Here we go!
I first want to send a little note to Jim and everyone who has been asking questions while I have not been around as much. It's great to see this fan/writer Q&A continue to grow, and I just wanted to thank Jim, and Ryan for all that they have done. I hope that I will not have to leave like I did again, but it is good to know that people will still ask questions and they will still get answered. For that I thank everyone. Now on with some questions!
From Jim – Welcome back, Dwayne! We missed you!
1. From Unclematt: im, seeing that you are extremely generous with your time for the fans, I wanted to know what motivates you to be so? I truly appreciate it and I know the other members here do as well.
Thank you for thanking me. First of all, I’ve been doing this foolishness now for a number of years, and much of it in a dark room where no one treads. When I do venture out with words for Muppets, the reaction can be ecstatic, withering or eh-not-quite-right. So I go back into my dark room to write some more. Writing these answers is a whole new experience for me; you are all so positive and happy to hear what I have to say, even when it’s evasive (which unfortunately it sometime must be.) I can’t tell you how much that means to me.
Second of all, you are all unabashed Muppet fans, and while I by and large travel in circles where people love the Muppets, sometimes the world is filled with people who don’t feel that way. Yes, believe it or not there are folks who don’t get the sublime rep company sincere yet irreverent spirit of these characters. These kind of people always make me feel deadly sad. They think it’s time to move on to something more “hip” or “topical pop culture” or whatever happens to be the flavor of the moment. They don’t “get it”. You folks do. And that means the world to me and everyone who has anything to do with the Muppets.
Third of all, if I wasn’t doing this, I’d have to get back to work.
Thanks again for the thanks.
2. From Togehteragain: Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy Jim-Jim Jim-Jim! TogetherAgain again with a question again! I was watching The Muppet Show with theprawncracker recently--today, in fact--and I got to wondering about Bobby Benson's Baby Band. Whatever became of those babes? Did the band break up after too much bawling and brawling? Did a baby bounce? Or is Bobby Benson booked in the big house? Or did they bust that bond and move on to form Tony Tomson's Toddler Troupe?
They grew up. And from what I’ve heard, they sell real estate in suburban Arizona. This, however, may just be an urban legend…make that a suburban legend. For all I know, they’re still out there touring. Hey, they’re kids – they don’t write, they don’t call. All night I sit by the phone waiting. Nothing. Let me know if you hear anything. I’ll be watching test patterns on Channel 11.
3. From Bobthepizzaboy: t has often been said by Muppet fans that Muppets from Space was slightly problematic in that the characters seemed a bit off in personality traits and many characters were too inactive. What's your view on this? If you had wrote the film would you have changed anything?
I am always loath to publicly criticize on our productions so you won’t catch me disrespecting anyone involved in that project. In fact, I was one of more than a dozen writers who threw script pages over the transom on that. It was, I will admit, problematic. I blame process. Anytime you throw too much, too many takes at something without a clear sense of what that thing truly, madly, deeply wants to be, you come up with off-kilter results. I won’t get into specifics, but if you want to truly understand my reaction to the movie, watch it with the alternate audio track commentary (done a la MST3K) with Kermit (Rizzo), Gonzo and the director. It’s ad libbed comments, but I wrote 60 pages of ad-libs just in case.
4. From New asker Spcglider: Jim!
Did you return home safely? Did you enjoy a frolicking reunion with your loved ones under the California sun and shake off the numbing chill from a Minnesota October? I hope you had a good time in St.Paul!
I had a great time. And it will be a great show we did whenever it airs. Watch for Gonzo’s cannon; it’s a work of art!
Plus I got to go to the Vikings-Packers Monday night game (alas, I’m a Packer fan, but still a great game). And were it not for my GPS, I might still be wandering lost around the Mall of America.
5.From Dwayne: I have been seeing these comercials pop up for Disney World with the Muppets. Is it harder to write for a comercal then for a movie or show, because of time? You only have what 90 seconds for one comercal and you want it to be funny and fast, so is that a challenge.
Commercials are written by ad agencies. As a consultant, I get to give notes, thoughts, ideas, but these can be embraced or rejected by those actually making the commercial. At which point I head over to craft services (which are always amazing on commercial shoots). And usually these spots are 30 seconds. 90 is a lifetime or two in commercial time. All that said, when you have a director like the legendary Kirk Thatcher, what’s to worry?
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