Where is Steve Whitmire Petition

[Drtooth]

I'd love to see Fraggle Rock on the "big screen", i just doubt we ever will. They well and truly missed the boat, and its too big a movie to just do direct to dvd.

Really... that would be the BIGGEST "Screw You" in Muppet history. Even bigger than Muppet Oz, even bigger than all the unfinished projects all together. And if the film doesn't happen, I'll never be able to trust the Jim Henson Company again.

And if it wasn't all that insipid back and forth, they would have at least been at the preliminary shooting stages right now.

And really... if half the stuff that gets greenlit in that town that shouldn't see the light of day can get greenlit, it's an even bigger "Screw You" than if the movie doesn't happen in the first place. I'm REALLY hating the fact they partnered with Weinstine right now. Considering what Disney is planning for the Muppets, they REALLY should have gone to them.

I agree... getting hopes up for this clear, obvious, and frustrating near miss is starting to become fruitless. unless Corey somehow gives us a positive update, I'm about to give up on it completely.

 

[MelissaY1]

I know what someone means about Werner Bors. In June Foray's book, she talks about how during Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries, they called her as ask her if she would like to audition for the role of granny and she ask then what they mean and they said they were taking auditions for the roll of granny and wanted her to audition for the part. She asked then what they were they were taking about and told the, m that she was Granny and they told her that they were looking for a Bea Benaderet type Granny who maybe did like one cartoon with her at the most. And June Foray told them that she was not auditioning and that they can go to H*ll, lol!

Eventually somebody she knew at the studios convinced her to give her the gig.

Anyway, this reminds me and is similar of a Tactic NBC once used on Gary Coleman. He wasn’t coming to work and costing the studio a lot of money by not doing so (I’m not sure if it was a dispute over money or not, but he might not have been up to work because his illness had gotten the best of him). So entertainment Exec Warren Littlefield called him in for a meeting, and when Gary came into his office and sat down he turned around in his chair and saw a huger than life portrait of Emmanuel Lewis. Long story short he got the message and when back to work immediately.

That could very well be the reason for the replacement Kermit. It could be a ploy to speed negotiations up. Who knows? Just speculation…

This is not an uncommon practice: Betsy Palmer who played the original Mrs. Voorhies in the original Friday the 13th movie was asked to appear in the second film for far less money. Betsy thought this was a crock because Paramount who released Friday the 13th had made loads of money off the original not knowing it was going to be such a huge hit. And the only reason Betsy did the first film was to pay off a new car she bought at the time.

 

[Luke]

And really... if half the stuff that gets greenlit in that town that shouldn't see the light of day can get greenlit, it's an even bigger "Screw You" than if the movie doesn't happen in the first place. I'm REALLY hating the fact they partnered with Weinstine right now. Considering what Disney is planning for the Muppets, they REALLY should have gone to them.

Yeah its only that things like Hoodwinked, which was great, gets a theatrical release by weinsteins that i have some hope they can pull it off. I agree about Disney but i'm not sure if it would have been high priority enough for them to want to take on although i think they would have taken the right approach. You do get some complete rubbish that gets greenlit nowdays admittedly - not that they are rubbish but i think the way Henson went and did the fable direct to dvd's and whatever other kids shows that have never really taken off when they should have been pushing non stop with Fraggle is a good example of Henson just not having any really strong projects and following trends rather than setting them. Everything is such a mish mash, loads of stuff, but its all ok, not great. Like the Doozer animation ... they are just trying to coast along with bland stuff based on either mediocre ideas or classic spin offs.

I'm sure Steve has as much enthusiasm as Karen and everyone for more Fraggle. It was great seeing Karen perform Red at Comic Con.

 

[Drtooth]

Lemme just say this... if the FR movie never gets made, even as a (shudder) DTV and Cheapest does, we can all safely say that the Muppets are in good hands.

 

[ToasterBoy]

It was great seeing Karen perform Red at Comic Con.

It sure was! And man that guitar player they had was fantastic! I mean he was good looking and funny and....ahem...never mind.

 

[Super Scooter]

It sure was! And man that guitar player they had was fantastic! I mean he was good looking and funny and....ahem...never mind.

And modest, too!

 

[Muppetfan55]

Good point. Well, if this is the direction Disney is going with the characters, I'm personally not surprised. I have been very less than impressed with Disney's films, products and marketing since the mid 90's. Although I just saw a commercial for that new Disney animated film The Princess and the Frog which kind of got me excited.

Oh?
So if a film is hand-drawn that automatically makes it a good film?

Don't get me wrong. At the D23 Expo, I saw the first half-hour of "The Princess and the Frog", and this IS a good movie. But do you know what makes it a good movie? Its not the animation method, its the STORY.

The most recent films from Disney Animation have been good too.
I'll have you know that "Bolt" was a very good movie.
And do you know why? Because it had a good story and had a lot of heart. As a side note, the film was CGI, but the backgrounds were inspired by paintings. There was a painterly style to the backgrounds of the film.

Most recently, the Disney Animation Studio is in the best shape its been in years. John Lasseter (from Pixar) is the chief creative officer at Disney Animation. He has turned the Disney Animation studio back into a creative-driven studio, rather than a executive-driven one.

It really doesn't matter what animation method is used, the thing that matters most is a GOOD STORY.

Now, I know that I'm very late in responding to this, and I will probably be ignored, but I just had to make this post.

Please don't misunderstand me, I am NOT trying to be mean here, I just feel that this is important stuff to point out.

 

[frogboy4]

Oh?
So if a film is hand-drawn that automatically makes it a good film?

Don't get me wrong. At the D23 Expo, I saw the first half-hour of "The Princess and the Frog", and this IS a good movie. But do you know what makes it a good movie? Its not the animation method, its the STORY.

The most recent films from Disney Animation have been good too.
I'll have you know that "Bolt" was a very good movie.
And do you know why? Because it had a good story and had a lot of heart. As a side note, the film was CGI, but the backgrounds were inspired by paintings. There was a painterly style to the backgrounds of the film.

Most recently, the Disney Animation Studio is in the best shape its been in years. John Lasseter (from Pixar) is the chief creative officer at Disney Animation. He has turned the Disney Animation studio back into a creative-driven studio, rather than a executive-driven one.

It really doesn't matter what animation method is used, the thing that matters most is a GOOD STORY.

Now, I know that I'm very late in responding to this, and I will probably be ignored, but I just had to make this post.

Please don't misunderstand me, I am NOT trying to be mean here, I just feel that this is important stuff to point out.

That's what most CG films miss is the story. Most of them today use computer animation as a gimmick rather than a device. Large studios like Disney have stupidly shut down nearly all traditional 2D animation in favor of the fad and claim that their other 2D offerings like Brother Bear and Home on the Range didn't perform well. And that's where your statement is important. It was the stories of these films that audiences didn't care about.

One misfire from Disney was Treasure Planet that combined 2D & 3D. It has some plot holes and development issues, but man - I like that film. I hope we get a variety of different animated offerings in the future including stop motion (like Coraline), CG (like Kung Fu Panda), and traditional animation (like Princess and the Frog). That's what's missing - variety and story.

 

[Ilikemuppets]

Well, that's a bit irrelevant here, but that's a good point.

I know. I read every this whole thread and what I should have mentioned was I was responding to a posts waaaaaay back referring to have Disney is unlike Werner Bros, in that they hold onto their talent and how the performers (or performers was it?) who played Porky Pig had to addition several times. This was brought on by a question about Disney replacing the muppeteers on the spot or something like that, so the answer was that's not usually how Disney does things, but over and Werner, they might. So in a way I do think it kind of fits here, but on the other hand, it's kind off topic like you were saying.


It's just that I was thinking about that when I read the posts and I got to it way too late to respond directly to it.

 

[Daffyfan4ever]

I understand. It's alright to use comparisons like that. I do it often too. I guess it's just a matter of remembering what we were talking about in the first place. Lol.