Frank Oz Talking ‘The Muppets,’ ‘Sesame Street’ and Dark Crystal Prequel

[D'Snowth]

Frank pushed for his treatment of THE CHEAPEST MUPPET MOVIE EVER MADE, but as I understand it, Jason Segel pushed his screenplay harder, and that's who Disney decided to go with.

And it's not so much that Jim didn't see eye-to-eye with Disney, it's mainly that Jim had mostly done business in the past with handshakes and verbal agreements - which is what he was trying to do with Michael Eisner (and later came back to bite everyone in the butt when Eisner claimed their verbal agreement was enough for Disney to go ahead and start creating Muppet projects under their name after Jim's death, despite the deal never formally and legally being finalized on paper); Disney, on the other hand, was bringing in lawyers, negociators, and all sorts of other legal advisors with tons of paperwork and contracts and such that threw Jim into a whirlwind he wasn't necessarily prepared for. That, and there was also the issue of Eisner basically trying to steal the Sesame Muppets, which Jim excluded from the deal.

 

[Blue Frackle]

I wish I could understand what he meant by "I don't think of puppets, I think of character".

With this being the first real Dark Crystal production since its original release, I would think he'd be more okay with being involved, since it is harder to say that it's not true to the characters/franchise than it is about Muppets or Sesame Street.

He and Jim have always had this attitude that they were never really crazy about puppetry and that it kind of chose them... some of the stuff he says I don't understand either, but I trust him since he's so on the money with other things.

I'm pretty sure that if Mr Oz provided his honest comments on the set of muppets 2015 he would have been dismissed on the spot.

Speaking of which, we know we are supposed to dislike Steve lately - some people were quite vocal about it. Now it seems we are turning on Frank. I'm a bit uneasy about where it all goes. After all, Mr Henson did not quite see eye to eye with Disney execs himself, right?

Too true!

To me, Frank is one of us, and our representative; he just wants what is best for the characters.

 

[minor muppetz]

If Frank really wanted to make a change with the Muppets, he should get off his duff, march into the Disney studio and demand to do something about it.

Frank Oz said in his interview for The Muppet Mindset last year that he can't just go to Disney, tell them he's one of the original/long-running Muppet performers, and pitch an idea that he thinks is right (unless he can show evidence that it will make a big profit).

 

[Duke Remington]

Frank Oz said in his interview for The Muppet Mindset last year that he can't just go to Disney, tell them he's one of the original/long-running Muppet performers, and pitch an idea that he thinks is right (unless he can show evidence that it will make a big profit).

I wonder if Debbie McClellan ever thought of asking him herself. Frank has a high opinion of her anyway.

Debbie is the boss of The Muppets Studio and has that kind of power, after all.

 

[Duke Remington]

He and Jim have always had this attitude that they were never really crazy about puppetry and that it kind of chose them... some of the stuff he says I don't understand either, but I trust him since he's so on the money with other things.


Too true!

To me, Frank is one of us, and our representative; he just wants what is best for the characters.

If only Frank would go about it all in a more constructive and professional manner and not go about insulting everything the Muppets have done since he stepped down and the people who worked on them.

 

[dwayne1115]

If only Frank would go about it all in a more constructive and professional manner and not go about insulting everything the Muppets have done since he stepped down and the people who worked on them.

How is calling the puppeteers "his brothers" putting them down?

 

[Duke Remington]

How is calling the puppeteers "his brothers" putting them down?

I was mostly referring to the writers, directors, producers, etc. involved in those projects.

 

[dwayne1115]

I was mostly referring to the writers, directors, producers, etc. involved in those projects.

Well as far as those folks are concerned they are what we call outsiders, and basically fans of the Muppets who don't understand the purity or understand the depth of the characters. Frank has said they have good intentions, but simply do not understand the characters. He also feels that the performers should have more creative input. Which is how it was when Jim was alive.

 

[MuppetSpot]

Also I remember of the old ask Jim Lewis thread, Frank enjoyed some of the projects he did with them

 

[Grumpo]

If only Frank would go about it all in a more constructive and professional manner and not go about insulting everything the Muppets have done since he stepped down and the people who worked on them.

I was mostly referring to the writers, directors, producers, etc. involved in those projects.

Not really. Having a less-than-favorable opinion of a media production and telling people where they got it wrong does not exactly qualify as "insulting". If anyone is entitled to have his own opinion on Muppets, it's Frank Oz.

More info on Frank's involvement: https://muppet.fandom.com/wiki/Why_doesn't_Frank_Oz_perform_with_the_Muppets_anymore?