History Trivia / TheWiz

* CreativeDifferences: Original director John Badham was fired when he objected to 33-year-old Music/DianaRoss being cast as 14-year-old Dorothy. The character was changed to a 24-year-old kindergarten teacher.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: Both screen adaptations, as a side effect of reflecting two different eras of African-American culture.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: On top of being a product of a time when Blaxploitation films were popular in the U.S., the film has an unmistakable 1970s feel throughout, from its tone, to the fashions, to the disco and funk-heavy soundtrack, among other things.

* StarDerailingRole: Music/DianaRoss landed the starring role despite several early refusals from the film's crew due to her age at the time of production, forcing several changes to the script to accommodate Ross' older version of Dorothy. All of this, combined with the negative critical reaction of her overall performance ultimately put an unceremonious end to Ross's short-lived film career. Her later acting stints were in two MadeForTV films.

* StarDerailingRole: Music/DianaRoss landed the starring role despite several early refusals from the film's crew due to her age at the time of production, forcing several changes to the script to accommodate Ross' older version of Dorothy. All of this, combined with the negative critical reaction of her overall performance ultimately prompted Ross to stick to singing instead of acting.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Creator/StephanieMills, who played Dorothy in the original Broadway production would've reprised the role for the movie, had Music/DianaRoss not appealed directly to the head of Universal to get the part. The movie also had Creator/JohnBadham, the director of ''Film/SaturdayNightFever'', signed on to direct, until he quit out of disappointment with having to direct such an old Dorothy.

* RealLifeRelative: Lena Horne (Glinda) was the then mother-in-law of Creator/SidneyLumet.

* DawsonCasting: Creator/DianaRoss played a 24-year old Dorothy at age 34.

* GenreKiller: According to the Medved Brothers' ''Hollywood Hall of Shame'' book, the movie's box-office performance directly led to the cancellation of several major-studio projects that would have had predominantly black casts. Well into the 1980s, Creator/RichardPryor and Creator/EddieMurphy would be the only black leads that were reliable box-office performers, and that was largely via UncleTomfoolery and SaltAndPepper pairings. It wasn't until ''[[Film/BlackPanther2018 Black Panther]]'' 40 years later that Hollywood attempted an all-black tentpole, and it ended up becoming a billion-dollar blockbuster.

* TheShelfOfMovieLanguishment: To tie-in with the movie, Creator/DianaRoss recorded an album titled, ''Diana Ross Sings Songs From The Wiz''. Music/{{Motown}} originally intended to release it about a year after the movie's premiere, but decided against it after the film flopped. It finally saw a digital release in November 2015, exactly one week before the NBC debut of ''The Wiz Live!''
* StarDerailingRole: Creator/DianaRoss landed the starring role despite several early refusals from the film's crew due to her age at the time of production, forcing several changes to the script to accommodate Ross' older version of Dorothy. All of this, combined with the negative critical reaction of her overall performance ultimately prompted Ross to stick to singing instead of acting.
* TroubledProduction: The direction and casting led to a lot of the changes that made the film such a drastic departure from the musical; The producers had Stephanie Mills in mind to play Dorothy, but were ultimately convinced to cast Creator/DianaRoss who fought to get the part, which prompted director Creator/JohnBadham to quit out of dissatisfaction, and so Creator/SidneyLumet stepped in to fill the chair. Rounding out the production was Creator/JoelSchumacher, and to accommodate Diana Ross' age rewrote the script to focus on a much older Dorothy living in New York City instead of Kansas. Lumet's inexperience with musicals, combined with these casting and scriptural decisions led to a lot of internal skepticism of the project that was ultimately vindicated when the film failed at the box office.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Creator/StephanieMills, who played Dorothy in the original Broadway production would've reprised the role for the movie, had Creator/DianaRoss not appealed directly to the head of Universal to get the part. The movie also had Creator/JohnBadham, the director of ''Film/SaturdayNightFever'', signed on to direct, until he quit out of disappointment with having to direct such an old Dorothy.

** When Dorothy says goodbye to the Good Witches, a magical whirling sound emits, implying they magically disappear during Dorothy's close-up. However, a viewer of the original broadcast ''or'' the DVD might notice Creator/AmberRiley walking normally off the set.

* GenreKiller: According to the Medved Brothers' ''Hollywood Hall of Shame'' book, the movie's box-office performance directly led to the cancellation of several major-studio projects that would have had predominantly black casts. Well into the 1980s, Creator/RichardPryor and Creator/EddieMurphy would be the only black leads that were reliable box-office performers, and that was largely via UncleTomfoolery and SaltAndPepper pairings.

!!The movie

* RoleReprise: Tony winner Creator/TedRoss & Creator/MabelKing [[note]] Perhaps best known as Raj's mom on ''Series/WhatsHappening'' [[/note]] reprised their roles from the original run of the musical as the Lion & Evilene respectively.

* TroubledProduction: The casting of Creator/DianaRoss as Dorothy led to many drastic changes to the final script, as well as convincing director Creator/JohnBadham to walk out on the project in protest of Ross taking the part of a character half her age, leading to Creator/SidneyLumet eventually taking the part.

* RoleReprisal:

* RoleReprisal: Tony winner Creator/TedRoss & Creator/MabelKing [[note]] Perhaps best known as Raj's mom on ''Series/WhatsHappening'' [[/note]] reprised their roles from the original run of the musical as the Lion & Evilene respectively.

* ActingForTwo: A 2006 multi-ethnic La Jolla Playhouse staging used the same actress for both Aunt Em and Glinda, Creator/ValariePettiford.
* AllStarCast: The movie and TV versions feature several of their respective decades' most-renowned African-American entertainers, although the latter also has a then-newcomer, Creator/ShaniceWilliams, as Dorothy.

** After Dorothy finished singing "Home", the camera didn't cut to the Silver Shoes until after Creator/ShaniceWilliams already started clicking her heels, resulting in the viewers seeing her click them two times instead of three. The DVD manages to show all three clicks.

* SavedFromDevelopmentHell: Storyline Entertainment planned a TV version of ''The Wiz'' as far back as [[http://deadline.com/2015/11/craig-zadan-neil-meron-the-wiz-live-nbc-1201646727/ 1998]], after producing a remake of Rodgers and Hammerstein's ''Film/{{Cinderella}}'' for ''[[Series/WaltDisneyPresents The Wonderful World of Disney]]''. However, rights issues with Universal prevented Storyline from progressing very far with the project.

** Promo pictures and videos show that Glinda originally had blonde curly hair. When the special actually aired, she sported brunette braid instead. [[http://thegrio.com/2015/12/18/shanice-williams-dorothy-natural-hair/ According]] to Creator/ShaniceWilliams, the crew decided that letting Creator/UzoAduba show off her natural hair color would provide a stronger expression of African-American beauty.

* In addition to Creator/StephanieMills, cast members confirmed to have previously appeared in stage versions of ''The Wiz'' include Creator/DavidAlanGrier (The Wiz in a 2006 La Jolla Playhouse production), Music/QueenLatifah (Dorothy in a high school production), and Creator/ShaniceWilliams (Addaperle in a junior high production).

* ExecutiveMeddling: The producers wanted Stephanie Mills to reprise her role of Dorothy, but Dina Ross wanted the role badly enough she appealed directly to the Universal heads to twist their arms into acting her.

* ActingForTwo: A 2006 multi-ethnic La Jolla Playhouse staging used the same actress for both Aunt Em and Glinda, Valarie Pettiford.
* AllStarCast: The movie and TV versions feature several of their respective decades' most-renowned African-American entertainers, although the latter also has a then-newcomer, Shanice Williams, as Dorothy.

** Broadway's original Dorothy, Stephanie Mills, played Dorothy again in a 1984 Broadway revival and a 1993 tour. The latter also brought back Andre De Shields as The Wiz.

* StarMakingRole: Stephanie Mills struggled to sell any of her music until she became Dorothy and earned praise from audiences and critics alike. By the end of TheEighties, Mills also turned "Home" into a hit R&B single.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Broadway producer Ken Harper had previously considered adapting ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' as a one-hour TV special, [[http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1975/10/26/page/390/article/the-wiz#text starring]] Melba Moore as Dorothy, Flip Wilson as the Scarecrow, and Creator/BillCosby as the Cowardly Lion.

* DawsonCasting: Diana Ross played a 24-year old Dorothy at age 34.

* [[TheShelfOfMovieLanguishment The Shelf of Album Languishment]]: To tie-in with the movie, Diana Ross recorded an album titled, ''Diana Ross Sings Songs From The Wiz''. Motown originally intended to release it about a year after the movie's premiere, but decided against it after the film flopped. It finally saw a digital release in November 2015, exactly one week before the NBC debut of ''The Wiz Live!''
* RoleReprisal: Tony winner Ted Ross & Mabel King [[note]] Perhaps best known as Raj's mom on Series/WhatsHappening [[/note]] reprised their roles from the original run of the musical as the Lion & Evilene respectively.
* StarDerailingRole: Diana Ross landed the starring role despite several early refusals from the film's crew due to her age at the time of production, forcing several changes to the script to accommodate Ross' older version of Dorothy. All of this, combined with the negative critical reaction of her overall performance ultimately prompted Ross to stick to singing instead of acting.
* TroubledProduction: The direction and casting led to a lot of the changes that made the film such a drastic departure from the musical; The producers had Stephanie Mills in mind to play Dorothy, but were ultimately convinced to cast Diana Ross who fought to get the part, which prompted director John Badham to quit out of dissatisfaction, and so Sidney Lumet stepped in to fill the chair. Rounding out the production was Joel Schumacher, and to accommodate Diana Ross' age rewrote the script to focus on a much older Dorothy living in New York City instead of Kansas. Lumet's inexperience with musicals, combined with these casting and scriptural decisions led to a lot of internal skepticism of the project that was ultimately vindicated when the film failed at the box office.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Stephanie Mills, who played Dorothy in the original Broadway production would've reprised the role for the movie, had Diana Ross not appealed directly to the head of Universal to get the part. The movie also had John Badham, the director of ''Film/SaturdayNightFever'', signed on to direct, until he quit out of disappointment with having to direct such an old Dorothy.

* AbilityOverAppearance: Kenny Leon [[http://www.today.com/popculture/behind-scenes-wiz-live-cast-jitters-rehearsal-rituals-t57556 explained]] that he cast Music/QueenLatifah as the usually-male Wiz because he believed anyone could play the Wiz, and Queen Latifah happened to become the first Wiz that came to his mind.
* ActingForTwo: Some of the ensemble members played more than one role. This special also follows the lead of MGM's ''Film/TheWizardOfOz'' by having the actors of the Scarecrow (Elijah Kelley), the Tin Man (Music/NeYo) and the Cowardly Lion (David Alan Grier) also portray Aunt Em's farmhands.

** David Alan Grier apparently botched a line about wanting to see a movie in the Emerald City, instead asking his friends if they want to "catch a ''({{beat}})'' split before [they] split". This also made the Cowardly Lion's next lines ("I hope they don't put butter on their popcorn. I'm watchin' my cholesterol.") sound like a NonSequitur. The DVD didn't correct this, but the digital captions try to cover up Grier's botching by saying that he asks his friends if they want to "catch a flick".
** In "So You Wanted To Meet the Wizard", the Wiz enters the scene after a blast of smoke. NBC accidentally showed Queen Latifah onstage before this blast goes off, but the DVD uses a slightly longer shot of Dorothy and her friends to delay the Wiz's reveal.
** When Dorothy says goodbye to the Good Witches, a magical whirling sound emits, implying they magically disappear during Dorothy's close-up. However, a viewer of the original broadcast ''or'' the DVD might notice Amber Riley walking normally off the set.
** After Dorothy finished singing "Home", the camera didn't cut to the Silver Shoes until after Shanice Williams already started clicking her heels, resulting in the viewers seeing her click them two times instead of three. The DVD manages to show all three clicks.

** Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, producers of the NBC version, also produced Kenny Leon-directed TV adaptations of ''Theatre/ARaisinInTheSun'' and ''Film/SteelMagnolias''. The latter also featured Queen Latifah in the leading role.
** Eight years before the NBC production of ''The Wiz'', Craig Zadan and Neil Meron collaborated with both Queen Latifah and Elijah Kelley for the movie version of the ''Film/{{Hairspray}}'' musical. Queen Latifah also worked with Zadan and Meron on ''Film/{{Chicago}}''.
** Queen Latifah and David Allen Grier (who play The Wiz and The Cowardly Lion in the NBC production) both portrayed Aunt Em and Uncle Henry in ''Film/TheMuppetsWizardOfOz''.

* TroubledProduction: The casting of Diana Ross as Dorothy led to many drastic changes to the final script, as well as convincing director John Badham to walk out on the project in protest of Ross taking the part of a character half her age, leading to Sidney Lumet eventually taking the part.

** Promo pictures and videos show that Glinda originally had blonde curly hair. When the special actually aired, she sported brunette braid instead. [[http://thegrio.com/2015/12/18/shanice-williams-dorothy-natural-hair/ According]] to Shanice Williams, the crew decided that letting Uzo Aduba show off her natural hair color would provide a stronger expression of African-American beauty.
* WrittenByCastMember: Two of the lead males of the TV version, Elijah Kelley and Ne-Yo, helped write a new song, "We Got It".
* In addition to Stephanie Mills, cast members confirmed to have previously appeared in stage versions of ''The Wiz'' include David Alan Grier (The Wiz in a 2006 La Jolla Playhouse production), Queen Latifah (Dorothy in a high school production), and Shanice Williams (Addaperle in a junior high production).

** Promo pictures and videos show that Glinda originally had blonde curly hair. When the special actually aired, she sported brunette braids instead. [[http://thegrio.com/2015/12/18/shanice-williams-dorothy-natural-hair/ According]] to Shanice Williams, the crew decided that letting Uzo Aduba show off her natural hair color would provide a stronger expression of African-American beauty.

* FollowTheLeader: The acclaim of this production prompted NBC to select musicals that seem old-fashioned, but cover topical racial issues (such as [[Theatre/{{Hairspray}} segregation]] and [[Theatre/ByeByeBirdie interracial marriage]]), for the next few years.

* CreatorBacklash: Ray Bolger compared the movie negatively to the 1939 film, in which he himself portrayed the Scarecrow.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: One might wonder if the NBC version has some elements that could date badly after the 2010s, such as Dorothy's outfit, the slang, and Addapearle's [=iPad=]. A lot of contemporary dances within the African American community were added into the NBC production as well (The Dab, The Nae-Nae, The Quan, etc) and can be seen throughout. As with most dances, they probably won't last past the year. So in the future when new audiences see them, they won't recognize them as anything but choreography.[[note]]''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' mocked all this only two days after ''The Wiz Live!'' premiered, as part of their crossover between ''The Wiz Live!'' and MGM's ''The Wizard of Oz''.[[/note]]

* CutSong: [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Can%27t_Win_(song) "You Can't Win"]] was dropped from the stage version, but appeared in the movie and TV versions as a replacement for "I Was Born on the Day Before Yesterday".

** The smoke and sparks that were supposed to cause Addapearle to disappear didn't shoot up in time. Amber Riley stood there awkwardly for a second, before the camera switched to show the Munchkins and Dorothy. The DVD hides Addaperle by covering the screen in smoke until this switch occurs.