"The Happytime Murders" premieres August 24, 2018

[MrBloogarFoobly]

If anyone other than Henson is behind it, I'd say that is a major possibility.

 

[Drtooth]

This is absurd. This film could easily be done with a minimal budget. Christ, Kevin Smith was able to do "Red State" for 4 million dollars. That's nothing in movie terms. This could be done for less than that.

Are the Hensons really this incompetent?

It isn't so much the incompetence of screwing up a budget, it's the incompetence of having way too many projects in consideration when only about 1 out of 100 of them even get to the made category... even then, made doesn't mean they'll be around that long. Seems like everything they've been doing outside of Dinosaur Train and Sid the Science Kid just tends to fizzle out quite quickly.

It's FOCUS that needs to be had at Henson. Happytime Murders shouldn't be too expensive to make (especially if they reuse puppets) and it could have a nice cult audience that runs at college theaters... think Bubba Hotep or even the bigger budget destined for indieness Scott Pilgrim. Something that would climb from a small theatrical obscurity to a more modest stance of in the DVD collection of someone that has every Troma movie ever made.

 

[DannyRWW]

hmmm I remember reading a quote about Jim Henson and how he was a dreamer but had the drive to make his dreams happen..just having ideas doesn't make you Jim Henson I guess even if you're family

 

[Drtooth]

One of Henson's major problems, and I've said this millions of times by now, is that they need someone to partner up with for even the smaller projects. They haven't had a good partner since they parted ways with Columbia after Buddy and MFS... actually, even later than that since they distributed all the movies and the TV show up until the Disney buyout. Hit was terrible, Weinstine was terrible... no one else wants to step up because they didn't make Avatar.

A smaller indie firm COULD make Happy Time Murders happen. That would be a nice springboard for someone to partner up for Fraggle Rock (Regency isn't going to be enough) or, dare I say Dark Crystal 2.

 

[panmanthe2nd]

I really like the sound of The Happytime Murders. It could be really fun!

Drtooth is right. Henson needs to focus on one or two projects at a time, and find a smaller partner to help them.

 

[Beauregard]

Why they can't make this film in a similar way to the beginning of The Muppets, I have no idea...I loved the idea of a sitcom where a human and a "Muppet" were sharing a house.

 

[The Count]

Hey guys, there seems to be some news about Happy Times Murders. Thanks to the folks at TP, they're reporting that riding the high off of starring in the first Stephanie Plum novel turned into film, One for the Money, Katherine Heigl is in negotiations to become the movie's human lead.

What I love about the article over there is what they say at the end—including their "click to" blurb—about which production all the reviews will be comparing the finished project (if we ever get it).

 

[Drtooth]

I'd call it a step forward, but with every project of their's it's one step forward a thousand steps back... and then standing still for eternity.

It does seem like having a new cast member might just be the first in a line of news. But like I said, this is the project Henson SHOULD be focusing on instead of the bigger ticket (and budget) POTDC and FR. If nothing else, it could get a lot of midnight movie screenings in college towns for years to come, like I'm always saying.

 

[Misskermie]

Well think about it...
Piggy, Kermit, Fozzie, in a room.
Gonzo making accusations
When it was him all along!
There, I wrote the script.

 

[panmanthe2nd]

It does seem like having a new cast member might just be the first in a line of news.

I hope so!