People Muppet Fans Need to Know

Ryan Dosier - Recently, it has come to my attention that there are a lot of important Muppet people working right now that a lot of casual Muppet fans have never heard of. I was very bothered by this, since all of these people are doing such awesome things with the Muppets right now, it's a shame that they're not more well known among the fan-base. I thought I would solve that little problem by compiling a list of some People Muppet Fans Need to Know.

The Muppets

• Lylle Breier - General Manager of The Muppets Studio and all-around awesome lady. A lot of this recent push of the Muppets back into the limelight was thanks to her.
• Jim Lewis - Muppet Consultant and writer. He's responsible for making the Muppets just that: Muppets. He makes sure Piggy says Piggy things and Kermit says Kermit things and so on. He can probably be attributed to why the Muppets have been so good recently.
• Jason Segel - Writer and human star of the upcoming The Greatest Muppet Movie of All Time. Segel's pitch for a new Muppet movie is what ignited this whole Muppet Renaissance. Also, self-proclaimed Muppet fanatic. Starred in the Muppet-referencing Forgetting Sarah Marshall and in the TV show How I Met Your Mother.
• Nicholas Stoller - Writer of the upcoming The Greatest Muppet Movie of All Time. Has been promoting the heck out of The Greatest Muppet Movie of All Time. 
• James Bobin - Director of the upcoming The Greatest Muppet Movie of All Time. Has been noted as a sort of Muppet freak. Also directed Flight of the Conchords.
• Matt Vogel - Muppet performer. Performs Floyd Pepper, Robin the Frog, Lew Zealand, Crazy Harry, and others. Also writer and director for Sesame Street.

Fraggle Rock

• Cory Edwards - Writer/director of the upcoming Fraggle Rock feature film. Huge Muppet fan who knows exactly what he's doing.

Sesame Street

• Carol-Lynne Parente - Executive producer of Sesame Street since season 37. Accepted the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Daytime Emmys.
• David Rudman - Daytime Emmy-nominated Muppet performer. Performs Baby Bear and Cookie Monster for Sesame Street. Performs Scooter and Janice for The Muppets.
• Joey Mazzarino - Daytime Emmy-nominated Muppet performer. Performs Murray Monster and various other characters on Sesame Street. Also writer and director for the show.
• Louis Henry Mitchell - Associate Design Director of Special Projects for Sesame Street. Ace photographer, and one of the nicest guys around.
• Neil Patrick Harris - Self-proclaimed Henson fanatic. Most well known roles include Barney Stinson on How I Met Your Mother, Doogie Howser in Doogie Howser, M.D., and Dr. Horrible in Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. No really important reason to know him... but he's at the top of my list for cameos in the next Muppet movie.

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier

News Update: May 7, 2010

NEWS UPDATE: May 7, 2010

• Big news from The Jim Henson Company this week as they released an official Press Release discussing the upcoming production of the highly-anticipated sequel to Jim Henson's The Dark Crystal entitled Power of the Dark Crystal. The press release doesn't mention too many important details aside from Omnilab Media being tapped to work with the Hensons to produce it and the fact that it will most likely be in 3D. It also mentions that Brian Froud is on board to do some of the designs for the film, so that's a very good sign.

• On The Muppets Studio side of the news, general manager of The Muppets Studio, Lylle Breier, was interviewed by the MTV Movies Blog. She discussed all things Muppety, including the Webby Awards nominations (and subsequent wins), "Bohemian Rhapsody," and more. The stuff she mentioned that we didn't already know include the next viral Muppet video, "American Woman," being released Memorial Day Weekend (May 28-31), and that the new Muppet movie is indeed Jason Segel's The Greatest Muppet Movie of All Time, and not The Cheapest Muppet Movie Ever Made. Breier stated that Cheapest had  been shelved for the time being... Whatever that means!

• Speaking of the (four) Webby Awards that the Muppets won this week, The 14th Annual Webby Awards Ceremony (hosted by The Office's B.J. Novak) will be held on June 14th. I've been informed that the Muppets will be on hand (pun sort of intended) in some fashion to accept their awards and make their five-word acceptance speech.

• Yesterday, as Lylle Breier predicted, the Muppets appeared in a brand new online video with LOST's Carlton Cruse and Damon Lindelof, writers of the show. Rizzo and Bobo appear in LOST Slapdown, an online exclusive web series. In the video, the two Muppets lead a tour of fans through the LOST studio. Yes, it is as hilarious as it sounds. (Muppet fans outside the US watch here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYc0oLXy9Vg.) The video is labeled "The Muppets 1" so that can only mean more are on the way! We know for sure that Kermit and the Swedish Chef have recorded something as well, so be on the lookout for that!

• In comic book news, an exclusive scoop by MTV News (which we then stole) states that Muppet Sherlock Holmes will be the next Muppet Classics comic book adaptation after Muppet Snow White finishes this summer. The series will be written by Patrick Storck (Muppet King Arthur) and illustrated by friend of the blog Amy Mebberson (Muppet Peter Pan, The Muppet Show Comic Book - Family Reunion). Gonzo will play the famed sleuth and Fozzie will be his right hand man, Dr. Watson. I'll be sure to keep you updated as more information about this exciting new series becomes available!

• And, finally, it's our turn for an exclusive scoop. In the newest issue of Entertainment Weekly magazine (#1102 - May 14, 2010) there is a brief article about the newly announced Muppet movie. The page features a fantastic picture of Kermit as well. The following are some excerpts from the article that mention some exciting news that you may or may not be aware of as of yet!

New Disney Boss Digs Muppets and Wizards
"As Rich Ross shakes things up at Disney after taking over as studio president last fall, he’s turning to some Hollywood stars who haven’t been on the big screen in more than a decade: Kermit, Miss Piggy, and Fozzie Bear. An untitled Muppet movie is likely to become one of Ross’ first greenlit projects (after Pirates of the Caribbean 4, of course), and it says a lot about where the studio is headed.

When Ross grabbed the reins last October, he killed a lot of movies in the development pipeline, including a sequel to 2007’s John Travolta-Tim Allen-Martin Lawrence comedy “Wild Hogs” and a big-budget remake of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea that McG was slated to direct. Instead, he fast-tracked a Muppet movie written by Nicholas Stoller and Jason Segel, whose 2008 hit Forgetting Sarah Marshall made puppets cool again. The duo’s plot is being kept under wraps, but sources say Segel (How I Met Your Mother) will star as the best friend of a new Muppet named Walter who will join a quest to save the famed Muppet studio. James Bobin (Flight of the Conchords) is on board to direct, and Amy Adams has been mentioned as a possible costar. Mandeville Films (The Proposal) is among the producers. Next up is a table read with the Muppets and their puppeteers, and since merchandising opportunities are apparently limitless with such an adored property, sources predict production could begin as early as this fall. ~ Nicole Sperling"

Amy Adams? Filming this fall? Merchandise? Excitement, thy name is Muppets!

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier