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Answer!
Ok i got some answers to some questions, lets keep them coming!
I had to change formats and e mail addresses to get these and im very happy now.
Dwayne
Jim Lewis – answers 2.14.08
1. This Question is about Scooter. Is Scooters Uncle going to
come back to run the Muppets theater? Because in A Very Merry Muppet
Christmas Movie he was not the owner.
Anything is possible. Which is another way of saying that I don’t know if J.P. Grosse will return. As you know, he was hardly ever seen (except early on during “The Muppet Show”). For “A Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie,” it worked for the story to have the Muppets hold—then lose—title to the Muppet Theater. However, what with mergers, acquisitions and the incontrovertible fact that all of this is pure fiction, anything could happen in the future.
2. Do you happen to know what happened to Pepe's original partner,
Seymour? Seymour and Pepe were a team at first, and then suddenly, when
Muppets From Space began, Pepe was a main character while Seymour wasn't
seen since. I am used to it by now, but when Muppets From Space was
released I thought having Pepe as a solo character was an odd choice, and I
actually liked Seymour better than Pepe. I'd like for him to be
brought back in a future production. I don't know if he's just too hard to
write for, or if Brian Henson didn't like him, or if the puppet wore out
fast, or what?
Pepe is the instigator. He works as a solo. He can create havoc, incite nonsense and otherwise mix things up with any number of guest stars and other characters. It’s easier to place him in the world, with our without Seymour.
Seymour, on the other hand, seems to work best as part of a pair, Laurel to Pepe’s Hardy (albeit with their rotundity reversed). Seymour is the foil, reacting to Pepe’s antics, giving Pepe a place to vent his perpetual disbelief.
These characters work so well together because the performers, Bill Barretta and Brian Henson have such a finely tuned relationship. They can “read” each other and surprise each other…and this comes across in performance. (It’s not dissimilar to Jim and Frank’s intuitive performance style with Kermit/Piggy, Ernie/Bert, etc.)
Admittedly, the above is merely a rumination on Seymour and Pepe, not an answer to your question about whether Seymour will return. That answer follows: I don’t know.
3. Hey Jim! Great to hear from you again! I always
love these questions for you. (This is Ryan "theprawncracker" by the
way.) Anyway, I read on The Muppet Newsflash blog that you had a big hand
in writing the sketches for the brand new Muppets.com Disney DXD
channel thing. It would be GREAT if you could tell us anything and everything
you can about this incredibly exciting project.
The legendary theprawncracker, who—as the saying goes—has forgotten more about what’s going on with the Muppets than I shall ever know. Good to be back. Only wish I knew where I was.
As for the Disney XD new Muppets.com website: It’s been as much fun to work on as it has been (I hope) to view. The goal is to provide maximum entertainment, to give new and old friends a taste of what the Muppets are all about. I personally think this is a fantastic venue for the Muppets. It’s a self-contained environment. Like a sketch on a variety show (for those old enough to remember variety shows), it serves no purpose but to entertain! Here the Muppets can truly be themselves. They just do what they do when they think you’re not looking. That’s been a boon to my co-writer, Kirk Thatcher, and I, but also to the performers who worked on this first round of spots. They could play and explore the characters’ personas without having to carry a story or make a certain statement.
So far, so good. Everyone hopes we can do more…lots more.
4. Hi Jim, Jim, Jimmy, Jim, Jim, Jim! Beau here. I wondered if there
was a story to the use of the "real" style dog in Kermit's Swamp Years.
Is this a part of the evolution of the Muppets, beginning with talking
animals and slowly adjusting into Muppets, or is there another reason
for it?
Ah Beau, Beau, Beauy, Beau, Beau, Beau! If only I had an evolutionary theory that would put this in context. I’d sound smart and you’d be impressed. But I don’t, so I don’t and you’re not. That said, we wanted to use a real dog because (a) we were going to be on location shooting most of this movie, and a real dog in the real world…combined with a Muppet doppelganger…seemed like a great way to sell the idea of all the characters truly being part of the world. And (b) Jim Henson had done it before and it had worked well for him (i.e. “The Muppet Show” with Piggy’s dog Foo-Foo, as well as in “Secrets of the Muppets”--from The Jim Henson Hour).
How was it done? We found a trained dog. Then using photos and fur samples, the workshop created Pilgrim’s Muppet alter ego. (Pilgrim, by the way, is the name of my neighbor's dog. She has since gone to heaven, where I understand all dogs go.)
5. We all have also been wondering how you have been doing,
during the writers strike? We know that this must have been a rough time for
you and all the writers, do you have anything you yourself have learned
through all this?
It’s over! Hallelujah! What have I been doing: Working on non-WGA projects (a couple of book and animation projects unrelated to Muppets) and doing laundry. Now that the strike is over, I’m hoping to get back to some scripts that had to be put on hold. What did I learn? First, that these strikes are never fun for anyone—especially the folks caught in the crossfire. And second, if you’re going to negotiate with studios, Patric Verrone, the President of the WGA-West, a friend, and former “Muppets Tonight” Writer/Producer, is a great guy to have on your side. Now back to work, and to heck with the laundry!
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