Is Frank a sellout?

[Elchippo]

Before this thread goes in the wrong direction, i just want to say that I mean it to show no disrespect to anybody, its just a subject I knew next to nothing about and thought it merited some discussion. Yes, lets please keep it repsectful. We're all friends

 

[Kaiser Gonzo]

i agree with u a bit elchippo, frank has more less dropped the muppets which have made him a succesful celebrity and star and have run off to do different stuff, i think if jim could see what his right hand man was doing, he would be pretty upset. and i thought it was awful for frank not to even bother turning up to muppet fest, i've gone off the guy

 

[MuppetQuilter]

Lots of people move on in their careers. John Travolta hasn't shown up for a Welcome Back Kotter reunion special, does that mean he turned his back on the show that first made him a star? Muppetfest was one weekend and I think it is unfair to judge Frank harshly for not showing up for that. Particularly given the timing of MuppetFest. Frank still films for Sesame Street a few days a year-- he doesn't need to do that and they don't need him to do it (Eric has been doing an admirable job). My guess is he does it because he wants to. A career is not a marriage. A variation on this thread pops up from time to time. All I can say is I appreciate all the time and energy Frank has put into the Muppets.

 

[minor muppetz]

Lots of people move on in their careers. John Travolta hasn't shown up for a Welcome Back Kotter reunion special, does that mean he turned his back on the show that first made him a star?

Has there ever been any Welcome Back Kotter reunion specials? Has he ever said that he would never do a reunion special?

 

[mikebennidict]

Ever since I realized Eric Jacobson has taken over Fozzie, Piggy, etc. (and I'm ashamed to admit how long it took me to discover this) it has had me wondering:

Why? Why did Frank Oz leave the Muppets? Perhaps a more knowledgable member here might know, but let's face it: Everything Frank has career-wise is due to his work with the Muppets. All the other projects its lead to evolved out of his work with Jim and the Company. Doesn't that make it seem he's sort of a traitor for abandoning them to make horrible movies like the Stepford Wives remake? (I actually like all of his movies except that one).

He was young when he started, and it isn't all that old now, so it's not like retirement a la Jerry Nelson. Was he bitter that Marlon brando chastised him while filming "The Score" and wouldn't take direction from him because he was better at "sticking his hand up a pig's ***** and making it talk"? Did he want to remove himself from the muppets because of that?

I suppose this is sort of an ethical dilemma: is it Frank's right to abandon the Muppets after 40-odd years as their creative nucleus, owing them all the success he's achieved as a filmmaker? Doesn't he owe the company more than that? Or should he be able to do so, feeling perhaps that he had accomplished all he could and needed to pursue other things?

I know that he even persuaded George Lucas to make Yoda CG for Ep. 2 &3 because he didn't want to do the puppet, like it was some burden on him. Does he just want to abandon puppetry altogether?

This thread might stir up a hornet's nest, but I think its worth discussing.

Is their some reason why you must call him a sellout? It's his life he can do whatever he wants with it.

 

[Skeeter Muppet]

I'm not a Doctor Who fan myself, but one of my good friends is a rabid Dr. Who fan, and he said that when one of the actors who played the arch villian died (from cancer, I think), then the actor who played Dr. Who did not want to continue in the role because it was very sad. A new incarnation of Dr. Who was born with a new actor, who brought his own uniqueness to the mix.

Are you referring to the Master? If so, then the first actor Roger Delgado didn't die of cancer; he died in a car accident that occured during a film he was working on. Pertwee, who was the Doctor to Delgado's Master, left the show because he felt he'd gone as far as he could with it.

Of course, if I'm completely off-base with this feel free to let me know.

-Kim

 

[Buck-Beaver]

Something that should be remembered in this thread is that Frank Oz has never (to my knowledge) publicly commented on the scaling back of his activities with the Muppets except to say that there are scheduling difficulties.

I believe anything beyond that is purely speculation.

 

[JJandJanice]

This is like when you're a big fan of a rock band, for the sake of agruement we'll say like Motley Crue and when Tommy Lee left the band. A lot of hardcore Motley fans were calling him a sellout, I think even Vince (the lead singer) said something about him being a sellout. But Mick Mars (guitar player) said in the Motley Crue book, the Drit, that he is entitled to try and do something different. Frank Oz doesn't have to just perform Miss. Piggy all the time. Besides it's not like he totally turned his back, he still performs Cookie Monster and such every now and than, right? It's not like his bad mouthing the Muppets or anything. So Frank is in no way a sell-out.

Frank rocks.

 

[CensoredAlso]

I think Frank wanted to explore different things and keep challenging himself, and the Muppets gave him that opportunity. He could have just continued being a puppeteer where he was probably comfortable and definitely well known. But maybe after awhile he decided that was too safe. Sometimes it's better to risk trying new things.

 

[Barry Lee]

Ever since I realized Eric Jacobson has taken over Fozzie, Piggy, etc. (and I'm ashamed to admit how long it took me to discover this) it has had me wondering:

Why? Why did Frank Oz leave the Muppets? Perhaps a more knowledgable member here might know, but let's face it: Everything Frank has career-wise is due to his work with the Muppets. All the other projects its lead to evolved out of his work with Jim and the Company. Doesn't that make it seem he's sort of a traitor for abandoning them to make horrible movies like the Stepford Wives remake? (I actually like all of his movies except that one).

He was young when he started, and it isn't all that old now, so it's not like retirement a la Jerry Nelson. Was he bitter that Marlon brando chastised him while filming "The Score" and wouldn't take direction from him because he was better at "sticking his hand up a pig's ***** and making it talk"? Did he want to remove himself from the muppets because of that?

I suppose this is sort of an ethical dilemma: is it Frank's right to abandon the Muppets after 40-odd years as their creative nucleus, owing them all the success he's achieved as a filmmaker? Doesn't he owe the company more than that? Or should he be able to do so, feeling perhaps that he had accomplished all he could and needed to pursue other things?

I know that he even persuaded George Lucas to make Yoda CG for Ep. 2 &3 because he didn't want to do the puppet, like it was some burden on him. Does he just want to abandon puppetry altogether?

This thread might stir up a hornet's nest, but I think its worth discussing.

The reason was because he wanted too! He wanted to explore new mediums and get a little better known. As he says in "Of Muppets and Men"
"...it's good sometimes when you go to the supermarket and get some beans and nobody will notice you, but when you want to be noticed when getting some beans, well that's a different story..."

It was something on the lines of that but you have to respect that, Jim knew Frank had a thing for film making, heck, Frank even directed movies while Jim was still alive and Jim had no problem. Frank was following his dream like Jim was. So stop complaining and be happy that we even still have someone performing Miss Piggy, Fozzie, Animal, Grover, Cookie Monster, Bert, and Sam the Eagle! Sheesh!