"I Am Big Bird: The Caroll Spinney Story" documentary in development

[Collgoff]

Don't forget about the deaths of Mr. Hooper and Jim Henson.

 

[D'Snowth]

What about footage from The Muppets: A Celebration of Thirty Years?

Doesn't Lionsgate presently hold the distribution rights to that one? I don't think we'll be seeing it for this project.

 

[CopperPot]

Thanks!!

I'm so pumped for this!!

Just to be sure, you're going to release all the muppet footage you have. Right?

We're going to release everything we get the rights to clear (which means we need to get approval from all necessary parties and, in some cases, pay to license). We'll do our best!

 

[FrackleFan2012]

Thanks, Copper Pot!

 

[CopperPot]

It'll be great either way, but I've been wondering the same.

Clearing music is actually quite complex and expensive. The soundtrack will be primarily original score by Josh Johnson, our longtime collaborator, but there may be a few surprises in there depending on what we can work out!

 

[CopperPot]

i wonder if they will extend the pledge for more support from us muppet fans. then i wonder if caroll will read some of the letters from his fans.

Hiya!

We actually are not allowed to extend the pledge period. Kickstarter rules make you set a goal, then stick to it--once the campaign ends on Thursday, August 16th, it's over forever!

Caroll WILL be reading all of the letters and all of the video responses on YouTube. I was speaking to Deb about this yesterday and she's really excited. They are thrilled out the outpouring of support and, surprisingly, a little taken aback. It means a lot to them.

 

[CopperPot]

What about footage from The Muppets: A Celebration of Thirty Years?

We haven't come across this yet, but I'll let you know if we do!

 

[FrackleFan2012]

Okay! Thanks for the info.

 

[minor muppetz]

Doesn't Lionsgate presently hold the distribution rights to that one? I don't think we'll be seeing it for this project.

No, The Walt Disney Company owns that special, and Lionsgate has the current video rights to stuff from The Jim Henson Company. And while Lionsgate does take down YouTube videos of material it holds video rights to, a film company would need to clear rights before using clips. Not sure if they'd need to negotiate with Lionsgate if they wanted to use footage owned by Henson that Lionsgate has video rights to, but either way, they would be paying for clearances on clips, something YouTubers usually don't do.

And I wonder, would Copper Pot need legal clearances for any behind-the-scenes home movie footage Caroll shot? I figure they'd need permisison from copyright holders for use of Sesame Street characters (but we know that Sesame Workshop has given their support, so it shouldn't be hard). Would they need permission from Warner Bros. for the behind-the-scenes footage from Follow That Bird or only if they used actual non-behind-the-scenes clips?

It is interesting that Caroll has shot so much home movie footage on the behind-the-scenes aspects of various productions over the years, considering Caroll's small salary during the early years (I imagine blank film strips would have been expensive).

 

[Phillip]

Just a reminder Muppet fans, the "I Am Big Bird" Kickstarter campaign ends Thursday at 2 pm EST. It's the last chance for you to get the Kickstarter 2-disc Blu-ray, Caroll Spinney illustrated poster, "I Am Big Bird" crew t-shirt and more. These exclusives will never be offered again. Make your pledge today! (If you've already made a pledge, you can easily increase your amount to get the latest exclusives.)

If you're sitting there thinking, "They've reached their goal, why should I pledge?" I want to remind you that the more money they get pledged, the more archival footage they can afford to release in the film, on their website and on their DVD/Blu-Ray.