Jim Henson's Red Book

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minor muppetz

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Here's an entry that notes several things Henson did in a single weekend. I can't remember if this was the first time they included an entry with so much noted, though I wondered if there were any dates where Jim did so many things.

http://www.henson.com/jimsredbook/2012/05/19/518-191985/

Most of the historical information is on the Cinderella special, but it also talks a bit about PBS, inclluding some things I had never known about before, like an appearance in a special called Hip Hip Parade! and some appearances in PBS fundraisers (including some non-Sesame Street Muppets).
 
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Today's entry is on the baker films: http://www.henson.com/jimsredbook/2012/06/04/62-61969/

At first I was confused by what was written - "Shoot #s (4th chef falls)". It made me wonder if that meant they shot the baker scene from the 4 segment but not the others, or if maybe they shot the fourth baker ending, which would have been odd since I assumed all of the baker scenes were shot in one day. But then I realised that mean that the baker endings must have been shot on the fourth of june.

It's also interesting, all these years us fans had referred to him as a baker, and pretty much all official books and such refer to him as the baker... But Jim Henson's notes (in both the red book entry and the storyboard) refer to him as a "chef". Yeah, they're the same thing, but still an interesting observation.

Here's an entry from a few days ago regarding Big Bird in China: http://www.henson.com/jimsredbook/2012/05/29/5291983/

What I find weird is that it says Frank Oz went along on the trip to China. Why would he have been needed? None of his characters appear in the china scenes, Big Bird and Barkley didn't need right-hand performers (and if they did they'd probably have a newer/less-experienced performer do the job), I don't think Oscar or Telly moved their right hands in their scene in China. Odd. It also points out that an Ernie and Bert segment was shot. I wonder if they're referring to the opening song (which I wouldn't call an "Ernie and Bert" segment, since it's an ensemble piece) or if they shot something for the show.

And they never once mentioned Brian Meehl in that article.
 
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Here's an article about the Twiggy episode of The Muppet Show: http://www.henson.com/jimsredbook/2012/11/09/1191976/

It include some interesting rough sketches of Lubbock Lou and His Jughuggers, some of whom are labled with different names than what we know them as (Slim Wilson is labled "Jed", which according to one of the Muppet Central guides is what he was called in the scripts, Lubbock Lou is referred to as "Slim", and Bubba is referred to as "Willy").

Too bad it didn't show design sketches for the Goggalalla Jubilee Jugband, not just because it might have clued us in as to what their names are but also because that's the jugband that appears in that episode.
 
Hubert

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Very interesting, thanks for mentioning that.
 
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Well, I got the Imagination Illustrated book for Christmas. Is there a thread for that on the forum? I did a google search (which is usually more affective than the forums search engine) and couldn't find a thread. Not sure which folder a thread for the book would be in (Henson people? Muppet merchandise? Family worlds?).

It looks like most of the content is stuff that's already been covered, though there are a few things I don't remember seeing on the red book (like a sketch of an inbuilt Sesame Street character, who would have been Snuffy's brother). I'd have to check the relevant red book articles but I think most of the text might be copied from the blogs articles. So far the website hasn't had any info on Follow That Bird, and this book lacks info on that movie as well (aside from mention in a timeline section at the end I the book).

But it's still a great book. I like how most of the images are numbered and like the information provided by each number. I also like the end of the book, which discusses Jim's work from 1989-1990 (technically it ends in 1991, as Dinosaurs is acknowledged).

Of course, by now the blog has covered so much of Henson's career that repetition should be expected (still a shame there's no info on Follow That Bird... I'd like to think that he woul have at least noted the dates of when he performed Kermit and the airplane sequence).

I have a few more things to say, but I'll wait and see if I can find a thread about the book.
 
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Here's a recent post which actually explains how Jim was able to purchase the distribution rights to his work with ITV as well as why he didn't work with that company after The Dark Crystal: http://www.henson.com/jimsredbook/2013/01/17/1171982/

I had read on the site a few years ago that Jim purchased the rights to The Dark Crystal around the time that it was released, but am surprised that the rights to The Muppet Show and movies didn't transfer at the same time (he got those rights in 1984). I wondered if the fact that The Muppets Take Manhattan was released by Tri-Star instead of ITV was either because of the box office failure of DC or because Tri-Star (a bigger company) offered more money. I guess it's really neither.

Also interesting how the head of the company was happy to let Jim have the rights to the film, but also gave tough negotiations. I guess any business would be tough in negotiating away the rights to projects they don't really want.
 
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