Will the Road To Oz wind through Michigan?

The answer is YES!

The Road To Oz, photo by DetroitDerek Photography.

In Road to ‘Oz’ may lead Johnny Depp to Michigan, the Freep reports that the Michigan Film Incentive may be about to land a whopper!

Michigan’s biggest Hollywood movie project yet — a $105-million production at a huge new studio in Pontiac — has won approval for a $40-million tax credit that alone comprises more than 60% of all credits for 26 projects approved in the last six months of 2010.

Many signs hint that the movie is “Oz: The Great and Powerful,” a Disney prequel to the classic “Wizard of Oz” with Michigan native Sam Raimi directing and Johnny Depp negotiating for the lead role.

The Disney film would be the first major project for the Raleigh Studios in Pontiac, an $80-million reconstruction of a former General Motors plant. Once completed, the studio is set to have nine sound stages with a total of more than 175,000 square feet and about twice as much office and other space, according to the Raleigh Studios Web site.

Derek’s wife Kerry took this shot – see it bigger and more in his My Faves slideshow.