Trivia for
The Wiz (1978) More at IMDb Pro »

• The first song that Michael Jackson sings, "You Can't Win," was originally written for the stage version for the Winkies to sing to Dorothy about the futility of escaping from Evillene. The song was cut from the stage version of the musical during previews but was included in the film as the Scarecrow's song.
  
  
• In his book "Making Movies," Sidney Lumet admits that the filming of the Emerald City Sequence on the plaza at the World Trade Center had to be cut short due to wind and scheduling. The Port Authority would not allow more time to fix the mistakes, the red sequence had to be shortened due to a lighting error, and there was no time to re-shoot.
  
  
• Simultaneously with the release of the film, Congoleum, the flooring company that designed the look of the Yellow Brick Road for the film, also marketed the same design (also called Yellow Brick Road) for home use.
  
  

• This was the first film shot at Kaufman Astoria Studios when it was reopened in the 1970s.
  
  
• In the Emerald City sequence, Quincy Jones is shown as the pianist, but the actual piano player on the soundtrack is Richard Tee.
  
  
• According to her unauthorized biography, "Call Her Ms. Ross," Diana Ross was hospitalized and nearly blinded by a lighting effect used in the movie.
  
  
• The CBS Television Network's eyeball logo, slightly modified with an"O" and a "Z" in the middle of the walking microphone and camera, was used in the Emerald City dancing scenes.
  
  
• In 2003, Entertainment Weekly magazine named the film #28 of the 50 top Cult Movies.
  
  
• Joel Schumacher used his connections in the fashion industry to procure the hundreds of costumes used in the Emerald City sequence.
  
  
• The scene in which the Cowardly Lion emerges from one of the statues in front of the main research branch of the New York Public Library was shot on a set instead of the actual location because it was logistically impossible to film an entire scene devoid of people, save the main actors, without traffic and pedestrians getting in the way of the production.
  
  
• Original director John Badham was fired when he objected to Diana Ross, then 33 years old, being cast as the 14-year-old Dorothy.
  
  
• The original New York production of "The Wiz" opened at the Majestic Theater on January 5, 1975 starring Stephanie Mills and ran for 1672 performances.
  
  

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