Empire acquires rights to Jim Henson screenplay

[Erine81981]

Sir Chris Bonington (a british mountaineer) would be perfect to play Jim, as you see : http://www.everestspeakersbureau.com/images/cb-Chris indoors.gif

He seems to be a good lookin' Jim Henson look alike. I wouldn't mind seeing this and hope to see it in theaters other then a TV or stright to DVD but seeing how things look it i really don't mind. I would watch it no matter what.

 

[Beauregard]

This could be...WOW...or "Woah..." depending how they do it. I've always wanted to see a biopic of Jim Henson, and I know they could do it if they worked it right. His life is a history of failing and starting again.

Certainly they would have to get rights from Disney and SS and JHC...but that would be worked.

Now what I would hate to see is a sort of Betrix Potter movie, where Henson talks to his characters...that would just be wrong.

 

[Luke]

Nothing has really been heard aside the press release (if, that even was one) about exactly who is on board for this. I'd be surprised to see Disney getting involved, if the film didn't do well it could affect the Muppets image so why would they bother offering them up?

I just don't see this film happening, way too many problems. Even if they could use The Muppets, so they have some actor faking a Kermit voice during those scenes? It'd look like one of those tacky HBO biogs. And if it was an official big studio release don't they think Frank Oz is going to protect his name and image rights? He isn't even on good terms as it is.

 

[IgorPonweed]

Good idea, but who can really capture Jim?

 

[Fozzie Bear]

http://webzoom.freewebs.com/filmpix/02_Jeff_Laura_filingcbts.jpg

That picture alone convinces me that Jeff Daniels could play this part.

I throught, at first, Jeff Daniels--nah. I have changed my mind. It would be if he could get the voices down, though.

Then, the link to his guy--but can he act?

Sir Chris Bonington (a british mountaineer) would be perfect to play Jim, as you see : http://www.everestspeakersbureau.com... indoors.gif

I can't see it happening. I'd much prefer a tell-all book first (not unlike the recent Schulz book) before they do a movie. This is slightly frightening.

I'm torn on it, but if done well and they can get JHC, Diz, and SW behind it I'm game for it.

 

[minor muppetz]

Is Empire owned by Disney or any major studios? I looked up Empire on wikipedia, but couldn't find any pages. A page listing film distributors lists Empire, but it's redlinked.

I have thought for years that there should be a JIm Henson movie. After Disney bought the Muppets, I thought that Disney should be the company to distribute it (maybe under Touchstone Pictures), along with Jim Henson Pictures. If clearances from Disney for the use of Muppet characters and scene recreations can't be negotiated, then they should just give up on this production. It would be too weird to see a movie on Jim Henson's life without including the Muppets.

And for the last year I have thougth that Frank Oz should be the director. He'd know many of the stuff that I would hope the crew of this movie knows. Basically, I hope that the writers, producers, and director are very knowledgeable on Jim Henson's life, and know about the characters, productions, and people he worked with well. I hope that the people in charge know the names of Jim Henson's fellow pupeteers, know who they performed (even if most of the performers aren't mentioend by name in the movie, I don't want to see a performer performing Gonzo in one scene, and then see that same performer perform Floyd in another scene), and know what they look(ed) like.

An idea that I've always had was to use existing audio clips whenever the performers are seen working on a scene. That way, the Muppets sound the same as they did, and the actors don't have to be able to perform with the right voices (otherwise the casting might be too hard). I won't mind if the modern versions of the puppets are shown, as opposed to new versions of puppets resembling their 1970s/ 1980s looks, but I think that there should be a new 1950s Kermit puppet built for this movie. I have a feeling that the Sam and Friends characters will be rebuilt. Even though most of those puppets still exist, I doubt that The Jim Henson Company would allow for them to be used.

I wonder how hard it would be to recreate filming scenes from The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, and The StoryTeller? I'd at least be surprised if The Dark Crystal gets left out. The others could get left out, as Henson didn't perform in thsoe productions. I guess that Follow That Bird and Little Muppet Monsters won't even be mentioned, but I wonder if Muppet Babies or The Jim Henson Hour will be refferenced. Ditto with Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas. I have a feeling that recreations of scenes from The Muppet Movie wil be included, but I wonder about The Great Muppet Caper and The Muppets Take Manhatan. I also wonder if Timepiece will be refferenced.

Sesame Street just has to be represented somehow. I wonder if Jim Henson's reluctance to do the show will be overdramatic. It would be god to at least show recreated behind-the-scenes looks at the makiing of an Ernie and Bert sketch, and maybe a Kermit sketch.

I wonder if any real people will play themselves (many real celebrities portrayed themselves in Man on the Moon, Andy Kauffman's biopic). It would be great if many of the classic performers played themselves, so that we wouldn't have much of a problem with how their portrayers look. I wonder if Jimmy Dean would play himself.

For fun, when this is released, whenever a big factural error occurs we should shout "ERROR!" out loud.

 

[minor muppetz]

I saw the poll, and although I voted that itwouldn't be worth doing if Disney and Sesame Workshop don't give permission for the use of their characters, I would have voted for the first three chocies.

But if this ends up being made, maybe there will be demand for new documentaries and biographies on Jim Henson, maybe older biographies (like Jim Henson: The Works) will be rereleased (it's not like many of them are dated), and maybe odler docuemntaries like Henson's Place and The World of Jim Henson wil have new DVD releases. And maybe that Jim Henson Retrospective that was produced for The Mupet Show: Season One will finally be released as a DVD bonus feature.

 

[Buck-Beaver]

Empire appears to be a small - although very legit - independent. The press release was probably intended to drum up support and interest in the film. It's hard to believe they've pulled together $30 million independently without the rights and clearances have been figured out. I doubt many responsible film investors who understand the industry would sign off on that.

I was always surprised the Henson Company didn't consider doing something like this themselves, back when they controlled all the necessary rights, trademarks, etc. in the `90s. I am not a lawyer, but I am pretty sure the filmmakers can make it legally without permission or the involvement of the Henson family, but typically studios don't like to do that because they leave themselves vulnerable to lawsuits for defamation.

 

[Luke]

I am not a lawyer, but I am pretty sure the filmmakers can make it legally without permission or the involvement of the Henson family, but typically studios don't like to do that because they leave themselves vulnerable to lawsuits for defamation.

I agree, but what appeared to be a release stated they had aquired "rights", which i gathered to be his image rights, but the whole thing does read more like a journalists story that could have been about their intentions and misquoted - though it does give Empire as the source. Nothing yet has appeared on Empires press section which is kept updated, maybe a little checking could be done to find out exactly what the deal is.

 

[CBPuppets]

Maybe there will be new versions of the Original Sam & Friends Cast.