THE WIZARD OF OZ Set to Screen at the Las Vegas Sphere as a "Fully Immersive Experience"
Sphere Entertainment Co., which runs the incredible Sphere Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, has announced two new projects set to screen at their venue — “The Wizard of Oz at Sphere” and “From the Edge” — currently in production from Sphere Studios. Both productions are part of Sphere’s slate of original immersive content called The Sphere Experience.
“Our goal for The Sphere Experience is a diverse slate that leverages Sphere’s power as an experiential medium. ‘The Wizard of Oz at Sphere’ and ‘From the Edge’ will push that vision forward in different ways,” said Jim Dolan, executive chairman and CEO of Sphere Entertainment.
The 1939 original Wizard of Oz, starring Judy Garland as the iconic character Dorothy, will be presented as a fully immersive experience for Sphere, in collaboration with Warner Bros. Discovery, Google and Magnopus. The Sphere will use “cutting edge technologies to enhance the film” and the production “will maintain the integrity of the original while pushing the boundaries of Sphere’s experiential medium,” per an official description.
“From the Edge” will feature five premier athletes: free diver Alenka Artnik, skier Markus Eder, rock climber Alex Honnold, BASE jumper Katie Hansen Lajeunesse and surfer Kai Lenny. Directed by E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin (“Free Solo”), the production will take audiences inside the world of extreme sports.
The five athletes are being captured on location by Big Sky, Sphere Entertainment’s proprietary camera system developed to capture images at the scale necessary for the Sphere’s display. Filming is currently underway in locations in Jordan, Dubai, Switzerland, the Bahamas, Austin, Las Vegas and Maui.
Both of these projects sound so cool for this venue! The Wizard of Oz is a classic, and the story is being seen in a new light amid the Wicked craze. From the Edge sounds incredible, and like nothing we’ve seen on a screen so magnificent.
“The Wizard of Oz at Sphere” is set to open on Aug. 28, while “From the Edge” will debut in 2026.
via: Variety