Finally! ABC is reportedly starting up a new Muppets TV show, with the pilot filming as soon as this month. Bill Prady and Bob Kushell will write and executive produce a new show currently under the working title “Muppets 2015.” The rumored synopsis is that the series will feature the Muppets working on a late-night show, and focus on the behind-the-scenes work they do to make it happen. You might be worried to hear that Big Bang Theory co-creator Prady is working on this, but he actually has done plenty of work for several of the Muppets shows over the years and also tried in 2007 to get a Muppets TV series off the ground. This sounds like a smart, self-aware way to reboot the show, so I hope it works out! Read more…
This may have passed for an April Fools joke if this news came out a week later, but here we are: Joseph Gordon-Levitt will produce and and in a Fraggle Rock movie for New Regency. A film of the Jim Henson muppet band has been in the works for… well, a very long time, and was generally regarded as dead. However, Gordon-Levitt signing on to the project has given it a big boost and essentially brought it back. No word on what the film would entail, but it appears that Gordon-Levitt would be playing a human character as opposed to a muppet. Is a Fraggle Rock movie something people are clamoring for? Read more…
Some old photos are new again: Star Wars Archives has surfaced some old photos of the Muppets visiting the set of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. These have been in print before (and that full-color photo has been around online for a while) but most of these haven’t been uploaded to the internet before. It’s a great look at Kermit and Miss Piggy hanging around with their puppet pal Yoda… and the people behind them, like Frank Oz and Jim Henson. I love when stuff like this shows up again after being buried, letting a whole new group of fans see some classics collide! Read more…
Let me step that headline back for a moment. Some fans mustered up their best Muppet impersonations and recorded their version of Jesus Christ Superstar, the 70s musical about everyone’s favorite son of God. In Muppet Christ Superstar, Kermit is Jesus, Gonzo is Judas, Miss Piggy is Mary Magdalene, Fozzie is Simon, Pepe is Pilate, and Rowlf is King Herod. I kind of can’t believe anyone would make this, but that’s what makes the Internet a wonderful place. My only issue is that even though most people would cast Kermit as Jesus, Rowlf should have been Jesus, since he’s basically Muppet Jesus. Read more…
Here’s some cute posters by the Muppets crew to promote their upcoming film Muppets Most Wanted. I’m hoping this new Muppets film is as good as the last one with Amy Adams and Jason Segel — but I’m not sold on Ricky Gervais. The concept of an “evil Kermit” could be funny though! These posters feature Kermit, Miss Piggy, and “evil Kermit” Constantine in a variety of spy movie parodies, such as Skyfall, Face/Off, and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. It’s not long until it comes out — March 21st is when it’ll open in theaters. They also made an especially timely ad spotlighting John Travolta’s “Adele Dazeem” mispronunciation at the Academy Awards. Whoops! Read more…
Even after Disney successfully made a good Muppets movie in 2011, it’s hard for me to not still be skeptical of a sequel in the same way that I was before the previous movie. Hollywood is drowning in sequels, remakes, and reboots, and it’s rare that any are anything more than merely competent. It doesn’t help that Jason Segel was a major creative force behind The Muppets, but is not involved with the sequel at all. But you know what? Let’s think positively, because based on this trailer, Muppets Most Wanted is probably going to be allllllright. Read more…
Disney’s 2011 Muppets reboot was surprisingly great, so here comes the sequel: Muppets Most Wanted, on track for release on March 21, 2014. The new film prominently stars Ricky Gervais, Ty Burrell, and Tina Fey, alongside the usual cast, of course. In fact, lots of people are returning, including the director, producers, cinematographer, composer, and co-writer. The only major creative force not returning besides the actors is Jason Segel, who also co-wrote The Muppets. The previous film was a passion project for Segel, and you can tell from how enthusiastic he was about the whole thing. Since he declined to work on the sequel, here’s hoping that the rest of the crew can keep the spirit. But enough of that, check out the teaser! Read more…
The first trailer for Jim Hensons’ Muppets return ot the big screen— which starts out looking like a romantic comedy before revealing the inclusion of the cloth characters — was pretty cute. But it doesn’t compare in the least to the newest trailer, in which the Muppets take on superheroes in a big way…especially Green Lantern (and a little bit of Batman, if you squint).
But that’s just the above trailer. Hit the jump to see who the Muppets will challenge next…in poster form! Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Feb 1, 2010 in Comic Books
The Jim Henson Company is starting to push Fraggle Rock a great deal — the first thing I spotted a while ago was an amazing remix of the music from the series and next they were releasing the entire original series on DVD. And now it seems that they’re also planning a limited edition comic book series which will come out in April (and available for pre-orders in February).
This is a very well done video made by a Minnesota Public Radio show called In The Loop. I think the idea of taking a well known icon like Kermit and making him a spokesmodel for the green movement in Iran is culture jamming at its best!
Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 3, 2009 in Comic Books
Licensed comics never quite get the limelight that their original cousins always grab: There’s a cool factor to working on a Spiderman comic which may inspire a film, but there’s just no love for a comic book that’s based upon a toy or a pre-existing film or TV show. Yet while fandom looks down upon these books, they serve as an important “gateway drug” of sorts — attracting young and new readers into being the next generation of comic books fans. Recently I found myself guilty of this snobby fanboy mindset while looking at the work being produced by Boom! Studios — so I decided to give them a second chance and give them a serious look: And lo and behold I think they’re doing a rather decent job with their Finding Nemo and Muppets books! Read more…
Everyone knows that the two scariest things in the world are puppets and zombies. Now, imagine if these two horrifying objects were combined, ala Freddy versus Jason. Horror masterpiece, right? Wrong! However, what you do have is a novel one minute and forty-eight seconds of your life you can’t have back. You’ll still click it though, come on! It has zombies and puppets in it… Read more…
This video mash up of the Muppets and Pulp Fiction got me to thinking: What I liked so much about this film was that it wasn’t based on any existing book, it was an original story. In fact like all good films of the crime genre it has very little to do with crime — and is all about people. I’d love to see Quentin Tarantino get back to basics again, although being a fanboy I’ll gladly stand in line for anything he directs.
