ToughPigs

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Jason Segel's Muppet Movie: The FAQ

by Ryan Roe

For many weeks, the Muppet fan community has been buzzing over the announcement that actor Jason Segel, who costars on How I Met Your Mother and who wrote and starred in Forgetting Sarah Marshall has been signed to write the next new Muppet movie. This announcement has given us all a reason to go on living, but it's also raised many questions. Jason Segel has done hundreds of interviews in the past few months, what with promoting Sarah Marshall and talking about his next movie, and most of the interviewers ask him about the Muppet project.

But you don't have time to read hundreds of interviews. You have more important things to do, like shaving your alpaca. Fortunately, Tough Pigs is once again here to save your life, with our Frequently Asked Questions About the New Muppet Movie That That Guy Jason Segel Is Writing, otherwise known by the useful abbreviation FAQATNMMTTGJSIW.

Rest assured: We have all the answers.

Q: When will the new movie start filming?
A: We don't know.

Q: When will the new movie be released?
A: We don't know.

Q: What will the new movie be called?
A: We don't know. But it will absolutely, positively not be called Muppets Underwater.

Q: Why?
A: Jason Segel has made it very clear the he really, really doesn't like the movie Muppets Underwater.

Q: Wait, is that a real thing?
A: No. Presumably, he made it up as an example of the type of gimmicky Muppet movie he doesn't want to make.

Q: Okay. But if it were a real thing, what would the story be?
A: It would be about the government hiring a team of the world's leading scientists (the Muppets) to explore the remains of a 357-year-old shipwreck off the coast of Africa which is rumored to be haunted... but first they have to avoid getting eaten by sharks!

Q: Huh. Okay. So if Muppets Underwater were a real movie, what bonus features would be on the DVD?
A: Commentary by director Michael Bay, Kermit the Frog, and breakout new Muppet character Marty the Rappin' Giant Squid, and a featurette on the making of the incredible "rat synchronized swimming" sequence.

Q: Wow, that sounds really -- wait a minute! Aren't we supposed to be talking about the new script?
A: Oh yeah.

Q: Who will direct the new movie?
A: Nick Stoller, Segel's buddy who directed Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

Q: Is Jason Segel a real Muppet fan?
A: Yes. His script for Forgetting Sarah Marshall included a few Muppet references. And in fact, he got the Muppet gig by pitching his idea to Disney.

Q: By the way, is his last name spelled "Segel" or "Segal"?
A: Yes.

Q: Is there a big Hollywood star that Jason Segel would compare to Kermit the Frog?
A: Yeah... Tom Hanks. Segel has mentioned several times that he sees Kermit's "Everyman" appeal as very similiar to that of Hanks. Can't you just see Kermit starring in Splash or The Man With One Red Shoe?

Q: So what's the plot of the new movie?
A: We don't know a lot yet, but Segel has revealed that it involves Kermit rounding up all the Muppets to put on a big show to save the Muppet Theater from a greedy oil tycoon who wants to get at the oil reserves located under the theater.

Q: Haven't they already done that "put on a show" thing?
A: Yeah, pretty much. But this one will be... different. Somehow. Maybe.

Q: Will my favorite character be in the movie?
A: Segel and Stoller have commited to working in all the major classic Muppet Show characters, right down to Sam the Eagle and Statler and Waldorf. But if your favorite character is a more obscure, latter-day creation, you might be out of luck. Sorry, Spamela Hamderson fans.

Q: Statler and Waldorf? Who are they?
A: The old guys.

Q: Has Jason Segel written a cameo for Charles Grodin?
A: Why, yes, he has. Though that doesn't necessarily mean Grodin will agree to do it. There were 12 years between his last two movie roles.

Q: Will there be any other cameos?
A: Yes. Segel wants to capture the feel of the first three theatrical Muppet films, and celebrity cameos will be a part of that. He has mentioned that his pals Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, and Mila Kunis all want to be in the movie.

Q: I want to be in the movie.
A: Me too!

Q: Will Jason Segel appear in the film?
A: Most likely. Nick Stoller has mentioned that there's a part for Segel as a ventriloquist whose dummy dreams of being a Muppet.

Q: I saw Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Will Jason Segel be naked in the Muppet movie?
A: No. But Kermit will.

Q: Will there be lots and lots of CGI effects in the movie?
A: Gosh, we hope not.

Q: Will the movie be good?
A: Gosh, we hope so.

Extra special thanks to Tough Pigs' own Joe Hennes for creating the pictures for this article.

Click here to discuss this article on the Tough Pigs forum! Especially if you are Jason Segel.

ToughPigsRyan@yahoo.com

Labels: celebrities, in development, Muppet movies

posted by Ryan Roe # 10:47 PM 0 Comments

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Unforgetting the Muppets

by Michal Richardson

If you have access to popular media in just about any form (and you’re reading this article, so that’s a pretty good indicator), you’ve probably heard at least one reference to Jason Segel’s private parts recently. The writer and star of the new Apatow-gang comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall forgoes his inhibitions in the name of his art repeatedly over the course of the film. Which brings only one question to the minds of Tough Pigs everywhere: Will he do the same for the Muppets?

What you may not have seen in the movie trailers, but have read in just about every interview Segel has given on the subject, is his new favorite story. It begins with the Henson Company designing puppets for a scene in Sarah Marshall, continues with Segel asking the Henson folks and then a roomful of Disney representatives what forthcoming projects to expect from the Muppets, then includes a moment of Segel’s anguish at the Muppets’ hackneyed abuse in recent years (“Enough with Muppets in the Old West and Muppets Underwater,” he’ll usually sigh at this point), and culminates with Segel signing on with fanboyish glee to write his very own Muppet movie.

Let Muppet enthusiasts everywhere rejoice! With Segel (and by extension, comedy hitmaker Judd Apatow) backing the project, nothing could possibly stand in the Muppets’ way! Unlike that America’s Next Muppet reality show and that Bert and Ernie travel series and the Fraggle Rock movie, this promise might actually deliver. Or will it? Now that we’ve seen Forgetting Sarah Marshall, how much excitement can we allow ourselves over this curious new prospect?

The nail-biters among us cringe. A novice to this genre, I wasn’t fully prepared for the degree of unabashed vulgarity in Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Even though I laughed throughout, part of me wondered whether the same mind that just made a herpes joke could write in the Vaudevillian house style of the Muppets – rotten puns, corny gags and all. What if the "pearl necklace" joke in all the trailers were to be recast on our favorite pearl-wearing swine? Is the world ready for foam rubber full frontal?

Then again, Segel consistently touts his eagerness to return the Muppets to their roots. Reluctant to admit Muppets Tonight-era characters into his plans, Segel comes off as something of a Luddite; he’d rather see his old pals back in the spotlight, acting in their own story rather than in a recycled plot à la Muppet Treasure Island. He’s made abundantly clear that in his movie, the Muppets play only themselves, putting on a show to save their theater and featuring a healthy dose of celebrity cameos.

Let’s see how this sentiment plays out in Forgetting Sarah Marshall. As per Segel's vision, the movie features plenty of familiar faces. These actors, including many of Segel's friends now clamoring for Muppet movie cameos, look familiar in 2008 - but Muppet fans have cause to hold out for larger-than-life stars. (Feel free, incidentally, to join the hubbub over an expected Charles Grodin cameo and then name your top celebrity cameo choice on the Tough Pigs forum.) It’s all very well to see Kenneth from 30 Rock basically playing himself in Sarah Marshall, but will it stand the test of time in the manner of Joan Rivers powdering Piggy’s nose?

While we're on the subject of keeping the material timeless, I'd like to pitch my own plea for Segel to resist the temptation to write overtly topical material (i.e. no Miley Cyrus jokes). The Muppets became famous performing passé old songs; they risked irrelevance when nearly-outdated pop culture references became the easiest way to entertain. As Segel well knows, the Muppets revolve around more than gags; it's the particular wackiness of each character that makes the whole package funny. The Forgetting Sarah Marshall characters mostly fit this bill, ranging from believable (the hero, a self-destructive schmo), to regrettably predictable (the two lead females), to a supporting cast of genuinely amusing, almost Muppety in their singularity, one-note buffoons.

To Segel’s credit, the warm-heartedness and essential good cheer at the center of the more beloved Muppet projects show in the tone of Sarah Marshall. The movie pares the population of the Turtle Bay resort down to a handful of guests and employees, all interacting as though no one else were present, all running into only each other and making neighborly inquiries after each other's shockingly public sex lives. Even the celebrity hotel guests play along and mingle with the commoners. It's like watching a Love Boat episode, only with more reasonable hairstyles. If the Muppets were here, they’d even have their own ready-made Gopher.

All signs indicate Jason Segel’s intentions to be pure. We know for certain that he’s sick of Muppets Underwater (and after the third or fourth time reading an interview that references this fictional folly, so are the rest of us – though I estimate that it would stand a decent chance of rating higher than The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz on the watchability scale). If nothing else, the numerous Muppet references throughout Sarah Marshall, not to mention the Henson Company-heavy Dracula musical at the movie’s conclusion, reveal a deep-seated affection for puppets in Segel. His reported childhood admiration for Kermit touched even my curmudgeonly old heart. After ensuring that no one forgets Sarah Marshall, can Jason Segel be trusted to retrieve the Muppets from oblivion, too?

Click here to make your own cameo on the Tough Pigs forum!