American Woman

Professor Grover Shows That Preschool is Cool in "ABCs with Elmo"

Get ready to join Elmo and Grover in some alphabet fun as Warner Home Video and Sesame Workshop release "Preschool is Cool: ABCs with Elmo" on DVD July 6, 2010 . As the first DVD title in Sesame Street's new series, Preschool is Cool, "ABCs with Elmo" is the perfect tool to help your little preschooler learn the alphabet in a fun and engaging way.

In "ABCs with Elmo," Grover acts as the preschool teacher, Professor Grover, and Elmo is his helper for today’s alphabet lesson! But Before Professor Grover begins class, he instructs his students, with his classic Grover charm, to find one thing that begins with each letter of the alphabet. Featuring alphabet themed stories and songs, early literacy skills are reinforced while kids become familiar with letter-sound relationships. Kids and caregivers will find it as easy as ABC to join in the fun with their favorite furry friends in a real preschool.

"ABCs with Elmo" also features engaging extras such as the classic music video "African Alphabet" as well as a kid growth chart that allows children and caregivers to track their growth while learning their letters.

I will be sure to keep you updated as more information on all the exciting new Sesame Street home video titles become available.

Henson Puppets Lie in New Late Night Game Show

A group of puppets from the Jim Henson Company will be unleashed as part of a new late-night game show for the game show network, GSN. "Late Night Liars," debuting next month on GSN, features a panel of saucy and uncensored "celebrity puppets" alongside actor-comedian Larry Miller as the show's host. The puppets come from the company's Henson Alternative brand, a label of the Jim Henson Company that focuses on projects aimed at adults.

"Late Night Liars" is billed as a raunchy comedy game show, each episode will feature two human contestants facing off against a panel of four "celebrity puppets" who are drunk and telling half-truths.

"I look forward to working with GSN and Henson Alternative to carry on the wonderful tradition of game shows such as ‘Hollywood Squares’ and ‘Match Game’ that gave me so much pleasure as a kid," said Miller. "Jim Henson made a great discovery many years ago when he realized that pretending puppets are people is far easier than dealing with people who are puppets."

Among the cocktail-swilling puppet characters to be included: Cashmere Ramada, described as a famous "celebutante and tabloid target," and Shelley Oceans, a brash comedian. Contestants vie for cash prizes by deciding whether the puppets are telling true or false stories.

"Late Night Liars" begins 11:00PM EDT on Thursday, June 10, 2010 on the GSN channel.

Spierig Brothers to Direct "Power of the Dark Crystal" for Henson and Omnilab

Australian based Omnilab Media and The Jim Henson Company will bring the much anticipated and long-awaited sequel, "Power of the Dark Crystal" to the big screen in stereoscopic 3D.

It was also announced today that Peter Spierig and Michael Spierig (writers and directors of "Undead" and most recently, "Daybreakers") have come aboard to direct the project; and, as previously reported, the screenplay for the feature has been written by Craig Pearce ("Moulin Rouge," "Romeo + Juliet") and is based on an original script by Annette Duffy and David Odell. Legendary fantasy artist Brian Froud will reprise his role as conceptual designer of the film, which will use a stunning mix of live action and traditional puppetry combined with visual and special effects produced entirely in Australia. Omnilab-affiliated Iloura ("Where the Wild Things Are," "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark") has already begun work on the film's complex CGI elements. With this team in place, next steps will be to secure worldwide distribution.

"Power of the Dark Crystal is an exciting and ambitious undertaking and, having worked on previous projects with the top-notch talent and crews that Australia offers, we know we have assembled the right team to deliver the sequel to one of the most enduringly popular titles in the Henson library. Peter Spierig and Michael Spierig are sure to create a film that will continue the legacy of the original and exceed the expectations of our loyal fans," said Lisa Henson, CEO of The Jim Henson Company. "We are especially enthusiastic to be working with Omnilab Media, a strong and growing force in worldwide film finance and production."

Michael Spierig said, "We feel a tremendous amount of responsibility in telling this story with the same meticulous care that Jim Henson and Frank Oz gave the 1982 original." Added Peter Spierig, "This is a chance to take the world of puppetry into the modern age by using modern techniques (like motion capture CGI) and the tried and true methods (like puppetry and animatronics) to create a one hundred percent real world that is unique to 'The Dark Crystal'."

I will be sure to keep you updated as more information is released regarding this highly-anticipated feature film.