Monday, November 05, 2007

Writers' Strike May Affect the Muppets

As you may know, Hollywood writers went on strike today and producers have been forced to put many projects "on-hold" until the writers return. Hollywood has been shaken up as many television shows (from sitcoms and dramas to late night talk shows and specials) and many feature films are now unable to continue with production until the strike is settled. So what does this mean for the Muppets?

Well, writer, producer and comedian Hugh Fink is one of the many people working on that new "top-secret" Muppet project that you may have heard about. Fink mentioned his involvement in developing and writing the upcoming Muppet project during several interviews about the writers strike. While earlier rumors and insider sources have implied that we would see such a project surfacing sometime in the next year, Fink has mentioned that the writers strike will inevitably cause many in-development productions to be delayed and shuffled around, and (depending on the circumstantiates) some project may even wind up being canceled. Hopefully this Muppet project survives the strike and production continues once work resumes -- I've been told it is likely the project will be safe (if only a little delayed), however the length and total impact of the strike could always cause things to change. The Jim Henson Company previously mentioned that Disney was developing an "exciting" Muppet project back at Comic-Con back in July, Muppeteer Dave Goelz (and Gonzo) also publicly hinted at a big project in the works at an event back in June, and we've heard other rumblings of this project being in the works.

The Muppets, Jim Henson Company, Sesame Street and all of Hollywood will inevitably be affected by the strike - but hopefully the dispute is settled soon so production and development can resume on all the productions that we're waiting to see. I'll keep you posted as soon as soon any more information on this Muppet project surfaces or on how the strike will affect things in the Muppets.

17 comments:

Vaughn Michael said...

oh for the love of! Why is it every time we get something about the muppets it's bad news anymore shsh. :(

Anonymous said...

What do you mean bad news? This is great new! It is more proof that something Muppety is in the works.

Yeah it kind of sucks that it might be delayed due to the strike but the strike is affecting everything - every TV, every movie, everything is being pushed around because of it - so the Muppets are no worse off than anyone else is right now. In fact they are better off - they have something in the works, even if it is on a slight hold.

Horray for more sources backing up the news that a Muppet project is coming.

PS - And I love Hugh Fink and I'm glad he's working with the Muppets.

Vaughn Michael said...

You guys are seriusly messed up in your logic you know that.
Disney Doesnt care enough about them to start with...if things prolong to long they are gonna say screw it and cancle it like what was said in the article.
I'm all for new muppety goodness or badness as weve seen in recent years.
I'm a fan of the Muppets & always will be but it doesn't mean I have to like who owns them untill they give me a reason to.
And btw We've had plenty of proof to start with I don't need anymore proof than it being said by Gonzo himself ;)

Anonymous said...

Vaughn Michael, you don't have to be so mean, discriminatory and pessimistic.

I'd rather stick with Jeff's more logical, optimistic, reason-based statement here.

Things WILL work out for the best. We just have to have faith, even in Disney.

Anonymous said...

P.S.: Disney DOES care about the Muppets.

Just because no rumors get leaked out or whatever does not mean that they don't care about them.

Vaughn Michael said...

Yes, They care so much that everything they have had planned for the Muppets has fallen flat on it's face.
You know it's funny I'm negative when I'm voicing my opinion that doesn't go with everyone Celeste.
But when I have a possitive comment like I enjoyed them on Americas got talent tuns of others say it sucked but I guess that's ok because it's them and not me.
And I don't see how anything in my post is discriminatory in the least.
Sorry I'm a realist and I call em' like I see em' I'm not going to shoot sunshine up your butt and tell you it's a nice day.
Waiting is fine and dandy but read this article and you will see that it's stated that this may not come through at all if it takes to long.
That's what I was getting at this has nothing to do with you or Jeff.
The Logic of awww it's ok we'll just keep waiting quietly hasn't gotten anyone anywhere.
Btw I'm glad Fink is working with the Muppets as well.
Sorry to get all Bent out of shape but it really does seem like everything Disney tries to do with the Muppets ends horribly or never even gets off the ground.
I just want what's best for the Muppets.
End of Story.

Anonymous said...

Oh shut up, Disney cares about the Muppets.

Anonymous said...

Do you know how many things Jim Henson planned for the Muppets that fall flat on their faces and never saw the light of day? But since the net wasn't big back then we didn't know about them until years afterwards (rather than years before) and many we're still learning about. A failure to launch something doesn't mean that the people don't care. If they didn't care they would stop trying - but they do care (they just don't want to follow through with what would be a bad decision and crash and burn). There are many complicated and strong outside forces and factors that make things hard. I'd like to see you run a multi-million dollar brand sucessfully (and not go bankrupt or run out of town). It's easy for us to sit here and say "they should be doing this" or "they should be doing that" - but actually doing them (and getting an audience, being quality and making money) are a whole other issues - it is not a simple thing.

I'm happy to hear they are working on something - even if this damn strike has put it (and everything else) on hold. I'm sure disney wouldn't trow it out because the whole world shut down.

Anonymous said...

The only real way I see this being scrapped due to the strike is if the production has some kind of time-frame deadline that can't be moved - like a holiday or seasonal type thing (for example, if it is an valintines day special that had to be completed by February 14 but the strike does't end until mid-January, well it might be lost). But if it is a movie or a tv show or a generic special, it will probally just get bumped around a little, just like everything else that Disney has in pre-production.

Now if the strike goes on for a long, long time and other things change (like Disney management, audience interests, the economy, or other stuff) then sure it may get canned too (as could anything else being planned by any studio) -- but it is unlikely that the strike will last long enough to make those kinds of impacts (so if it's not a seasonal/time issue and it is still cancled, then it probally has nothing to do with the strike and would have been canned reguardless of if the writers walked out).

Plus I'm sure that once things settle and the writers return to work and Disney can get things going again, they will want to move forward on anything (and everything) that they can rather than waste more time (and even more money) by and throwing out something they've already invested in.

And I too glad Fink is involved with the Muppet. I just wish they would settle and go back to work soon (I don't know how many re-runs I'll be able to take)

Vaughn Michael said...

Me To I'm just worried is all and I'm just sick of them treating the Muppets like they're step children.
And to whomever said I couldn't hold a mullion dollar corperation try me give me the job and I bet you anything with that money I'd give you much better quailty programs and movies then you've seen in the last few years. :)
Listen Disney lovers I'm not ragging on Disney for the sake of doing it.
It's fine and dandy that they have "plans" for the Muppets.
They are just taking to long, there's plenty of things that they could be bringing out on dvd that haven't seen the light of day in years like the Frog Prince which is a great idea since they are bringing a new animated Frog Princess movie out. :)
And I do know allot of what Jim Henson planned as I looked up to him and respected him has he not passed away I'm more than sure he would have brought his dreams to life. :)

Anonymous said...

Considering how badly written the last few Muppet productions have been, I'm not crying about this too much. In fact IMO the writers of those projects were paid too much. I'd just as soon the "secret" project gets cancelled than sit through another Muppets Wizard of Oz.

Anonymous said...

Considering how badly written the last few Muppet productions have been, I'm not crying about this too much. In fact IMO the writers of those projects were paid too much. I'd just as soon the "secret" project gets cancelled than sit through another Muppets Wizard of Oz.

*pulls volume control off radio* Hmm... I wonder what would happen if I put this knob on this guy.
*Puts knob on this nut and turn his rant off* Sheesh, isn't there enough negativity on the web already?

Vaughn Michael said...

I'd consider your ignorant comment to some one else to be NEGATIVE. ;)
So maybe you need more than one nob there nobby :)

frogboy4 said...

Disney cares about making money. That's why they released another Muppet Chrismas album last year. It's not that there's a shortage of existing Muppet Christmas music, but Disney doesn't get the lion's share of the profits from releasing the old stuff (maybe Christmas Carol, but that's a soundtrack).

Disney's testing the waters with the Muppets, seeing if they can turn a profit on a smaller stage before backing bigger projects. That's why they're planning to stick them with the dreaded tween Disney Channel "stars" in bumpers and short subjects. Yeah, it's gross, but the Muppets already have the mature audiences.

If the toddlers, tweens and teens sign on look for Kermit Krunch cereal in your grocery isle. (shivers) Man, whatever brings them back in full-length quality projects.

Anonymous said...

Hey! Don't mock the Disney Channel "stars". I personally see that as adults making fun of kids, which is totally sick and wrong!

Those tween stars probably read these sites too, you know...and if they see the brutal things that are said about them, expect them to blow a MAJOR gasket.

It's bad enough that kids get made fun of by other kids at school. Adults should not be stooping to those kinds of lows--they should be supporting youngsters, not criticizing them and putting them down.

frogboy4 said...

Seriously? Um...don't quite know how to respond to that. I'm not certain if you are kidding, somehow invested in a Disney show, know a young person who unfortunately gets teased or are just being argumentative. In any case, you have clearly missed the point and created a new one with some fictional superimposition of a vicious personal attack where none really existed. So I won't belabor that.

Point is that Disney Channel *stars* are mainly famous to a tween audience with cable (High School Musical being the main exception). The viewers of these programs are not the usual lot of Muppet fans and Disney knows that. They are attempting to add a new fan base - one whose media icons are foreign to many long-time Muppet fans.

Who knows where it could lead? As long as they don't dress Sweetums up in tight fuchsia and chartreuse colored vinyl outfits and make them dance with Paula Abdul as happened a decade ago on Muppets Tonight! (shivers more)

So that's what has been planned before the writers strike and I think it should proceed as planned.

Anonymous said...

Whatever, frogboy.

It's just that I'm VERY sick and tired of all the pessimistic anti-Disney attitudes that many of Muppet Central's members (including DrTooth, one of the worst) have been expressing lately.