Jason Segel has proved he’s a comedic force to be reckoned with not only for his sitcom, but for a string of successful films such as the recent hit I Love You Man and 2008’s Forgetting Sarah Marshall, which he also wrote. Now the actor is turning his attention to bringing The Muppets back to the big screen in a film that he’s also writing and starring in entitled, The Greatest Muppet Movie Ever Made.
Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear and Gonzo became household names with their popular vaudeville themed television series The Muppet Show which debuted in 1976.
The Jim Henson series was shot in England and became a global sensation playing in 106 countries and dubbed in 5 different languages, it ran for five seasons and featured some of the biggest stars in show business.
A popular part of the show was the mismatched relationship between Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog, check out a brief clip from a promotional spot here:
[jwplayer config=”tv_4:3″ mediaid=”3460″] Courtesy of Disney
At the height of the shows popularity, the Muppets made the transition to cinema with The Muppet Movie, featuring memorable star cameos with a story that charted the Muppets rise to fame, from their humble beginnings to their big breaks into show business.
The film’s soundtrack earned two Oscar nominations for best score and best song – Rainbow Connection.
Listen to the song here:
[audio:http://www.fmtaccess.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/01-Rainbow-connection.mp3|titles=01-Rainbow connection]
The film’s sequels The Great Muppet Caper and The Muppets Take Manhattan continued the concept of the Muppets in a skewed reality though after the untimely passing of Jim Henson in 1990, the following films lost most of their charm becoming heavily theme driven, lacking Henson‘s trademark wit & humor not to mention the true voice of everyone’s beloved Kermit.
For Jason Segel, his fondness of the Muppet Show has been the driving reason to return the Muppets to some of their former glory. When he made Forgetting Sarah Marshall, his character had the goal of a Henson-esque musical which called for the puppets to be fabricated and Segel turned to the Henson Studios. It was this aspect of the production that segel told MTV, got the ball rolling.
I’ve always loved puppets, and the Henson Studios designed those puppets for us…While I was there, I was talking to them and asking when the next Muppets movie was coming out, and they said ‘We don’t control the Muppets anymore, Disney does.’ And that just made me think back to those early 80’s Muppet movies, and The Muppet Show.
Whilst admitting he wasn’t a fan of the later adventures, he spoke with Slashfilm of how he hopes to make a film that is a tribute to Henson’s original vision:
I’ve just grown a little disappointed with…all these weird concept movies. I just want to go take it back to the early 80′s, when it was about the Muppets trying to put on a show. That’s what I’m trying to bring back…All of our friends that I’ve brought it up to are pretty excited by the prospect of it. Everyone loves the Muppets; they’ve got a warm place in most people’s hearts. We want a lot of cameos. You look back at Charles Grodin, Charles Durning, there were just such great performances in those movies. We’ve got a great plot. I think if we can execute it right, it will be terrific.
Forgetting Sarah Marshall director Nicholas Stoller is also co-writing the new movie and spoke to Movieline about writing for the classic characters:
…the first time I wrote the character of Kermit, I got chills. I couldn’t believe I got to write for Kermit…He has kind of a sly comedic sensibility in the original movie that we’re trying to recapture for this one, so he’s obviously awesome to write for.
Amy Adams & Chris Cooper
In the film Segel plays Gary who shares an apartment with a new Muppet character called Walter. The film also stars Amy Adams as his girlfriend Mary and Chris Cooper as the bad guy Tex Richman, who’s determined to tear down the original Muppet Theater when he learns that underneath is rich supply of oil, yep!
As it happens Gary and his roommate, twenty something Walter, are both big fans of the Muppet Show and when they learn of the bad guy’s intentions they decide to get the entire troupe to re-unite and put on a successful televised production of the classic Muppet Show, then millions of viewers will be enough of a reason to ensure that the Muppet Theater stays firmly in place. Recently joining the cast is pothead Zach Galifianakis and Rashida Jones as an ABC TV Executive.
Walter the new Muppet character
As for the title The Greatest Muppet Movie Ever Made, it may be drawn from an earlier title that former Muppet Show head writer Jerry Juhl has talked about. The idea for another film by Jim Henson, Frank Oz and Jerry Juhl was called ‘The Cheapest Muppet Movie Ever Made!‘ and had Gonzo directing a film which after blowing the majority of the budget on the opening credits, became progressively cheaper as it went along.
The new film is being directed by James Bobin of HBO’s Flight Of The Concords and he’s big fan of the Muppets whose intent on getting things right, so despite lacking the talents of Frank Oz who no longer performs as Miss Piggy, we’ll have to keep our fingers crossed.
The Greatest Muppet Movie Ever Made is scheduled to hit cinemas Christmas Day, 2011.
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