Disney Enlists Segel & Stoller for new Muppets movie

[unclematt]

They are huge Muppet fans, I think that should give you a sence of confidence right there. Plus I believe they have been visiting this site

 

[dmoss]

Cool! This is major news...I don't know if I can wait clear until 2012, but I guess I'll have to try, huh?

 

[Beauregard]

Man, I have not posted for like two years or something, and came back to talk about this.

Marky! I have missed you and you little curried avatar! I see what you mean, it was everyone's first reaction as well. But take a moment, and you'll see nothing but good will come from this!

The Apataw(SP?) group have their finger on the pulse of today's youth, and todays adults, and they know how to make movies with heart and are truely honest. If they can make an honest Muppet movie it will be amazing.

And it might surprise you to hear that Segel himself was shocked and upset to find that JHC had sold the Muppets.

 

[lowercasegods]

I don't recall people freaking out when Ahmet Zappa was slated to helm the Fraggle Rock Movie (which I'm still patiently waiting for, by the way), so I can't see why Segal and Stoller are getting such backlash. They're certainly no more controversial of a choice.

Besides, looking back at the lackluster scripts and direction from Muppets in Space and Muppet Treasure Island, I know these guys couldn't do any worse.

I'm as much for keeping the Muppets in familar hands, but let's face it, Jerry Juhl is gone. Someone has to take up the writing mantel and Segal sounds like he's been a passionate fan since he was the age of Muppet Central's youngest member. To condemn him would be like condemning one of our own who happened to land a dream gig with the Muppets. Just give him a chance to create something. It's more of an effort than Disney has been putting forth.

 

[Drtooth]

Man, I have not posted for like two years or something, and came back to talk about this.

Why is it that the Disney guys are going for youngsters with no experience of this kind?

The Muppets are legend! You don't give the car keys to the Cadillac to teenagers. Maybe the cheap car, but not the big one

I could get excited about this if it was a couple of special guys but they are nothing special and the IMDB says they make crappy movies together, so who even cares?

This is NOT some kind of cheap project. It is the legends and we need some legendary guys. I hope they quit.

And yes, Puppet Up is disgusting and I told you the rotten Henson kids were no good for selling the old NYC building.

No offense, but did you even READ any of the interviews that were posted?

The facts are these... The 2 went to Henson to contract the Dracula puppet in Saving Sarah Marshall. While there, they were talking about how they wanted to make a muppet movie, and heard from the heads of the company that Disney owns the Muppet Show characters. Disgusted, they went to Disney and asked, "Why aren't you doing anything with the Muppets?"

So it isn't a case of Disney just buying a script off of the hippest people they could get. It's more of a case that they're huge fans, who are successful in Hollywood, proposing a film to Disney. Now, any other fans would just get their scripts shot down, only to be made into one of a trillion fan fics, but as they are working in Hollywood, making movies, and just so happen to be hip, Disney agreed to let them write a script.

 

[wes]

The Muppets are legend! You don't give the car keys to the Cadillac to teenagers. Maybe the cheap car, but not the big one

I could get excited about this if it was a couple of special guys but they are nothing special and the IMDB says they make crappy movies together, so who even cares?

This is NOT some kind of cheap project. It is the legends and we need some legendary guys. I hope they quit.

And yes, Puppet Up is disgusting and I told you the rotten Henson kids were no good for selling the old NYC building.

Wow, you know you have to take things for what they are now, Dude Jim is dead he's not comming back, Franks is not comming back either. I would give the cadillac to Teenagers who have proved that they handel the responsiblity.

These guys could be whats needed to reach a younger genaration, If you have seen some of the clips of Jason segal, you would notice that he has a Huge passion for puppetry and the muppets, I don't think he would crash this Cady!

Things are not going to be like thery were in the late 70's and Early 80's, the muppets have to change or they will die. that the rule of like!

 

[frogboy4]

Hey, who threw the penguin?

Why is it that the Disney guys are going for youngsters with no experience of this kind?

Jason Segel is a Muppet fan who decided to do something with a property dear to his heart because no one else was doing so (or doing it very well after some countless literature remakes). It sounds like a classic story, so why expect the worst?

I could get excited about this if it was a couple of special guys but they are nothing special and the IMDB says they make crappy movies together, so who even cares? This is NOT some kind of cheap project. It is the legends and we need some legendary guys. I hope they quit.

It doesn't sound like you've actually seen any of Segel's films so the judgments you've made are half-baked at best. Such negative knee-jerk reactions are usually associated with rising star newbies. He isn't my first pick for writer or director, but his interviews on the subject reveal he is on the same page with the Muppets as most fans.

And yes, Puppet Up is disgusting and I told you the rotten Henson kids were no good for selling the old NYC building.

Nothing convinces me that Jim Henson wouldn't have liked Puppet Up! He was notoriously upset at being pegged as merely a children's performer. He liked grown-up fare too. Puppet Up does cross the line at times, and not all of the humor is to my taste, but I admire the effort and improvisational talent of the puppeteers involved.

Why would you call the children of Jim Henson rotten? They have done much to prop up his empire since his death - and it has not been an easy task! I disagree with many decisions they have made including the sale of the townhouse, but they knew Jim better than any of us. When a loved one dies some things have to be rearranged, moved and even sold. It's a hard fact - famous or not.

That townhouse is prime real estate that was hemorrhaging money. Jim left with the company in a lot of debt and an unfinished merger. The family actually grew the business over years and (for a few years, anyway) made it financially stronger than it was in Jim's final days.

It is so simple to criticize, but much harder to create. That's why I like the work of Jim Henson. It is also why I am encouraged by the new film development from the proactive Jason Segel!

 

[Drtooth]

A Matter of Muppets and Looney Tunes:

I thought I might as well chime in, and pipe up with this last bit of New Vs Classic debate. Just so we can defuse it, so we stay on subject. I choose to compare it with another evergreen creation, as I mention in this title.

The chances of us seeing another TMM, GMC, or MTM are the same as seeing another "What's Opera Doc?" or "Duck Amuck." When someone passes who created or to some extent guided a franchise, they leave behind big shoes to fill. With Jim, Richard, and Jerry J passed on, and Frank and Jerry N not as attentive with the Muppet show characters anymore, I safely say we're in Muppet's the next generation mode.

The point is we'll never see something as great as the classics, due to the fact that multiple people are gone. but does that mean we have to throw them away? No. We have to work with what we got. Will we get movies as great as they used to be? perhaps not, but the point is to get them to be as great as they can be. Something that's been lacking in the last product to be certain. Are Steve and Eric Jim and Frank? No more or less than Billy West, Joe Alasky, Jim Cummings, and jeff bergman are Mel Blanc. But they try their best to continue on characters that keep them ever green.

I feel that Muppet territory should be something like (not really Looney Tunes, but all the same, owned by Warners) Tom and Jerry Tales. Not quite the classic theatrical cartoons, but they keep the same spirit, they're made by people who care about the project, and they don't deviate from the original concept. Something that keeps both fans and newbies happy. The opposite of something like Loonatics Unleashed, which pandered to the lowest common kiddy denominator.

So here's where the comparison continues. After Looney Tunes Back in Action flopped, Warners went head on to Loonatics, helping to further screw up classic characters everyone loves because they can't see the market for them beyond reruns and DVD sets. Disney, on the other hand, has been stealthfully careful. they don't want to get a false step like that, especially after OZ didn't do as well as they hoped (especially with fans).

We'll never get back the glory days of any project before someone passed on, but the projects have to strive to be something as good as it can be. And if we don't have any other projects, they tend to devolve into relics that get dusted off every so often for a one time use. Then it's back to the dark musty closets for them. Like Mighty mouse. After the John K/ Ralph bakshi Mighty Mouse series, the character completely disappoear, save for a cheese commercial, a bobbehead, an' a couple a' t-shirts. I personally, do NOT want the muppets to fall into this sort of disposable nostaliga. I don't want their projects to suck, either.

 

[frogboy4]

Hey, I liked Ralph Bakshi's Mighty Mouse. It far exceeds the original concept to me. But I get what you're saying. And Looney Tunes had established "older" people working on concepts for films and television that just didn't pan out. I felt those projects had a lack of focus or chose empty focal points for their story. Sure Space Jam did well, but it is disheartening to many lontime fans, like myself, to see the characters get sold out for cheap sports theatrics. Chuck Jones wasn't even included in any discussions about Jam and he offered his help.

I digress, the Muppets haven't really lost their core as much as many other beloved icons. They have simply lost their way, their place, their relevance. Segel seems to understand that the Muppets don't need to go to space, Oz or classic literature to connnect with audiences. They just need to put together a show and have us rooting for that show's success. That really is easy enough to do.

 

[uppitymuppity]

It's hard in Hollywood to keep things relevant. Just look at tv shows with a life span of so many years before pulling the plug. Then to bring them back is almost impossible. It can be done though especially in movie form. I'm just saying it's hard to do. I believe the muppets can stay relevant because of the universal characters that Jim originally drew.

The muppets have so much potential because they are not strictly nostalgic.

I should also mention that while it's rare it does happen that Hollywood will do something that tops what has already been done.

While I love the original King Kong, I thought Jackson did a superb job in bringing it back and the recent Batman films have been great beyond belief too.