Monday Post Production

[WebMistressGina]

Good morning, Krusty Krew! So I've decided to change my writing schedule around. Weekends are now going to be reserved for Miss Piggy Adventure updates (and yes, more of Motocross awaits you readers!), but seeing as today is Monday, you know what that means!

A Monday fic!

Here is what should have been the third in the series that has gotten away from me LOL For now, it's sitting pretty at number 5. And without further ado -

Monday Post Production​

“How do we feel about a movie?”

The start of the Monday morning meeting was its usual morning fare; in many cases, Mondays were the perfect time to hold a meeting, at least for the seven that usually attended. The previous Sundays were show days and nights, usually the finish to what was known as the ‘Weekend of Heck’ because of the schedules that were kept.

This Monday however started with a sentence and an idea; no strangers to the big screen and with a summer hiatus off for a few months, an idea had appealed to the de facto leader and now was as good of a time as any to actually broach the subject. And that was how Kermit the Frog began their traditional meeting that Monday morning.

Seated in his customary place at the head of the rectangular table that had been oddly nicknamed, ‘The Muppet Round Table’, Kermit looked at the familiar and usual faces that he had been seeing at these open meetings for several years. Andrew Grosse, usually known as Scooter to the rest, was seated at Kermit’s left, his place as the stage manager, production assistant, and personal assistant to the frog.

Next to him was that of the show’s comic, Fozzie Bear, who spent more time trying to dodge and weave the frequent insults and one-liners thrown at him by their audience. Rounding out the left side was that of the Great Gonzo, the show’s questionable stuntman and daredevil. Across from the daredevil was that of pianist, counselor, and music historian Rowlf the Dog, who shared his talent for music and the ivory keys with the Muppet next to him.

John Gelgoode, otherwise known as Dr. Teeth, was the exuberant keyboardist and leader of the rock band The Electric Mayhem, who were regulars as part of the Muppet Show orchestra and band.
And ending the group, to Kermit’s immediate right, was that of the leading lady and girlfriend to the leader, Miss Piggy.

“How do we feel about a movie?” asked Kermit, sitting down and waiting for the others to do the same.

“Depends on what you mean,” Scooter replied. “Are you talking about seeing a movie or making a movie?”

“Oh!” the bear exclaimed, raising his hand expectantly. “Kermit! Kermit, I would love to see a movie! In fact, there’s a couple that I really want to see!”

“Are they child friendly?” quipped Piggy.

In an uncharacteristic move, Fozzie leveled a look at the diva. “I’ll have you know, Miss Piggy,” he replied, haughtily. “That I’m the kind of bear who doesn’t need to get into children’s movies. I am a man, thank you. I only go to adult movies.” Pointing to himself, he emphasized his next words, “PG-13, baby.”

“I stand corrected.”

Giving the bear a friendly pat, Gonzo chuckled, “That’s our boy!”

“I was talking about doing a movie, Fozzie,” Kermit said. He watched as a sad look befell the bear and amended with, “But the schedule is open to seeing a movie later.” Looking to everyone else, he continued with, “So we have the summer off and I had this idea that…we should do a movie.”

“Well, all right!” Dr. Teeth exclaimed, nodding his head. “This is most excellent and ecstatic news. We must expedite this to the others.”

“I think we should hear what the story will be first,” Piggy replied. Turning blue eyes on the frog, she asked, “Mon Capitan?”

“I don’t have a story yet,” the frog continued. “But I have some ideas that have been knocking around for a while. I just wanted to see how we all felt about it.”

“Well, Boss,” Scooter said. “We’re definitely cleared for another movie should we do one. And, depending on how we do it, we should have the budget for it.”

“Excellent,” Kermit nodded. “Well, now that that’s out of the way, what else is there?”

The meeting was fairly short, given that they wouldn’t be doing another show for a few months, however it didn’t mean that they couldn’t at least discuss plans for upcoming shows such as whom they should and could get for guests stars and any ideas that were floating in their heads of the others.

With admin stuff and creative endeavors discussed and hashed, Kermit adjourned the group to go and do whatever it was that they did when their meetings were over. Dr. Teeth and Rowlf were already in a lively discussion about several genres of music, while Gonzo and Fozzie were thinking up movies they could later in the afternoon.

Normally, Piggy would leave with Kermit, but the frog dismissed her from waiting when he saw Scooter hanging back, a sure sign that he needed to talk to the frog about something. The diva rolled her eyes good-naturedly, knowing that any discussion the two had would never take just five or ten minutes and quickly inserted herself into the conversation that Gonzo and Fozzie were having outside the door.

“What’s up?”

“Well,” the page began, a bit shyly. “I was wondering about that movie idea you proposed.”

“I told you,” Kermit chuckled. “I don’t have an idea yet.”

“Well…” the red head continued. “ Would you be opposed to taking a suggestion?”

“Of course not,” Kermit stressed, patting the younger Muppet on the arm. “Scooter, you know I always take suggestions and I’m certainly never opposed to any that you might give me. Why? Do you have an idea for a movie?”

“Kinda,” the page whispered. “See, I took this screen writers class when I was going for my bachelors, just to see, and I figured it be a good learning experience, right? Well, I came up with this idea for my final project and…my professor thought it was good, but well, I mean…you know…”

In many occasions, Kermit never really saw what was happening under his nose and in some of those occasions, he actually didn’t want to know what was happening. In others, be the years that he had known someone or just personality alone, the frog seemed to be keenly tied in to what a person wanted to say.

And he had known Scooter long enough to know when the younger Muppet needed his advice on something.

“Scooter, do you want me to read it?”

“Would you?” the red head asked. He hadn’t looked at his little screenplay for years, but in the recent weeks, it had come to him to look at it again, maybe change some things, make things a little better. He hadn’t been lying – his professor had indeed liked the premise of it, liked how it had laid out, and definitely liked some of the twists and turns that it had.

But a professor, who no doubt knew the industry, was different from someone who had actually seen an idea turn into a screenplay before turning it into a movie and that’s what Kermit had done, on numerous occasions and with the exception to some, most of Kermit’s ideas were spot on.

“I mean,” he continued. “I know you’re busy and you probably have a lot going on and it is pretty long, now that I think about it…”

“Scooter,” the frog said, placing a friendly hand on the boy’s arm. “I’d be happy to read it. Just bring it by when you have the chance.”

The red head actually chuckled, nervously, before reaching into his laptop bag. “I’ve…actually been meaning to ask for like…three weeks now,” he said. “I kept it in my bag in the case that, you know, I ever got around to asking.”

Handing Kermit a bounded manuscript, Scooter let out a sigh of relief. He really did want his boss and friend to read what he had written, but had been putting it off for weeks for the simple fact that he had been afraid Kermit wouldn’t want to read it or worse, wouldn’t like it. So much of his psyche was built around gaining Kermit’s and the others’ approval in some of his endeavors that he could get extremely nervous and terrified at their very reaction.

To say that having Kermit turn down his request was disappointing was an understatement; the frog could easily devastate the young Muppet should he not respond favorably to something Scooter thought highly important.

Smiling, Kermit gave his assistant one last pat on the arm. “I’m gonna read it today,” he said, stunning the younger.

“C’mon, Kermit, you don’t have to do that.”

The frog shrugged. “Why not?” he asked. “I don’t have anything planned and it’s a nice day for reading, don’t you think?”

 

[The Count]

Yes Kermit, it certainly is a nice day for reading. Especially when there's a brand new fic started up. And that fic's by one of your new fave MC friends/authors. Someone, who you've looked forward to reading from, but haven't, because they haven't posted since whenever it was 5 Ball ended. Because that stupid thing called "a life" keeps getting in the way.
Now as to this fic in particular... Everybody, say it with me... "Hey, a movie!"
There, I feel better. Let's take a call. Hello and welcome to Coiffee, oh wait, that's a different show.
*Rambles off onto the Muppet Show.
Everybody whistle!

What was I saying? Sorry, I seem to be out of control.
*Makes scissors hand gesture, points straight forward, then sticks thumb back out.
Okay, I'll just leave now before those nice young men in their white lab coats come to take me away to the funny farm where life is beautiful every day...
*Throws as we can't find the "Off" button.
Babs: I just keep going and going and going...
*Energizer bunny falls off of the newsdesk into a vat of chloric acid.
You cwazy wabbit.
*Leaves cookies, cause I've certainly had enough sugar today.

 

[WebMistressGina]

Yes Kermit, it certainly is a nice day for reading. Especially when there's a brand new fic started up. And that fic's by one of your new fave MC friends/authors. Someone, who you've looked forward to reading from, but haven't, because they haven't posted since whenever it was 5 Ball ended. Because that stupid thing called "a life" keeps getting in the way.

Aw! Thanks buddy!

And yes, that thing called 'real life' certainly has a way of derailing what I want to do. The fact that I've been here for eight months and haven't been carted off is a testament that I either really like you, I have a trunk of ideas, or nothing has gotten too crazy (knock wood!)

Now as to this fic in particular... Everybody, say it with me... "Hey, a movie!"
There, I feel better. Let's take a call. Hello and welcome to Coiffee, oh wait, that's a different show.
*Rambles off onto the Muppet Show.
Everybody whistle!

What was I saying? Sorry, I seem to be out of control.

That would be my assessment as well.

Sugar much?

I like sugary things.

I know you do.

*Makes scissors hand gesture, points straight forward, then sticks thumb back out.
Okay, I'll just leave now before those nice young men in their white lab coats come to take me away to the funny farm where life is beautiful every day...

As a side note, I used to do a really good Linda Richman. Really good. And then I get sick and my Linda Richman turns into Harvey Firestein. Though, that is also equally good. Either I haven't done them in a while or the sickness took a hold, but I haven't been able to do them as good.

Even my Cartman and Scooby have suffered. I blame puberty (which also managed to turn me from a soprano to an alto/tenor)

I'm also glad to see that I'm not the only one who remembers a young Dave Coulier on Out of Control. Probably one of the reasons I became a Full House fan.

*Throws as we can't find the "Off" button.
Babs: I just keep going and going and going...
*Energizer bunny falls off of the newsdesk into a vat of chloric acid.
You cwazy wabbit.
*Leaves cookies, cause I've certainly had enough sugar today.

Yeah...I think you need to have some water or tea or a nap or something. Cause it sounds like you're gonna take a hard sugar crash later.

 

[WebMistressGina]

And...cause you guys have been so good, here's chapter one. I'm really going to make a point of finishing chapters before posting, but don't quote me on it. Also, Newsie's rules of Muppet fandom thread led itself to the standard in all mystery films.

Enjoy!


I.

One Week Later


For two days, Kermit the Frog devoted himself to reading the screenplay that his young associate had written. While Scooter may have thought it just an exercise for the college class that he had taken, Kermit looked at with the experienced eye of someone who had written a couple of screenplays himself.

And he had to admit, Scooter had talent.

It had never been a secret that their young add on from JP Grosse had special talents that maybe even his own uncle wasn’t aware of; the younger Muppet's indoctrination with the group seemed to open up possibilities that he hadn’t been aware that he had or that he had even wanted to pursue. Technically minded, Scooter had been able to shyly and nervously answer some of the questions they had in trying to come up with ways on broadcasting a show from a theater.

A little on the arrogant side, Scooter had definitely used his name and that of his uncle’s to do what any teenager could think of; thankfully, that side of the assistant had been minor and possibly a sign or yearning for acceptance, which was where Piggy had come in. But as the young Muppet grew into his own, he also grew into the skills he possessed and had been interested in.

Certainly with as many comic books and sci-fi programs that the kid watched, he would have some sort of creative streak – and one always seemed to find theirs when around their little group – but Kermit had to admit that writing had never once entered his mind that his assistant would not only be interested in, but quite good at.

Expecting a science fiction type ideal, the frog was surprised – pleasantly at that – at the actual plot line. A homage to the classic black and white detective film noir movies of the day, Scooter had written a very good whodunit of intrigue, suspense, and romance. Obviously keeping his friends in mind, the page had of course assigned them parts in the screenplay, with a listing of Muppets, actors, and actresses that he had in mind.

As promised, as soon as he and Piggy had arrived home, Kermit had taken a seat on the couch and started to read. And he read.

And read.

And read.

By the time the prospect of bed had called to him, the frog had a hard time trying to put the story down. And when Piggy had awoken the next morning, she found him at the little rotunda booth in their kitchen, drinking coffee and with script in hand. By afternoon, she had found him back on the couch, still immersed in whatever he was reading.

And while Kermit had been very involved, he had the keen sense that Piggy had circled him at least fifteen times that afternoon alone.

“Darlin’,” he murmured, eyes glued to the page he was reading. “You’re making me feel like a piece of meat. You’ve been hovering around me like a buzzard all afternoon.”

“If I wasn’t so concerned,” the diva remarked, having given up at catching his attention and taking a seat across from him in the armchair. “I’d take offense.”

“Sorry,” he smirked. “I had meant to say beautiful buzzard.”

“Hardy har.” Standing, she walked over to lean over his shoulder. “And what, pray tell, has you so spellbound that you’re attention has been off Moi for two days?”

“Miss Piggy, I could be buried in quicksand and I would still have the presence of mind to have my attention on you.”

“Cheeky,” she quipped. “Seriously, what are you reading?”

“Screenplay.”

“I wasn’t aware you took submissions.”

“Favor to a friend.”

“Any good?”

“Quite good,” he replied, turning to look at her. “You should probably take a look at it actually.”

“Why?”

“Starring role,” he said.

“I’m in it?” she asked, surprised.

“Told you,” he said. “Favor to a friend. I was going to finish this and, if you were a good girl, I’d let you read it, but now, I’m thinking you should just read it. It really is good.”

“You aren’t going to finish it?”

Closing the book and handing it to her, he smiled. “Method to my madness, darlin’,” he said, jumping up from his seat. “You sit there and read it. I guarantee you, you won’t want to put it down.”

Piggy looked at the cover, noting that there was no title and the author hadn’t even put his name on it. “What kind of author doesn’t put his name on his screenplay?” she asked, suspiciously.

“Don’t worry,” Kermit said. “I know him and he’s a good guy. Just so happens, he wasn’t even planning on doing anything with it, but I uh…convinced him that he should let someone read it and…”

“You offered your experienced services.”

Kermit nodded. “Exactly,” he said. “And now, he’s going to get yours. So, you just sit there and I’ll go make lunch.”

It took Piggy slightly longer than Kermit to get through the whole thing, so by the time they sat down for breakfast out on their back patio Thursday morning, she only had the last chapter to finish. “Well,” she sighed, giving him a coy look over her coffee mug. “You were right. It is good.”

“I’m sorry?” he asked. “Could you repeat that?”

“I said the screenplay was good.”

“No, the part before that,” he said. “The part where you said I was right. I wasn’t sure if I was losing my hearing or I entered another plane of reality.”

“Oh, if only your humor were as good as your looks.”

“Be nice to me.”

Piggy smirked, before opening the very script to the last chapter. “Was there a reason you decided to do this friend of yours the favor of reading his screenplay?” she asked.

“Well,” he began. “You remember that movie idea I had earlier?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, I think I might have found the answer to my question.”

“This?” she asked, turning to look at him. “You want to use this screenplay for your movie idea?”

Shrugging, Kermit said, “Sure, why not? I think it’s good and you yourself said it was good and, well, it’s rather refreshing, don’t you think?”

“Well,” she started, leaning back in her chair. “You do have something there. In a purely entertainment trend, what’s old is new again. Retro is definitely back in and who doesn’t love a good mystery story? Your friend certainly knew who to cast in the right positions, it’s intriguing, suspenseful in places, and yet still manages to retain every bit of zaniness and madness that we’re known for.”

“I noticed that,” he said, smirking.

“I’m actually rather surprised at you, Frog,” Piggy said.

“How’s that?”

“It’s rare that you direct something that you haven’t written.”

“Oh, I’m not directing.”

“Pardon?”

“I don’t plan on directing this,” he repeated. “I’ll produce it, of course, and I’ll even approach my young friend in discussing if we can turn this into our next project, but I have no plans on taking on extra duties this time around. Not sure if you’ve noticed, but he’s cast me as the lead character in all this; do you have any idea how exhausting it is to try and direct, write, produce, and act at the same time? Tiring.”

“Poor baby.”

“Poor baby is right,” he said, ignoring the tone that accompanied that statement. “This time, I’m gonna let someone else drive this bus.”

“So who’re you going to get to direct?”

Again, the frog shrugged. “I don’t know,” he said. “It’s a pretty big project and obviously, it would help if we got someone whom we know and knows us. We don’t have enough money to keep sending apology baskets to people.”

Looking at her, he asked, “How do you feel about directing?”

Piggy immediately spit the small amount of coffee that had passed her lips back into the mug, turning a stunned gaze at her breakfast companion. “Me!?”

“Oh don’t give me that,” Kermit huffed. “We’ve had this conversation before and I know you’ve been interested in the past.”

The diva narrowed her eyes. “What’s the catch?”

“No catch.”

“No really,” she insisted. “What’s the catch?”

Rolling his eyes, Kermit replied, “There is no catch. I’m seriously asking you if you want to direct this. If you don’t, then you don’t have to. If you do, great. Simple as that.”

Piggy continued to look at Kermit. He had most certainly pegged her desire to move beyond that of a stage and screen actress; it wasn’t that directing was a burning desire for her, but it was something that she found to be intriguing, even when she – and others – could easily manage to drive Kermit crazy when he sat in that same chair. If the frog had hair, he would’ve ripped it out in dealing with the group.

However, under it all, Piggy knew that Kermit liked having creative control and even when he didn’t have full control, he still liked sticking his little green nose into everything. Was he really offering this to her with the hope that she would fail and come running to him for help? Was it possible that this whole thing was just a test to see what she would do?

“You’re really trusting me to do this?”

That was really the million question, wasn’t it? Kermit was aware of the same things she was, that he really did like having creative control over their productions. The only time that he wasn’t fully there was when they had worked on their take of a Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens; it had been the first movie they had done since Jim’s death and Kermit had pretty much taken a hands off approach on it. Their movies after that had been the same, with the frog just going through the motions until that very last one, the one where he had wasted three weeks on a production that had been scrapped.

He hadn’t been lying to her; trying to do four things at once was incredibly hard and incredibly stressful, especially considering that they could get a little…exuberant when it came to certain things. But he knew what she was asking and none it was directly tied to his asking her to direct.

Their relationship was still coming around to a more mature level, a more grown up level where they weren’t pulling childish pranks on each other, pulling each other’s hair, pushing each other’s buttons in order to get a rise out of the other. Doing this would be the ultimate testament of just how much he could let his control go, especially with her.

Standing, he leaned over to reply to her. “Despite whatever might happen between us,” he whispered. “I will always trust you. That will never change, no matter what the situation.” He left her with a kiss on her head.

Turning slightly to watch him go, she asked, “Does that mean I can meet with this mysterious writer friend of yours?”

“Only if you direct,” he called, entering through the patio doors and heading off.


[hr]


When the following Monday arrived, Scooter was a little nervous. He had gotten a call from Kermit stating that not only had he read his screenplay, but that he liked it and wanted to use it for their next production, providing that Scooter stated it was okay. The assistant was so floored and appreciative, that he wasn’t sure what to say, never expecting that his boss would like it so much as to consider it as a viable movie.


Scooter of course gave his permission, which the frog then added that he would only green light this project if Scooter was active in the process of bringing his script to life. In that end, he had scheduled the assistant to meet with movie’s director. The red head of course had figured, just as Piggy had, that Kermit was planning on directing this, only to be stunned in the fact that he wasn’t. Kermit would have his name listed as producer and leading frog and that was it; he obviously had turned to his assistant as the film’s screenwriter and now had gotten a director.

The same director that Scooter was going to meet with that morning.

So shocked at this new turn of events, the red head had sat down and had stayed sitting for a good fifteen minutes in stunned silence. He had never imagined that Kermit would think so highly of his idea that he would want to actually produce it; personally, he had thought he’d gotten a little too fanatical in his representation of the characters.

Scooter had of course used inspiration from his own life, incorporating his ideal for a Muppet movie into his screenplay. That was the testament of just how close and how much he had learned in his time as the go-fer, turned assistant, turned manager – the group was very much an entertainment and media hub of diversity. The young Muppet chalked his enjoyment of jazz, classic rock, musical theater, and classic movies based on his associations.

Because the Muppets catered to a wide variety of people and audience members, it wasn’t at all unusual to find a show chalked with classic throwbacks to modern songs. The inspired barbershop quartet singing one of the songs that helped to usher in the grunge movement being one of them, Scooter was always surprised at how they could take something so innocuous and turn it into a classic once more.

Scooter hadn’t heard of the old timey black and white movies that Kermit loved and even Piggy only knew of a few based on the actress of choice, but that knowledge had somehow seeped into his screenplay and he had gone all in for it. The whole idea was really meant to be a fun exercise in wondering how they would handle one of those film noir mysteries, where the detective solves the mystery, fight some bad guys, and gets the girl.

And the red head couldn’t think of a better pair than the power couple to provide that scenario. And when thinking about it, Kermit and Piggy were perfectly suited to being a Bogey and Bacall, weren’t they? Same wisecracks, same argumentative positions, and the same sexual tension that made every movie in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s classics, even in today’s new medium form; it was though the roles were made for the frog and pig.
As Scooter watched more and wrote more, the same archetypes hit him immediately, making his placements of characters that much easier. Trusted sidekick? Fozzie, easily and hands down.

Eccentric millionaire villain? Gonzo, though less on the evil and more on eccentric given his personality.

Knowledgeable musical informant? Rowlf to a tee.

Henchmen? If Gonzo was the villain, the henchmen were easy to figure out.

Before long, the former assistant had written page after page of a sprawling mystery, with intrigue, romance, murder, and a twist ending.

The young page took a deep breath. The shock had worn off slightly and the giddiness was just entering his body when he finally stood up and headed for his closet. While his screenplay may have impressed Kermit, Scooter couldn’t assume that it would impress this mystery director. And if Scooter was serious about this, he needed to be serious in meeting this person.

He had gone to enough business meetings with the frog and the pig to know how to negotiate, something he was just now getting a handle on as the sole heir to the Grosse industry of businesses, and he was going to negotiate the heck out of this deal, namely making sure that what he saw in his head and what he had put on paper would make it into their movie.

 

[The Count]

Hee... Me likes this update muchly. It shows what each part of the party's going through as the ball gets rolling in getting Scooter's script to the silver screen.

Don't make me bust out the Hurry-Up machine!
Sickness? Oh, you must have gotten some schpilcus in your ganegtagazoink. Sometimes I get that too, it's a bad acid that bubbles up. And other times it's an awful hot mustardy phlegm. In fact, I'm getting it right now. I'll give you a topic. The BCS is neither a single bowl championship nor a series, discuss. There, I feel better. Anyway, call, we'll talk, no big whoop, the number is 555-4444.
So other than that, how did you like the theater Mrs. Lincoln?
As for this chapter, it was like buttah. Liiike buttah. More please?

 

[Misskermie]

LOVE IIIITTTT!!!

Although, I still can't get Fozzie's line out my head.
"PG-13 Baby."
Cute!
More please!

 

[The Count]

*Drums fingers on desk, waiting for an update now that it's Tuesday. If you could please update this fic that is.

Also... For Samhain—a pumpkin-headed master underlord ghost type monster—should he have pale yellow or black fingernail claws? Just asking.

 

[WebMistressGina]

*Drums fingers on desk, waiting for an update now that it's Tuesday. If you could please update this fic that is.

Well...see, I was all set to not only work on, but post the next chapter to this, but then I got laid off from my job yesterday.

Ironically, I actually decided that I would work on it now if just to give myself a bit of a break and then...for some weird reason, I couldn't sign in to Google Drive. Everything is okay now.

Also... For Samhain—a pumpkin-headed master underlord ghost type monster—should he have pale yellow or black fingernail claws? Just asking.

I say black as black goes with everything and it's slimming.

 

[The Count]

You got sacked? *Accidentally has Gina captured inside a sack.
Sorry, literal translation powers.

*Leaves some of the pumpkin brownies taken from Aunt Ru's party last night.

 

[WebMistressGina]

You got sacked? *Accidentally has Gina captured inside a sack.
Sorry, literal translation powers.

*Leaves some of the pumpkin brownies taken from Aunt Ru's party last night.

Yeah. Obviously a bit annoyed as I seriously hate looking for a job and I only have about a month to get enough money to not only find an apartment, but be able to move in too. This really couldn't have come at a worse time. Ugh.

Anyway, on a good note, it means I now seem to have plenty of time to keep things update. And without further ado, here's your Monday update on a very low Tuesday.

PS. Wanted to state that from here on out, parts of the new movie will be in italics and will go back and forth.



II.


“Los Angeles, the city of angels; some might even go so far as saying it’s California’s ‘sin city’. There are some definite angels in the city, but it’s also tapered with that of devils too; home of the celebrity elite and the mean streets of success. This is where I live, this is where I play, and most importantly, this is where I work.

“Don’t let anyone tell you that it’s easy being a private eye; they would just as soon as shoot you than admit you have a purpose in this crazy town. But I’ll tell you, sometimes being a PI is the best thing that you’ll find in a fast and loose city like this. Oh, I may not have much or even know much, but what I know has saved me a thousand times and I’ve even managed to save a couple of people along with me.

“You never know where your smarts and reputation will take you; I certainly didn’t know where my life was headed when she walked through that door. Cases came and went where I was concerned, until that day I met the one dame who managed to show me the world in a whole new way. That case never left me, nor will the experience that came with it.

“The name’s Hollywood; Kermit Hollywood and I work the cold, hard streets of LA. I still remember that day, like it had just happened hours ago despite it being years ago. Of all the P.I. offices, in all the city, that day she just had to walk into mine…”

On a usual Monday morning, Piggy would’ve found herself down at Muppet Studios and sitting around a table with six others, discussing what they would do for an upcoming show. Ironically, today was a Monday morning and the diva still found herself sitting at a table on the verge of having a meeting. Last week, Kermit had made an announcement that he wanted to do another movie, but this time he was leaving just about everything up the others.

It wasn’t the first time that Kermit had decided to leave some of the additional work to other people, but it was so rare that he did, it was a bit of a surprise that not only was he going with a script that he hadn’t written, but he wasn’t planning on directing it either.

She was.

Piggy would be lying if she still wasn’t in shock over the fact that Kermit had asked, chosen her, to direct this latest picture. So used to the frog holding the reigns of all their productions, having him turn to her to be the directing force was not only unexpected, but a little endearing. Of course, she was saying that now, before they had even begun to get anything started, but the very fact that he would actually turn over the ropes to her, that he trusted her that much, hit a spot in her heart she hadn’t realized he could hit after all these years.

Separately, they had spent two days each reading over this mystery script that was both well written and seemed catered to the Muppets themselves. Obviously, the writer was very much a fan of their work, demonstrated by the nuances of characters that basically fit the personalities of the people portraying them. Piggy had been cast as the leading lady, naturally, opposite that of Kermit who was the leading man. The writer, whoever he was, must have had some intimate knowledge because it seemed like both parts were written for the couple.

So on this Monday, Piggy once again found herself seated at a table, this time the patio set that stood outside the glass kitchen doors of her home, and she was preparing to meet with the mysterious writer who apparently knew so much. Truthfully, the diva wasn’t sure if she should be flattered or extremely worried; while the Muppets were very outgoing people and things, there were some things that they didn’t exactly want the public to know.

Certainly the group’s breakup wasn’t exactly common knowledge, despite having their last movie tell a rather abridged version of it. And their fans certainly didn’t know the pains it had taken to literally get everyone back together and in sync the way they used to be; that was especially true of her relationship with Kermit. They may have been living together, but for a good year that living arrangement was very much like living with a roommate. Neither one of them wanted to barge head on back into the relationship they themselves had doomed from the start, instead they were both acutely aware that they needed to mend everything between them.

And that meant starting from the ground up.

Whoever this writer was, they seemed to be aware of it or may have seen something between them that had translated to the written page and turning it into reality would be as easy as breaking an egg.

The caveat to getting this meeting was that Piggy take over the task of being director, along with being the leading lady. There had been trepidation and uncertainty in taking over directing duties and it was further proof that she trusted Kermit more than she ever did; they had talked, at length, about the implications of her taking over the reins and mostly how the others would react to her being director and not Kermit.

“They all trust you,” he said. “And if anyone has a problem with it, they can come talk to me, but they’ll either like it or they won’t be a part of it.”

She was touched that he seemed to have so much faith in her that she had agreed.

And that had led to this.

Sitting out on the patio, Piggy heard the glass door open and expecting the frog to step out to join her, she was quite surprised to see the frog’s assistant instead.

“Good morning, Andrew,” she replied, taking a sip of her coffee. “What’re you doing here?”

“I’m here for a meeting,” Scooter said, unloading his laptop bag from his shoulder. “What’re you doing here?”

“Well firstly,” she responded. “It’s my house. Secondly, I also have a meeting this morning.”

Piggy couldn’t help hide the confusion that she and Scooter apparently shared. Though finding it a bit odd that Scooter of all people would be here for her meeting, she did realize that perhaps Kermit had thought ahead and invited the page as a minutes taker or even co-negotiator on her behalf. Again, the frog’s unexpected thoughtful had her reeling in emotion.

“Oh good, you’re both here.”

Speaking of the frog, Kermit took that moment to make his grand entrance. He had told both he wanted to have a meeting between the writer and director of their movie, however he had conveniently forgotten to mention who exactly those people would be and that he wasn’t planning on being there. In fact, because the upcoming movie that Gonzo had wanted to see wouldn’t come out until last Friday, he, Kermit, and Fozzie had pushed off their going to the movies until that morning after breakfast.

He had to admit he felt a little sneaky the way he was going about this, but that quickly gave way to the fact that he thought this a very good idea. He couldn’t lie; separately, allowing Scooter and Piggy to work on this may led to disaster. It wasn’t that he didn’t think the two of them couldn’t handle everything that went along with working on a movie production – certainly they had done this many times before – however, the roles in which they would fulfill could be difficult.

Kermit knew from example that trying to star, write, direct, and produce a movie was a task not suited to the weak hearted. He had gotten snippier at everyone, for everything imaginable; in hindsight, he knew that was a top reason for what happened between him and Piggy at the very end and he certainly knew it probably didn’t help with the rest of their friends.

But when he had this idea for another movie, it was because everyone seemed to be in a good place. The redesigned Muppet Show was not only popular, but successful; this movie that he was going to with Fozzie and Gonzo was just another event in which he could reconnect with his best friends; and Piggy – oh, he and Piggy had to virtually start again from the ground up, but it was worth it. This time, they truly had started out as friends and it had progressed from there.

Kermit wasn’t dumb or naive; he knew he enjoyed having creative control and this ultimate idea of taking some steps back from what he would normally do was a testament of just how much he did trust everyone. And he was going to prove that, starting with the very backbone of a movie. His plans had always included having Piggy direct, if not to see how she would approach it and how she would work it.

Scooter coming to him with a very good and very decent script had been an extra layer on a cake. He wasn’t going to stop with that either; he already had plans for nearly all the major players within the Muppets and he thought of a particular role Walter, the new addition to their group, could play in all of this.

This morning, the frog had woken up in such a good mood, only enhanced with the knowledge that a beautiful and sexy pig slept next to him. He was looking forward to the day and what it held in store for him. That was still his feeling when he made his way into the kitchen and saw that his main players were already assembled out on the patio.

“Oh good,” he said, coming out to greet them. “You’re both here.”

“Hey Kermit,” Scooter asked, a bit confused. “What’s going on?”

“Spill it, Frog,” groused Piggy. “You set up a meeting and no one’s here.”

“On the contrary, sweet pea,” Kermit replied, smiling at both his girlfriend and associate. “All the necessary players are accounted for. Scooter, meet the director for your script; Piggy, meet your mystery script writer. Now if you’ll both excuse me, I have a hungry bear and a Gonzo waiting for me. Good day!”

And with that, Kermit the frog left the two shocked and slack jawed outside.