Observation about Frank

[Elchippo]

After seeing and reading many interviews with Frank Oz, I've come to the conclusion that he doesn't seem like a very friendly guy. He seems very detached from the muppets, which for some reasons I can understand-and thats not the reason why I'm saying this-he just seems very negative, pessimistic and surly in general, like he's always annoyed. I always hear stories about those that have met/corresponded with Muppet folks have always found them to be very friendly, but Frank just doesn't seem like he would be that way.

Thoughts? I know this an odd thread to start here, cuz we are usually a very saccharine bunch of folks just wondering if anyone else has made a similar/different observation.

 

[CensoredAlso]

Well it's been discussed before, it's not that Frank doesn't like the Muppets. He always says it was a good part of his life and he remembers the people he worked with fondly. But it was a long time ago and he wants to concentrate on his future projects. Artists don't want to just be remembered for something they did years ago.

Well people can have tough personalities, that doesn't mean they're not-nice people. Plus, how a person behaves in an interview is not really indicative in real life. To my hearing, it sounds like he gets frustrated with the same old questions about the Muppets, and about the current state of entertainment in general. And I can't say I disagree with him on that.

 

[Lab Rat]

I was in London yesterday walking down to see Avenue Q and literally bumped into Frank Oz he was really nice he stopped and posed for pics and spent a couple of minutes chatting to us he was in town promoting Death at a funeral

 

[CensoredAlso]

Wow, that's great, congrats! How was the show? lol

 

[Ilikemuppets]

Yeah, Iit might be just me, but I can tell that he just seems like a nice guy to me. But he is human.

 

[Lab Rat]

The show was fantastic but meeting Frank Oz just capped the trip to London nicely

 

[CensoredAlso]

Hehe I imagine!

 

[Lab Rat]

i'll post the pic when i get it uploaded

 

[MelissaY1]

I know people who have worked with Frank and said he's a great guy but he's also a perfectionist and very serious about what he does both with the Muppets and his directing/film work. Dave Goelz told a great story about working with Frank and Jim on the Muppet Show at the recent Muppet event in Huntington, Long Island in August.

I don't recall specific details but in a nutshell it was about how they were doing a script read, and they were rehearsing their lines, etc. Jim was in a very playful mood and Frank was rather serious and kind of worrisome. Jim asked him what was wrong and Frank said something to the extent of "Well, I'M the one who has to suffer the burden of comedy and try to be funny in this sketch!". LOL

I just think at this point in Frank's career he's very jaded about what the entertainment industry has become, like someone has already said here, being asked the same questions about the Muppets, etc. I'm sure he still looks back on his work with the Muppets fondly and is very proud of the stuff he's done for them and of his films. But I've read recent interviews where he feels shows like Sesame have started to not be as hip as it used to be, have made it a real "kids show" these days. I think he's just frustrated with today's writers, the direction the Muppet characters have taken, etc.

I also feel he still strongly misses Jim and his probably frustrated with the way things have gone since his passing that are beyond his control.

 

[CensoredAlso]

I also feel he still strongly misses Jim and his probably frustrated with the way things have gone since his passing that are beyond his control.

I think we can all somewhat identify, heh.