The Muppet Man BioPic

[Drtooth]

Again, I would MUCH rather see behind (or rather under) Kermit, and not have him shown in new footage negatively or positively. But I figure that if he has the same role that Kermit's inner self had in TMM, basically telling Jim to keep with it and keep going, it would really reinforce Jim's drive.

But all and all, what I read, and I don't wanna read any more, really sounds viciously negative... and I got enough negativity of my own to put up with it in someone else's life... even if it's just a "creative" or "artistic" spin on them.

 

[Super Scooter]

I'm not far into reading this, but I have to nitpick a little. I understand that writers can take a little "artistic liscence," but to blatantly ignore the facts? The events on pages 13 and 14 can be viewed on YouTube here, and it is obvious that the author watched this clip... yet he still completely fabricated half the interview. Almost none of what he claims actually happened.

From the script (what actually happened is in bold):

INT. FLOOR, ARSENIO HALL SHOW, LA, 1990 - DAY

ARSENIO HALL, 27, dressed in a classic 90’s purple padded
suit, grins down the lens. We’re at a taping of his show.

ARSENIO
Yes... starting with a piece of
green cloth and a couple of ping
pong balls, my next guest created
a dynasty that includes Sesame
Street, Fraggle Rock and my all
time favorite - The Muppets.
Please help me welcome... Jim
Henson.

JIM HENSON, checkered sweater on, strides onto stage rather
nervously. ARSENIO helps guide him down to the couches.

ARSENIO (CONT’D)
Oh what... I hear you’ve got a
party going on? 20 years of
Sesame Street. Is that true?

JIM
Well. Something like that. Ya.

ARSENIO
Twenty years! I can’t believe
that. It’s been going that long?

JIM
(trying to laugh) Oh well it’s
hard for us to believe too.
We’ve been all over the world
recently, with Big Bird and Elmo,
doing some filming... sort of
having our brand of fun for a
special we made... that airs on
Sunday.

ARSENIO
Oh so that’s the clip we have?
Let’s see that.

JIM
(fumbling over himself)
Oh. Yep.

CUT TO TAPE :
We see ERNIE from SESAME STREET in the BATH. He’s covered
in suds, holding a RUBBER DUCK up in the air for us to see.

ERNIE
(sings)
Rubber duckie, you’re the one /
You make bath time lots of fun /
Rubber duckie I’m awfully fond of
you.

INT. FLOOR, ARSENIO HALL SHOW, LA, 1990 - DAY

ARSENIO is watching the RUBBER DUCKIE clip on a monitor.
JIM HENSON lifts the KERMIT PUPPET onto his arm and
prepares for the second half of his interview.

ARSENIO smiles, talking under his breath so the audience
isn’t interrupted.

ARSENIO
(hushed)
I grew up with this stuff you
know. I used to sing Rubber
Ducky to my mom.

JIM
Oh. That’s wonderful.

The CLIP finishes and ARSENIO springs straight back into
INTERVIEW mode. The AUDIENCE claps enthusiastically.

KERMIT (operated by JIM) starts nodding in appreciation.

ARSENIO
We’ve been joined by Kermit the
Frog.

KERMIT
How are ya? Great to see you
Arsenio.

ARSENIO
Good to have you back. Did you
meet Connie backstage?

KERMIT
Ahhh, well no I didn’t. I
didn’t. No, I don’t know what
happened. Well you know what?
(voice straining) They keep me in
a bag. (lower than normal
sounding) That’s the truth.
That’s the truth. They keep me
in a bag, they don’t let me out.
You know.

The AUDIENCE, a little thrown by the odd sounding Kermit,
forces JIM to break his performance.

JIM
Excuse me. Frog in the throat

JIM sips a glass of WATER. The AUDIENCE lets out a little
chuckle.

INT. BACKSTAGE, ARSENIO HALL SHOW, LA, 1990 - DAY

KEVIN CLASH, his CLIFFORD MUPPET ready to go, watches JIM’S
interview from the WINGS.

He turns to a PRODUCTION MANAGER - concerned.

KEVIN
You got pineapple juice around?

INT. FLOOR, ARSENIO HALL SHOW, LA, 1990 - DAY

JIM is clearly nervous - but he continues with the
interview anyway. ARSENIO tries to cover.

ARSENIO
How’s that itchy throat going
there Kermit? You better now?

Ever the professional, JIM launches back into character.

KERMIT
Much better, yes, ahhh, thank you
Arsenio. I ate a few bad flies
for lunch. I think, you know,
maybe Piggy hit me a few too many
times in the, ahhh, the old
froggy mouth, you know.

The AUDIENCE laughs. Everyone is relaxing again.

ARSENIO
It’s interesting you say that,
because you have a totally
different tone than you had the
last time you were on here. And
I’ve heard there’s been problems
between you and Miss Piggy? Is
that true?

KERMIT
Ahhhh... you know...

 

[ErnieBertGonzo]

Sounds creepy, and I'll poo-poo myself if it gets greenlighted.

 

[The 11th UrRu]

Ive seen this interview on youtube and I agree that the details in the script regarding it are very inaccurate....

I'm not far into reading this, but I have to nitpick a little. I understand that writers can take a little "artistic liscence," but to blatantly ignore the facts? The events on pages 13 and 14 can be viewed on YouTube here, and it is obvious that the author watched this clip... yet he still completely fabricated half the interview. Almost none of what he claims actually happened.

From the script (what actually happened is in bold):

INT. FLOOR, ARSENIO HALL SHOW, LA, 1990 - DAY

ARSENIO HALL, 27, dressed in a classic 90’s purple padded
suit, grins down the lens. We’re at a taping of his show.

ARSENIO
Yes... starting with a piece of
green cloth and a couple of ping
pong balls, my next guest created
a dynasty that includes Sesame
Street, Fraggle Rock and my all
time favorite - The Muppets.
Please help me welcome... Jim
Henson.

JIM HENSON, checkered sweater on, strides onto stage rather
nervously. ARSENIO helps guide him down to the couches.

ARSENIO (CONT’D)
Oh what... I hear you’ve got a
party going on? 20 years of
Sesame Street. Is that true?

JIM
Well. Something like that. Ya.

ARSENIO
Twenty years! I can’t believe
that. It’s been going that long?

JIM
(trying to laugh) Oh well it’s
hard for us to believe too.
We’ve been all over the world
recently, with Big Bird and Elmo,
doing some filming... sort of
having our brand of fun for a
special we made... that airs on
Sunday.

ARSENIO
Oh so that’s the clip we have?
Let’s see that.

JIM
(fumbling over himself)
Oh. Yep.

CUT TO TAPE :
We see ERNIE from SESAME STREET in the BATH. He’s covered
in suds, holding a RUBBER DUCK up in the air for us to see.

ERNIE
(sings)
Rubber duckie, you’re the one /
You make bath time lots of fun /
Rubber duckie I’m awfully fond of
you.

INT. FLOOR, ARSENIO HALL SHOW, LA, 1990 - DAY

ARSENIO is watching the RUBBER DUCKIE clip on a monitor.
JIM HENSON lifts the KERMIT PUPPET onto his arm and
prepares for the second half of his interview.

ARSENIO smiles, talking under his breath so the audience
isn’t interrupted.

ARSENIO
(hushed)
I grew up with this stuff you
know. I used to sing Rubber
Ducky to my mom.

JIM
Oh. That’s wonderful.

The CLIP finishes and ARSENIO springs straight back into
INTERVIEW mode. The AUDIENCE claps enthusiastically.

KERMIT (operated by JIM) starts nodding in appreciation.

ARSENIO
We’ve been joined by Kermit the
Frog.

KERMIT
How are ya? Great to see you
Arsenio.

ARSENIO
Good to have you back. Did you
meet Connie backstage?

KERMIT
Ahhh, well no I didn’t. I
didn’t. No, I don’t know what
happened. Well you know what?
(voice straining) They keep me in
a bag. (lower than normal
sounding) That’s the truth.
That’s the truth. They keep me
in a bag, they don’t let me out.
You know.

The AUDIENCE, a little thrown by the odd sounding Kermit,
forces JIM to break his performance.

JIM
Excuse me. Frog in the throat

JIM sips a glass of WATER. The AUDIENCE lets out a little
chuckle.

INT. BACKSTAGE, ARSENIO HALL SHOW, LA, 1990 - DAY

KEVIN CLASH, his CLIFFORD MUPPET ready to go, watches JIM’S
interview from the WINGS.

He turns to a PRODUCTION MANAGER - concerned.

KEVIN
You got pineapple juice around?

INT. FLOOR, ARSENIO HALL SHOW, LA, 1990 - DAY

JIM is clearly nervous - but he continues with the
interview anyway. ARSENIO tries to cover.

ARSENIO
How’s that itchy throat going
there Kermit? You better now?

Ever the professional, JIM launches back into character.

KERMIT
Much better, yes, ahhh, thank you
Arsenio. I ate a few bad flies
for lunch. I think, you know,
maybe Piggy hit me a few too many
times in the, ahhh, the old
froggy mouth, you know.

The AUDIENCE laughs. Everyone is relaxing again.

ARSENIO
It’s interesting you say that,
because you have a totally
different tone than you had the
last time you were on here. And
I’ve heard there’s been problems
between you and Miss Piggy? Is
that true?

KERMIT
Ahhhh... you know...

 

[Drtooth]

Again, we can only hope that this is A) a really really rough draft that's going to be fixed up before it's greenlit. or B) That Henson and Disney let their script doctors in to change the tone from one of supreme misery and sadness to one of triumph and hope with just enough sadness to make it realistic.

The script has come under fire from us for 2 reasons... the lame Robot Chicken-esque portrayal of the Muppet Characters and worst of all the sappy overly dramatic and wildly inaccurate script and portrayal of the Muppeteers, Jim especially.

 

[terrimonster]

Again, we can only hope that this is A) a really really rough draft that's going to be fixed up before it's greenlit. or B) That Henson and Disney let their script doctors in to change the tone from one of supreme misery and sadness to one of triumph and hope with just enough sadness to make it realistic.

I'd bet dollars to donuts that both A) and B) are true.

 

[hoopless]

so much of the script is fabricated from parts of hear-say and I'm sure that it's those things that will be ironed out by Henson involvement. I would like to see this film made though, just when it's been made into a better, more accurate, less misery for misery's sake. I like the idea about keeping the Muppet parallels more like Muppets to even out the dark patches and put their positive spin on things in their "world" of sorts, but I also want to see the end stop after the memorial when both worlds collide like muppetfan89 said. I think that once it gets drafted into a version that better resembles reality it will be a really great film, and I don't think Disney or Henson would green light it until it was an accurate portrayal of events and character representation because I have faith that they respect Jim too much.

 

[frogboy4]

The tragic and premature end of Jim Henson's life must be noted and felt in this film, but the focus and tone should be on Jim's life...not this morbid dreck. I see interesting possibilities, but the author is nowhere near the mark here. Disney and Henson will definitely alter 95% of this script.

 

[Drtooth]

The tragic and premature end of Jim Henson's life must be noted and felt in this film, but the focus and tone should be on Jim's life...not this morbid dreck. I see interesting possibilities, but the author is nowhere near the mark here. Disney and Henson will definitely alter 95% of this script.

We can hope.

It's one of those things that bugs me. Drama and pathos are the only things considered art, and film circles rarely give any rewards or the time of day to any well done comedy. You know, sad flicks always win Oscars. Even happier films that get critical acclaim have to have some bittersweet bit to it. I'm not talking about some stupid Parody movie type deal where there's nothing but jokes back to back and no real story. I want to see SOME pathos in this movie to make Henson seem human, not so much drama and pain that make him look like Edgar Allen Poe's clinically depressed brother.

I think they just need to hire someone else to rewrite the script. Knowing who Link Hogthrob isn't enough to qualify you as enough of a fan to tell his story. Again, if someone wants to write Jim's story, I want someone who will go out there and interview everyone he can. The Hensons, fellow Muppeteers, Joan Ganz Cooney... any one who worked with him that has interesting stories. It really seems like this guy just wanted to write a sad story and just attach Jim Henson to it and throw in a couple accuracies.

 

[Super Scooter]

= Again, if someone wants to write Jim's story, I want someone who will go out there and interview everyone he can. The Hensons, fellow Muppeteers, Joan Ganz Cooney... any one who worked with him that has interesting stories. It really seems like this guy just wanted to write a sad story and just attach Jim Henson to it and throw in a couple accuracies.

Agreed. Or, if he didn't have access to those interviews, he could have at least read up on the guy! Read "The Works" and "Street Gang." Wander around Muppet Wiki for a few months (if for no other reason than to have the errors from "The Works" and "Street Gang" corrected). Take in everything you can about your subject, and then you can write a story about him.