany the beautiful early sketches, here’s the film’s official synopsis:

There is trouble in Oz and Dorothy is needed! With Glinda’s help, she and Toto return to Oz. Joined by her old friends the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, the Lion as well as exciting new characters, Dorothy sets out on a perilous journey to stop the crafty Jester from using the power of the Wicked Witch of the West’s wand to turn the people of Oz into puppets. That seems to be the least of Dorothy’s problems as her travels lead her straight into a treacherous maze, a cave full of very hungry dragons and an evil spell that could destroy the Yellow Brick Road. Dorothy has the daunting knowledge that it is up to her to stop Jester’s terrible plan. Audiences will welcome the return of the old Oz favorites and will love meeting new friends like Tugg a gruff talking boat and Wiser an owl with an unlucky attraction to molasses.

Written in the whimsical style of L. Frank Baum, “Dorothy of Oz” is sure to delight Oz fans old and new as they journey once again into the magical land of OZ.

As previously announced, Bryan Batt and Bebe Neuwirth will co-host the ceremony, while performers will include LaChanze and Seth Rudetsky. In addition, composer Alan Menken will perform a medley from Little Shop of Horrors, the cast of Stomp will perform a segment from their show, and there will be a performance of “Try to Remember” from The Fantasticks.

The theme of the ceremony is “Off-Broadway Comes Home” and the show will be directed by Michael Heitzman with musical direction by David Holcenberg. The Lortel Awards are a benefit for The Actors Fund.

As previously reported, producer Daryl Roth will be given the 2010 Lifetime Achievement Award at the ceremony. For TheaterMania’s previous story on the nominations, click here.

For more information, visit www.LortelAward.com

So much for staying under the radar. But the 34-year-old seems to have lived in that contradictory world since he began acting more than a decade ago.

Professionally, he’s dabbled in independent pictures and co-starred opposite starlets in more mainstream movies. And his performances in two films this year seem to underscore his flexibility.

After playing the handsome hunk in the Isla Fisher romantic comedy Confessions of a Shopaholic, he’s the featured attraction in the indie film Adam.

So the Brit seems to be capable of surprising us professionally, too. But there is no method to his unexpected ways.

“I trust in my own instincts to find different things simply to keep myself interested,” explains Dancy during a recent interview.

In his latest effort Adam, Dancy defines the title character, a thoughtful young man who is thrown into a crisis when his father dies leaving him alone to cope with his life less ordinary because he suffers from Asperger Syndrome.

A more functional autism related disorder, Asperger’s causes Adam – like the people who suffer from it in real life – to have difficulty with social interaction which often isolates him.

In the film’s case, written and directed by Max Mayer, Adam’s on the brink of falling apart when he meets Beth (Rose Byrne), a pretty school teacher who moves in to an apartment on the floor above him. As they become closer, we learn more about both characters’ struggling with their separate dysfunctions, trying survive as they fall in love.

“I realized, not immediately but fairly quickly into filming, how much had been fit into the script and how many different tones had to mesh for the movie to work,” notes Dancy.

Central to the task was the comedy and the romance unfolding quietly and without the typical smarmy flourishes. “The balancing act was challenging when it came to the humour, especially,” agrees the actor. “It had to happen naturally or it wouldn’t have worked.”

And the relationship? Dancy insists sufferers of Asperger are capable of functioning, albeit with support and understanding, in society. Many who deal with the syndrome, he discovered during research, are married and employable, and some are even exceptionally successful.

“I don’t think we are misrepresenting possibilities.” says Dancy of Adam who despite his syndrome comes across as charming and intelligent. “And yes, in the movie, we borrow some of the traits of a typical romantic comedy – like the miscommunication and the sense of obstacle because there is no greater obstacle than Asperger’s.”

Meanwhile, Dancy says he still feels like a stranger in the strange land of American show business. No wonder. His father is the well-known British philosopher and professor Jonathan Dancy and his mother Sarah’s a publisher. He was educated at Oxford’s Dragon College, Winchester College and then St. Peter’s.

While at Winchester he performed in a college players production of Twelfth Night and found he rather enjoyed it. While his foray into the craft wasn’t greeted with open arms by his parents, he carried on regardless.

He landed parts on Brit TV in Trial & Retribution II, Dangerfield, The New Adventures of Robin Hood and the popular Kavanagh QC. Fluent in French, Dancy surprised a few in the business when he played a Frenchman flawlessly in Relic Hunter, followed by a few episodes of Cold Feet, and the teleplay David Copperfield, before winning the lead in the BBC’s Daniel Deronda.

On the movie front, Dancy made his debut in Black Hawk Down in 2001 but didn’t get movie goers attention until 2004 when he played Galahad in King Arthur and then Prince Charmont opposite Anne Hathaway in Ella Enchanted.

A string of not so successful films followed including Shooting Dogs, Basic Instinct 2, The Jane Austen Book Club and Evening where he met Danes in 2007. “Something good from everything,” he says.

Although he had better luck on TV, earning an Emmy nomination for his part of the earl in 2006’s Elizabeth 1, he also received good reviews on Broadway as Captain Stanhope in Journey’s End.

“Looking back it seems to me that it is some kind of trend that I don’t have one,” he says of his movie career. “Right now I feel lucky, and not disappointed, with the things that didn’t work out at the box office.

“I’ve never taken that particularly hard,” Dancy adds. “Not because I don’t care necessarily, but more because I don’t want to drag myself to insanity.”

source:  http://www.calgaryherald.com/life/fashionshows/Hugh+Dancy+tackles+Asperger+Adam/1866099/story.htmlhttp://www.calgaryherald.com/life/fashionshows/Hugh+Dancy+tackles+Asperger+Adam/1866099/story.html

I have added screencaps of Hugh from Blood and chocolate and also of the deleted scenes of blood and chocolate. Enjoy!

GALLERY LINK

Movie Productions> Blood and Chocolate

I have added on Set photos and photos stills of Hugh from Confessions of a shopaholic.

GALLERY LINKS

Movie Productions> Confessions of A Shopaholic> On Set

Movie Productions> Confessions of A Shopaholic> Photo Stills

I have added Some Screencaptures of Hugh Dancy from the Coach Trailer @ http://www.traileraddict.com.

GALLERY LINKS

Movie Productions> Coach> Trailer

Here is the trailer for those who Havent seen it.

I have added a whole bunch of Hugh Dancy Public appearances from 2009 to are gallery. I will continue to build up the gallery. It will be a slowish process but it will continue on. Enjoy!

GALLERY LINK

Public Appearances> 2009