'Fairuza Returns to Oz' Interview (text only)

Segment Produced and Directed by: Mark Cerulli



Narrator: L.A. isn't exactly the Emerald City, but there is someone here who remembers making a trip to Oz-actress Fairuza Balk. In 1985, at the tender age of nine, she took on the lead role in the sequel to one of the most beloved movies of all time…The Wizard of Oz.



On Being Cast as Dorothy

I know they went through all of America and Canada, into Europe, they, like tens of thousands of children…um-first of all I went to a cattle call in Van Coover , which was like, 300 children, and some of us got to go on tape. I was lucky, I went on tape with Mike Fenton (casting director), and then, they cut it down to twelve girls, brought us all out to uh, L.A. Did more screen tests, then it got down to two girls, and we went to…London (the film's location) and then it got down to (chuckles) one girl, which was me. My mom was there with me, though, so she--every night before we went to bed, we'd sit, and we'd look at the scenes for the next day, and just memorize them until I had them down… for the next day. Um, it WAS a lot of work, and, I think, towards the end of the filming-it was a very long shoot-it was about eight or nine months. Um, towards the end of the filming, I got a little tired-that's when I began to realize it was work, because it wasn't just, you know, what you wanted to do when you wanted to do it. You HAD to get up every morning and go and be a professional. And, as a child, that's kind of a hard concept to grasp, and you HAVE to get it-you have to grasp it like (snaps fingers) THAT! You know, there's no fooling around, you can't just not go when you feel like playing, you (laughs) know…you-you have to be responsible…you…I think it makes you an adult very quickly.

On the Books and the Importance of Having an Imagination

The books are amazing…the books are REALLY amazing…I've read them, and…they're just fascinating stories! It's also the idea of-I think, when you're a little kid-especially for children…we ALL want that magical place to disappear to, we all want to be able to go to another world, like, a world of fantasy and we CREATE that FOR ourselves as children when we play. When we say, oh, you know, "Now I'm climbing a mountain" and, you know, you're climbing the steps to your back door, you know, or…or whatever! It's imagination, and it's an extension of that, and so, I think, for children as well as for adults, it's, like, this WHOLE WORLD that represents that to them, you know-which is VERY IMPORTANT. It's very important to keep that…as you grow older, and not to forget, because if you loose your imagination, you're like a hollow shell (gesticulates a shell), you know, without, (pats heart three times with palm)…you loose a big part of your…access to your soul, I think.



On the Special Effects

The Claymation was post (production), the animatronics and stuff-that was really kind of at the beginning of that whole time. There was uh…I can think of ,you know, there was The Labyrinth, The Dark Crystal, there were a bunch of those films made with animatronics, and it was the Jim Henson gang (puppeteers)-Brian Henson, the son (of Jim Henson, founder) um…was there, and…it was wonderful, because I knew all the anamatronics engineers so, as a kid, it's easier to talk to a-a chicken, you know? You can just do it and not think about it, you know? But then, you got all the guys, you know, back there telling you jokes through the chicken head, you know, when the camera's not on and stuff and it was just-it's interesting, 'cuz people, you know, "Oh, was it scary at that time?" or whatever, and, it's, like-you see how all the interworkings of the film work, so you under--you have to understand all the technical aspects to be able to do the job, so…in that way, it's not scary or…or difficult, it's just fun!

On the director

Walter Murch is a very special man, I mean…I'll end up going on on him for hours, really….I mean, I-I'm still in touch with him and he-he's gotta be one of the…most interesting, wonderful people that anyone could ever be directed by, because he's very sensitive. He's one of the greatest editors ever, you know. He teaches editing all around the world: sound editing, and picture editing, and, uh…that's probably what he's (shrugs), you know, most known for. So, he has a very interesting way of… of perception, you know? And…was BRILLIANT working with me as a kid, because he could think the way that I did, instead of having an adult thinking here (raises her hand way up) and a child thinking here (lowers her hand). He put himself into my mind so he could see things, like…on a par, which really helped me a lot. I felt like an equal with him, instead of feeling like the kid, you know? They (the entire cast and crew) all really made me feel like I was part of it and had earned my way…and…you know? So, that was great!

On the Cast

Nicol Williamson is wonderful! He's, you know, he's a-he's an amazing actor. He's-his history…and, I mean, I loved him-I know, it's silly-but I loved him as Merlin in Excalibur, I just-oh! -I love him! He's very bizarre and-and-and unique. And a very sweet man. As well as Piper Laurie, Jean Marsh-everybody on there-they were-they were a dream! They really were! There was NO…most often there's always SOMEONE, you know, that's difficult or doesn't really want to be there, and everybody was very into their job, and very…into being there, and very sweet to me. You know, none of them were NASTY to me…and, uh, we just had a really good time, and it was hard work!

More on the Special Effects

Tik Tok…had-there was a man inside of Tik Tok-upside down. He had his legs (puts feet way apart) out like that-so, and he was a gymnast. So, his legs come up (gesticulates legs) here, right? And he has completely bent over and underneath (gesticulates Sundin's body position). And so he's looking-if-okay, (gesticulates) here's the feet and here's the round part of the middle section. He's bent completely over so, his back is completely bent the wrong way. Like, (gesticulates) over-and he's looking at a little screen on the inside so he can see where he's going. But it's an incredible different-difficult position to be crouched in, and you haveta--once you're in, you haveta stay there, you know? You can't just do it for 30 seconds. But he (Michael Sundin) was wonderful-really funny--and uh, Jack-Jack was very complicated. 'Cause Jack was all…there was, there was, um, a guy named Stewart who played Jack who was incredibly tall and incredibly thin when he had to be walking. You know, when we had to see him full-figure. But otherwise it was Brian, uh…Brian Henson and the gang (puppeteers) that made him work. I mean, very intricate, you know. Every finger, every tiny movement of the body is controlled by someone's hands, by a finger movement or something, and… it's just ingenious how they made that work! It's SO complicated, when you see all the wires and the time and…just all the effort that goes into it…you--it's just-it's just MIND BLOWING!


On the final scene

It was a crowd scene, so there's hundreds and hundreds of people….on a sound stage so it was about 130 degrees… and all of us were sweating, sweating, sweating, sweating, sweating…it was VERY HOT with BRIGHT lights and mirrors everywhere…so it was fun and it was beautiful to look at, but I was-I got on the Cowardly Lion's back and we'd done it a couple of times, and with those HUGE scenes, you can't do 'em too many times because…it's SO-there's SO m-many workings going on…and I was sitting on, and I'm waving, and I'm happy, and then, all of the sudden I just kinda went "Aaaeh" (mimics falling over to her left). (Giggles) I just fell off, and everyone came running up, you know, "OH, wake up! Wake up!"-just 'cuz it was hot, but I was SO embarrassed! I was like, (covers her hands up with both hands) (sheepishly) "Oh, I fainted!" You know? I was-I was constantly trying to blow on--on the guy in the--inside the Cowardly Lion suit, because the suit weighs like, 200 pounds, and in like, 110 degree heat, you know, that's pretty maj(starts to giggle)or! That's pretty difficult!





On the Premiere

They had the opening at Radio City Music Hall, and it was a BIG DEAL. I remember, I mean, I flew all over the world: I went to Japan, all over Europe, with (indistinct)-ALL these things. My dresses were made by Emmanuel of London, ALL this STUFF!

On the Movie being a Sequel

It's very difficult to make anything that can be perceived as a sequel to a classic film, because people are SO MARRIED to it! They're in love with it, and they want…you to be able to produce MORE of what that same thing is, and that's IMPOSSIBLE, you know? But, I think that Return To Oz is an INCREDIBLY unique…um…surreal…amazing film, and it's got uh-a lot of REALLY SERIOUS fans. People that--that-even NOW-I'm amazed th-that they've-they've followed my career!

Seeing it again..for the first time

For…YEARS and YEARS people have said, "I can't find your first movie! Where"-you know? 'Cause it wasn't out on video-NO ONE COULD FIND IT-ANYWHERE-IN THE WORLD!!! A LOT of people are gonna be REALLY HAPPY about this-people that have been looking for it…and I'M happy, you know? It's…it's…I'm glad people remember it. It was, like, this whole HUGE chapter of my life…as a kid, you know? That…I'm never gonna forget. It's the whole beginning of… my introduction to this…this life-this career.

I watched it for the first time…in-probably since I was a little girl. And I got SO emotional! I REALLY just-the MUSIC is INCREDIBLE! The music is SOOO BEAUTIFUL! And…just watching-it was just SO AMAZING…looking back and watching…'cause you remember EVERY DAY. You remember, "Oh, on that day, it was FREEZING, and THIS happened!" or "On that day, oh, th--something funny happened." EVERY SINGLE SHOT-every angle, you remember something, and it-it's JUST was wonderful, because not many people can-can do that: can look back on their childhood and…have something that can bring SO MANY memories back! You know? And it was….I don't know, it just-it made me feel really good…very sentimental. (Laughs)
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END OF INTERVIEW