Empire acquires rights to Jim Henson screenplay

[lowercasegods]

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.

It IS possible to make a Henson movie without permission from various parties, but at the sacrifice of a LOT of key elements to the story. I know it's a lesser example, but I think back to when they made that tv bio pic about Robin Williams in his Mork and Mindy days, and how little details had to be sacrificed, like the emblem on his uniform, to avoid copyright infringement. What we could easily end up with is a bio pic about Henson but with such memorable characters as Kurtis the Frog, Miz Porky and Fuzzy the Bear. So if this movie does get made, man, they better get all parties involved to do it right.

 

[minor muppetz]

I wonder how many actors will play Jim Henson in this. I'm sure that the movie will begin with Jim Henson's childhood (showing him watching television for the very first time). But would the same actor play Jim Henson when he works on Sam and Friends up to his death? And would this movie depict Henson as having a beard during his Sam and Friends days, as opposed to the correct non-beard look?

I wonder how old the actor who played young Jim Henson in Kermit's Swamp Years is, and if he's still an actor. Maybe he could play teenage Jim.

 

[dwayne1115]

i think the person who should play Jim is Dave Coleahea from Full house. He does a lot of voices and may have the look now i havn't seen him in about two years. ya know the guy who played Joyie on Full House that guy!

 

[travellingpat]

Ehhh i dont think that would work idk he just doesnt have the "Jim" look

 

[ploobis]

I've been thinking, When they hire an actor to play the part of Jim would they have to teach him how to puppeteer?

 

[frogboy4]

I've been thinking, When they hire an actor to play the part of Jim would they have to teach him how to puppeteer?

They'd have to. I think any good actor who'd want to play Jim would be (and want to be) trained in puppetry. I still think they should and will pick an actor over a puppeteer. Someone in their mid-30s would be my guess.

 

[Speed Tracer]

Another thought, and a more likely choice than Jeff Daniels, is Ryan Gosling.

http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/01/ryan-gosling2.jpg

 

[Buck-Beaver]

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.

It was a press release, put out via MediaWire. I believe the press release states that they had acquired the rights to the screenplay. No word on whether it was commissioned or if the writer did it on spec.

BTW, my favourite quote about the film so far is from the I Watch Stuff Blog:

...Seriously, they're hoping for Penny Marshall? It's like praying for a Ford Taurus--reasonably reliable and able to get you where you need to go, but pretty sad if that's your highest aspiration.

I actually really like Penny Marshall's movies, but that made me laugh. You can read the full post here.

 

[Luke]

It was a press release, put out via MediaWire. I believe the press release states that they had acquired the rights to the screenplay. No word on whether it was commissioned or if the writer did it on spec.

Oh right, so its like they've bought the rights to the script from Slane, not neccasarily they've obtained any rights from Henson. The way the original newsflash story is written could be seen as a bit misleading - most people would assume that means they've got the rights to do it from Henson.

Well if it is the case all they've done is bought a spec script, and the rest is just BS about what they'd "like" to try bring distributors on board i doubt even more we'd ever see this. It's a bit of a non-story really, lol.

 

[superboober]

I do agree with others who've stated Frank Oz would be the best choice for this. We'd have to see what his immediate schedule would look like, though.

As long as they do it fairly and honestly, I'd love to see it. At the moment, though, I am a little worried that they will decide to inflate his faults--probably if so the womanizing aspect--to the point where he'd become unlikeable, as too many bad bioptics tend to do in the name of "dramatic effect." They should be at least partially touched on, though--it would be wrong to deny he was a perfect human being any more than it is to deny cartoons were never racist, for instance. By all means keep we the viewers updated as more news on this progresses.