Muppet Guys Talking
March 15, 2018 10:48 AM   Subscribe

Muppet Guys Talking is a documentary from Muppeteer and film director Frank Oz, featuring interviews with a number of present and past Muppet performers: Dave Goelz (Gonzo, Bunsen Honeydew), Jerry Nelson (Floyd, Emmet Otter, The Count), Fran Brill (Prairie Dawn, Zoe), Bill Barretta (Pepe, Big Mean Carl) and Oz himself. The film will be available to the public tomorrow, but you can get a sneak peek of it today.
posted by briank (21 comments total) 32 users marked this as a favorite
 
Oh lordy.
posted by middleclasstool at 11:02 AM on March 15, 2018


Is it just me that instinctively reads that URL as "Muppet Guy Stalking"? That is a very different movie.
posted by Clustercuss at 11:11 AM on March 15, 2018 [5 favorites]


Meep meep meep meep meep meep
posted by Quindar Beep at 11:16 AM on March 15, 2018 [5 favorites]


This somehow completely avoided my radar, thanks!
posted by trackofalljades at 11:31 AM on March 15, 2018


To save some of you a click, if you put in your email address you will be taken to their thank you page. You will also get an email with that same page.
posted by cjorgensen at 11:34 AM on March 15, 2018


I kinda idolize some of these guys (especially Oz). He was on NPR not too long ago, and I thought it was a great segment.

Not My Job: We Quiz Frank Oz On L. Frank Baum, Author Of 'Wizard Of Oz'

I'm more of a Caroll Spinney man than Oz, but I still think Oz is great. I just would rather hang around someone who doesn't take himself quite so seriously.

I'm an amateur puppeteer and a puppet collector. I've made friends with a few professional puppeteers and I have funded quite a few performances (mostly through kickstarter and such, but also some direct donations). So I look forward to seeing this documentary. I'm a bit weirded out that they are saying it can only be watched on that site. I don't generally consume my media that way, but I might make an exception for this.
posted by cjorgensen at 11:40 AM on March 15, 2018 [4 favorites]


*drool*
posted by Melismata at 11:43 AM on March 15, 2018 [1 favorite]


I trust everyone knows about these as well? I figured they're worth mentioning especially since someone namechecked Carol Spinney:

Being Elmo

I Am Big Bird
posted by trackofalljades at 11:53 AM on March 15, 2018 [2 favorites]


This just makes me happy. Thank you!
posted by hydra77 at 12:11 PM on March 15, 2018 [1 favorite]


I still get a chuckle when I think of the band, particularly a scene in one of the movies where at a staff meeting a band member thinks he's at an AA meeting.
posted by waving at 12:53 PM on March 15, 2018 [2 favorites]


Frank Oz has been interviewed by the two leading Muppet Blogs, "Muppet Mindset" (part 1, part 2) and "Tough Pigs" (part 1, part 2). Fascinating insights to life in The Muppets and AFTER The Muppets, both of which Frank has had more than anybody. I was particularly interested in his other recent project, an off-Broadway stage production with illusionist Derek DelGaudio that also credits Neil Patrick Harris as a Producer and "Original Music by Mark Mothersbaugh", not to mention its publicity campaign - with bricks.
posted by oneswellfoop at 1:28 PM on March 15, 2018 [1 favorite]


I vaguely recall Brando having Oz' score on the set of his last movie...in a dress. Vaguely.
posted by lazycomputerkids at 2:31 PM on March 15, 2018


I’ve seen Derek Delgaudio’s show “In and of Itself” three times. It’s worth going to NYC to see. It’s a remarkable achievement. It’s quite unlike anything I’ve seen before.
posted by asavage at 5:52 PM on March 15, 2018 [1 favorite]


This is so completely up my alley
posted by DoctorFedora at 6:38 PM on March 15, 2018


I haven't watched the doc yet but I heard this interview on CBC Radio with Frank Oz this morning which has me excited to have a look. Frank is very candid about his relationship with the characters and the direction Disney has taken with the characters in the interview.
posted by Ashwagandha at 7:29 PM on March 15, 2018 [1 favorite]


I'm a bit weirded out that they are saying it can only be watched on that site.

I don't know anything about the site structure, but having heard Oz do an interview on the interactions with Disney and Sesame Street that Ashwagandha mentions, I blame them not at all for wanting to carve out some space outside the control of any of the mega-corporations who now mess around with these characters. And I believe that does mean there's not a single legit major streaming channel service they could use.
posted by Miko at 8:00 AM on March 16, 2018 [2 favorites]


I bought it this morning before I was even ready for work. I need to revisit the site and see if I can gift some people a copy.

Jerry Nelson seems like a great, great guy.

Dave Goelz is still at the very top of my "I wanna invite this guy to dinner" list.
posted by DigDoug at 10:31 AM on March 16, 2018


I don't begrudge these guys a buck. Like I said, I somewhat idolize them. But I do think they should have disclosed that the documentary would be something one would need to purchase. I went to the wayback machine to insure I hadn't just missed it, and they not only failed to disclose there would be a cost, I would suggest the verbiage makes it seem like all you had to do was give them your email address to get access.
We made a documentary! Yeah. A documentary. Want to see it?

The ONLY way to get the film is right here...

Put in your email and hop in line.
No mention of price, nor that there even would be one. It's only $10 for the flick, and you can download it, so it's not a terrible bait & switch. I'm buying it either way, I just wish they had been forthcoming on cost upfront. They have a second, more expensive option, for those wiling to pay $100 (going up to $200 in a week) that allows one to join a private Facebook page, have some live and recorded google hangouts, and whatnot.

I back a lot of puppet projects on kickstarter and indiegogo. I would have backed this had they done one and I'd seen it. I love supporting puppetry, and am now trying to decide if $100 is worth it. Probably. I've paid thousands to go to various festivals, so this is sneezing money.
posted by cjorgensen at 6:19 PM on March 16, 2018


I came across another interview with Frank Oz in Los Angeles Magazine that's pretty interesting.
posted by mogget at 6:32 PM on March 16, 2018


Frank Oz on His New Muppet Documentary, Miss Piggy’s Troubled Past, and More

As for Ms. Piggy:
I have to be serious, because whatever damage [Ms. Piggy] has in her life, and whatever inconsistencies, whatever insecurities, whatever lack of talent, she desperately does not want to be that person. She came from a farm, and she had to leave home because her father died in a tractor accident. And as her mother was alone and Piggy grew up, it was fine. But then, as she got older, these suitors who came for her mother paid more attention to Piggy, and there was tremendous tension. Finally, Piggy just had to leave and go it alone. She didn’t have anything, really, so, like many single women, she had to take care of herself.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 4:03 PM on March 20, 2018 [1 favorite]


I don't begrudge these guys a buck. Like I said, I somewhat idolize them. But I do think they should have disclosed that the documentary would be something one would need to purchase. I went to the wayback machine to insure I hadn't just missed it, and they not only failed to disclose there would be a cost, I would suggest the verbiage makes it seem like all you had to do was give them your email address to get access.

Yeah, I totally got the impression that it was going to be free. I don't think $10 is unreasonable at all but someone did a bad job with the marketing copy. Now I realize when I go back and look that all the places I saw it discussed online (and that it was going to be free) were just other folks repeating their own misunderstanding.

What knocks me off the fence instantly is that for ten bucks you get to DOWNLOAD it. I hate the idea of paying to stream something off some rando web site that will almost certainly vanish someday, but I can keep my own copy backed up easily.
posted by trackofalljades at 7:52 AM on March 22, 2018


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