Kino incoming

Kenya Barris has, for some reason, been given the impossible task of remaking, or rather updating, two classic films: “The Wizard of Oz” and “It's a Wonderful Life.”

Interviewed at Sundance, Barris confirms that the script for his reimagining of “The Wizard of Oz” is completed. His version of Dorothy is a girl who lives in the Bottoms, which is a huge apartment complex located in Inglewood, California.

The original ‘Wizard of Oz' took place during the Great Depression and it was about self-reliance and what people were going through. I think this is the perfect time to switch the characters and talk about what someone imagines their life could be. It's ultimately a hero's journey, someone thinks something's better than where they're at, and they go and realize that where they're at is where they should be. I want people to be proud and happy about where they're from. But I want the world to take a look at it and I hope that will come through.

Barris also confirms that Paramount entrusted him in remaking Frank Capra's “It's a Wonderful Life.” Barris says that the story will also revolve around a person of color. He believes that the 1946 version's main character, indelibly played by Jimmy Stewart, was specially made for a POC:

It's a guy who's trying to help out his community and things are going to turn around on him. I think that's the perfect story to tell for a person of color — Black or brown — to get into that because our communities have some issues and someone trying to help that community out. I think that's the perfect vehicle to tell that story from.

!kino