Being Elmo, the lovely documentary on Kevin Clash, got a lot of much-deserved attention and praise. But ever since we first heard about it, we’ve been thinking that somebody should really do a documentary about Caroll Spinney, too. The guy’s been working on Sesame Street since the very beginning, and he’s had a pretty amazing life and career.
Now I’m happy to report that our wish will soon be granted, as Copper Pot Pictures is currently working on just such a film, entitled I Am Big Bird. You can visit the film’s website for more info and a nifty picture gallery by clicking right here, but here’s the most exciting stuff, from the “What You’ll See” section:
In addition to compelling interviews with Caroll and his luminary Muppeteer cronies, I AM BIG BIRD will feature fascinating material from Caroll’s personal archives. Among the treasures in the Spinney vault, we’ve found…
- Never-before-seen footage capturing unscripted moments of Caroll with giants like Jim Henson, Frank Oz and Jerry Nelson
- Caroll’s short films, in which he showcases his skill in animation, a talent that led to a job offer at Disney… which Caroll turned down
- Thousands of snapshots and hundreds of hours of videos that capture his undying love for his wife
- Paintings displaying his hidden passion for illustration
- Puppets that were lovingly crafted by Caroll’s mother over 70 years ago and that he still uses today
We’re using these amazing artifacts to create a dynamic portrait of an unknown man whose characters have had unrivaled influence in American pop culture.
And here’s the trailer. It should be noted that this includes a shot of Mr. Spinney bungee jumping:
I AM BIG BIRD Trailer from Copper Pot Pictures on Vimeo.
I don’t know about you, but this looks like a movie I want to see. The filmmakers are still working on it, so it won’t have a release date for a while, but we’ll keep you updated as more news comes in. And maybe someday we’ll get a documentary on every Muppeteer ever!
Click here to speculate about how much screen time Picklepuss and Pop will have on the Tough Pigs forum!
by Ryan Roe – Ryan@ToughPigs.com
