Changes: Muppets 2007 Presentation Pilot

Revision as of 19:30, 13 November 2013

A short spec presentation pilot featuring the Muppets in a mock documentary format, or "mockumentary", was produced by the Muppets Holding Company in December 2006.

The piece was written and produced by Bill Prady and directed by Bill Barretta. It featured puppetry by Barretta, Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, and Eric Jacobson. The demo also featured cameo appearances by John Landis and Melina Kanakaredes.

The short follows fictional English filmmaker Ian Bascombe as he and his camera crew are given full access to film Kermit and the rest of the Muppets as they attempt to develop a new television series.^[1]

In addition to following Kermit as he meets with a network executive, Bascombe interviews other Muppet characters. Some, he discovers, have left entertainment (Sam the Eagle, for example, is working as a security guard) while others have been pursuing solo projects (Fozzie Bear has continued to perform as a stand-up comedian, but he also mentions that he spent a season as a writer on Moesha).^[1] In the proposed series, Kermit would travel around having to get the gang to come back together to help with the new show.

The 10-minute presentation pilot, filmed in December 2006, proposed a possible television mini-series that would have been shot in the same type of mock documentary style and would follow the adventures of the Muppets as they regroup and create a show.

In a September 2007 radio interview, Dave Goelz speculated that it was possible that elements of the reel could make it into a future series or film, but that the whole process was mainly done just for getting the Muppet talents involved and working on something again.

“We did do something. We got together and did something written by Bill Prady last December and it was just a way of getting everyone together and working again on a project. It's possible that elements of that could wind up in a series but, you know, it’s a complicated process.”

-Dave Goelz ^[2]

The basic concept of Kermit setting out to reunite the Muppets to put on a show after they've all gone their separate ways was revisited in the 2011 film The Muppets.

Sources

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Original research
↑ Celluloid Dreams interview with Dave Goelz. September 3, 2007

[original-1] 1.0 ^1.1 Original research

[celluloid-2] Celluloid Dreams interview with Dave Goelz. September 3, 2007

[1]

[2]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+[[Image:Logo-muppets-disney-sm.jpg|right|300px]]
-A spec presentation pilot featuring the Muppets in a ''mock documentary'', or "[[wikipedia:mockumentary|mockumentary]]", was produced by [[The Walt Disney Company]] in December [[2006]].
+A short spec presentation pilot featuring the Muppets in a mock documentary format, or "[[wikipedia:mockumentary|mockumentary]]", was produced by [[The Walt Disney Company|the Muppets Holding Company]] in December [[2006]].
-The piece was written and produced by [[Bill Prady]]. It was directed by [[Bill Barretta]] and featured puppetry by Barretta, [[Dave Goelz]], [[Steve Whitmire]], and [[Eric Jacobson]]. The demo also featured cameo appearances by [[John Landis]] and [[Melina Kanakaredes]].
+The piece was written and produced by [[Bill Prady]] and directed by [[Bill Barretta]]. It featured puppetry by Barretta, [[Dave Goelz]], [[Steve Whitmire]], and [[Eric Jacobson]]. The demo also featured cameo appearances by [[John Landis]] and [[Melina Kanakaredes]].
-The pilot featured a fictional English filmmaker named Ian Bascombe. The premise of the piece was that Bascombe and his camera crew were given complete access to film [[Kermit the Frog|Kermit]] and the rest of the Muppets as they attempt to develop a new television series.<ref name="original">[http://muppet.wikia.com/index.php?title=2007_Presentation_Pilot&action=history Original research]</ref>
+The short follows fictional English filmmaker Ian Bascombe as he and his camera crew are given full access to film [[Kermit the Frog|Kermit]] and the rest of the Muppets as they attempt to develop a new television series.<ref name="original">[http://muppet.wikia.com/index.php?title=2007_Presentation_Pilot&action=history Original research]</ref>
-In addition to following Kermit as he meets with a network executive, Bascombe interviews other Muppet characters. Some, he discovers, have left entertainment ([[Sam the Eagle]], for example, is working as a security guard) while others have been pursuing solo projects ([[Fozzie Bear]] has continued to perform as a stand-up comedian, but he also mentions that he spent a season as a writer on ''Moesha'').<ref name="original">[http://muppet.wikia.com/index.php?title=2007_Presentation_Pilot&action=history Original research]</ref> Kermit would also travel around having to get the gang to come back together to help with the new show.
+In addition to following Kermit as he meets with a network executive, Bascombe interviews other Muppet characters. Some, he discovers, have left entertainment ([[Sam the Eagle]], for example, is working as a security guard) while others have been pursuing solo projects ([[Fozzie Bear]] has continued to perform as a stand-up comedian, but he also mentions that he spent a season as a writer on ''Moesha'').<ref name="original">[http://muppet.wikia.com/index.php?title=2007_Presentation_Pilot&action=history Original research]</ref> In the proposed series, Kermit would travel around having to get the gang to come back together to help with the new show.
-The 10-minute presentation pilot, completed in December 2006, proposed a possible television mini-series that would be shot in the same kind of mock documentary style that would follow the adventures of the Muppets as they regroup and create a show.
+The 10-minute presentation pilot, filmed in December 2006, proposed a possible television mini-series that would have been shot in the same type of mock documentary style and would follow the adventures of the Muppets as they regroup and create a show.
-In a September 2007 radio interview, Dave Goelz speculated that it was possible that elements of the reel could make it into a future series or film, but that the whole process was mostly just for getting those talents involved, working on something together again.
+In a September 2007 radio interview, Dave Goelz speculated that it was possible that elements of the reel could make it into a future series or film, but that the whole process was mainly done just for getting the Muppet talents involved and working on something again.
 {{quote|We did do something. We got together and did something written by Bill Prady last December and it was just a way of getting everyone together and working again on a project. It's possible that elements of that could wind up in a series but, you know, it’s a complicated process.}}
 ::-Dave Goelz <ref name="celluloid">[http://www.celluloiddreams.net/id7.html Celluloid Dreams interview with Dave Goelz]. September 3, 2007</ref>
-The basic concept was revisited in 2011's ''[[The Muppets (2011)|The Muppets]]''.
+The basic concept of Kermit setting out to reunite the Muppets to put on a show after they've all gone their separate ways was revisited in the 2011 film ''[[The Muppets (2011)|The Muppets]]''.
 ==Sources==