When you grow up in the Midwest with a mom named Dorothy and a dog that looks like Toto, it’s pretty much a given that Wizard of Oz is one of your favorite movies ever.  I can’t begin to count how many times I saw the movie as a child, and how many hundreds more I’ve seen it as an adult when my own step-daughter fell in love with the film.

 
The magical land of Oz is a special place for many of us and it was like a dream come true this past weekend when I had the opportunity to experience the magic of Oz up close and in person during the world premiere of Oz the Great & Powerful. In a magical whirlwind not unlike the one that swept Dorothy off to Oz in the original, I was suddenly leaving my small town in the “fields” of Iowa for glamorous Hollywood, staying at the legendary Langham Huntington Hotel (where they just had the Bachelor wedding!) and attending the world premiere at the historic El Capitan Theatre.

Since, um, well let’s just say I don’t walk red carpets with the likes of Michelle Williams and Mila Kunis every day, this took a whirlwind of preparations too!  Fortunately I found a great dress on a budget and my blogging buddies and I had some great help with nails and make up from the folks at OPI and Urban Decay who have some new seriously sweet Oz themed color palettes (more on these coming soon!)

After a hopping a couple flights out of corn and cow country to the star star studded city of Los Angeles, we had just a few hours to get ready for the big event where hunky wizard James Franco was putting on a show in the middle of Hollywood Blvd in the fantastic Oz hot air balloon!

Given that this was Oz, the traditional red carpet was replaced with a yellow brick road for the evening for all the stars to walk (as well as us starstruck bloggers!) We spotted most of the cast on the yellow brick road including Mila Kunis. Mila was accompanied by Ashton Kutcher at the event and we spotted them hanging together after the premier at the after party. (Important celeb news for my Iowa readers!)

The on-screen witches Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz and Michelle were more like best friends or sisters in real life and absolutely hilarious to talk to in our interviews during the Disney Oz Press Day event! Watch for more details and my in-depth interviews coming very soon!

Movie buffs like myself were also delighted to see director Sam Raimi known for directing the Spiderman movies and countless other titles.

It’s exciting to be able to celeb spot so many stars up close and personal! In addition to the cast of the film some of the big names in attendance that night were Ashton Kutcher, Greg Kinnear, Neil Patrick Harris, Andy Garcia, Tobey Maguire, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bill Paxton & more!  Zach Braff from “Scrubs” was adorable as Finley the monkey and hilarious to interview!

This is my second opportunity to attend such an amazing event, and I’m extremely grateful to have had such an amazing opportunity!  I’ve got hundreds more photos and lots more details I’ll be sharing with you guys over the next couple weeks, so be sure to stay tuned for all kinds of inside scoop and details!

Here’s a few details for you southern CA folks about upcoming events too!

OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL will play at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, CA from March 8^th – April 30^th in Disney Digital 3D and Real D 3D

• For the First 3 weeks only (March 8 – 31) See “Disney Mysteries of Magic” live on stage!  Be dazzled by the artistry of illusion in a magical showcase.  See our expert wizard perform mystical magical illusions before your very eyes!

• Plus, see an exclusive display of costumes from the movie from March 8 – April 30.

• For tickets call 1 (800) DISNEY6 or visit www.elcapitantickets.com

Disclosure: I attended a blogger event for purposes of covering this movie and event. However all opinions expressed are my own and I’m REALLY excited about this upcoming film! Photos courtesy of Disney (I was too busy drooling over movie stars to get decent shots at this event!  LOL)