"The Wiz": The Cult Flop That Gave the World Michael Jackson the Actor

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August 29th would have been Michael Jackson's 67th birthday. And on this day, it's impossible not to remember his first and only film experience — the movie "The Wiz."

The 1978 film bombed at the box office, but it gave the world Jackson the actor and brought him together with Quincy Jones — a partnership that would birth "Off the Wall," "Thriller," and "Bad."

What the film's about

"The Wiz" takes the story of "The Wizard of Oz" and transplants it to New York City. Dorothy (Diana Ross), a kindergarten teacher, finds herself in a magical land where she meets the Scarecrow ( ), the Tin Man (Nipsey Russell), and the Cowardly Lion (Ted Ross).

Together they journey to see the Wiz (Richard Pryor), hoping he can fulfill their dreams: the Scarecrow wants brains, the Tin Man needs a heart, the Lion craves courage, and Dorothy just wants to go home.

Behind the scenes

The film's scale is staggering: sets blended fantastical elements with New York's urban landscape, transforming bridges, plazas, and subway stations into magical Oz locations.
"The Wiz" movie trailer
According to "New York: Circus Enterprises Corporation" magazine from November 1978, the film became legendary composer Quincy Jones's ultimate creative challenge. He initially turned down the project due to other commitments, but original musical creator Charlie Smalls convinced him to join. The work took 16 months and became the toughest assignment of his career.

Nearly 300 musicians and 120 singers participated in the recording, including Jackson, who personally performed several compositions. Jones was determined to make "The Wiz" the pinnacle of his musical biography.

Unlike typical film scoring, where composers write to already-shot scenes, here the script pages were "blank" — they had to create the score in advance to match choreography, dialogue, and action.

Critical and audience reception

The premiere audience gave a standing ovation, and Variety (according to "Wikipedia") predicted success. But box office reality was different: with a $24 million budget, "The Wiz" earned only $13.6 million, according to Kathleen Sharp's book "Mr. and Mrs. Hollywood: Edie and Lew Wasserman and Their Entertainment Empire."
Singer Michael Jackson in worn clothes and a wig hanging on a pole
Michael Jackson as the Scarecrow in "The Wiz"
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Critics slammed Lumet for not handling the musical genre well, and Ross for being too old to play Dorothy. However, Jackson's performance was praised as "genuinely theatrical" and "memorable."

Today the film holds a 51% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with audiences calling it "too weird to ignore." Over time, "The Wiz" became a cult classic — especially among Jackson fans and Broadway enthusiasts.

Sure, "The Wiz" flopped, but it's where Michael met Quincy Jones, and that changed pop music history forever. Without this movie, we might never have gotten "Thriller." And while the film didn't make the list of great musicals, it remains an important milestone — the first and most unexpected role for the King of Pop. Earlier on zoomboola.com, we told you about "The Pagemaster": a Macaulay Culkin film that's better than "Home Alone," but everyone forgot about it.