Sitting on my desk next to my monitor, in front of a bottle of Scotch, is the thing you see in the picture to your right. What the hell is it? It’s a Jim Henson action figure! Modeled after an actual Muppet which looked exactly like (and was performed by) the great Mr. Henson himself, it sits there reminding me of all that it is good, creative, and wonderful in the world. He’s one of my heroes, and if there’s anyone who deserves a big, loving biopic it’s Jim. Now it looks like he’s getting it.
CS reports that the Empire Film Group has acquired the production and distribution rights Henson a screenplay about the legendary Muppet creator written about him by a guy named Robert D. Slane. They’re starting production on it as soon as this summer, and throwing a whopping $30 million in financing behind it to make sure the thing is done right.
Henson reportedly begins with his life as a teenager, and his fascination with television, and follows him as he grows up, becomes a puppeteer, struggles to make his dreams a reality, and then achieves amazing things as a filmmaker, an entertainment mogul, Muppet guru, and all around genius. No word on whether the film will continue on to his tragic early death, but it’s not exactly an upbeat way to end the movie. Somehow I think Jim might prefer a musical number, preferably one with lots of chickens, weirdos, and things.
I also wonder whether or not they plan to get the folks at the Jim Henson Company involved, and how they’ll deal with getting Jim’s characters in it You can’t do a movie about Jim Henson without Kermit, but Disney now owns the rights to those characters and Empire will have to go through the Mouse if they want to use any of them.
Everything Empire has to say about the movie sounds fantastic. They talk in glowing terms about both Jim and the script. They’re investing a nice chunk of change to make it happen. They even say they’re planning to go after a major director to helm it. Penny Marshall in particular is mentioned, and though its been awhile since she was relevant… somehow that seems perfect.
There’s just one thing to worry about here, if like me you’re a Jim Henson idolizer. The number of movies put out by Empire Film Group amounts to exactly one, and that movie is the horrible Pamela Anders/Denise Richards movie Blonde and Blonder, which dribbled out straight to DVD last year. In fact, as recently as last year they weren’t even called “Empire Film Group”. In November of 2007 they changed their name from Environmental Construction Products International.
I really hope they know what they’re doing… and I really hope they know there is no movie unless they can talk Disney into letting the Muppets make an appearance. Right now though, I’m nervous. Jim Henson means a lot to me, and a lot of other people. His death was one of the saddest moments of my young life. Thinking back on it now, I get sad all over again. Henson was a giant, who deserves a movie like this, but deserves to have it done right.
Take a moment to remember Jim. Below is an excerpt from one of the saddest and simultaneously greatest things ever to appear on television by way of reminder. The Muppets say goodbye to their creator, Jim Henson:
