Talk: Labyrinth

Did Henson Gain Distribution Rights?

I noticed that the Disney-Henson Deal documents list Labyrinth as a Henson property, and the end credits to Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey lists The Jim Henson Company as the sole copyright holder to this film. So did Henson somehow get the distribution rights? Because I thought Sony held the distribution rights to this. Sony continues to hold video rights, but also continues to release other Creature Shop properties that Henson holds the rights to. --Minor muppetz (talk) 18:58, February 18, 2013 (UTC)

Copyright holding is *not* the same as being the distributor. It means Henson owns the film itself in terms of characters, license it for merchandise and spin-offs (like comics), and they're free to use clips at any time (and have, on their YouTube channel). But Sony, at present, has the home video rights (since they own the original theatrical distributor, Tristar; digital rights are getting more complicated, so it seems to be a joint venture in that case for full releases or streams on NetFlix, itunes, Amazon, etc., not sure), same for The StoryTeller, but that doesn't mean Sony owns the characters or can stop Henson from using it or re-airing the series and so on. --- Andrew Leal (talk) 19:39, February 18, 2013 (UTC)

Elaine May Screenplay

What's the source for Elaine May being uncredited for the screenplay? I'd never noticed that her name was on this page, and I'd love to get her on the wiki. -- Ken (talk) 04:48, August 4, 2011 (UTC)

Oddly, I've been listening to a Nichols and May album lately (Including the famous "Telephone" routine). Anyway, there have been a number of sources but until recently it's been unclear precisely what her role was and which stage she worked on it, which is why her page has been redlinked. However, fairly recently, Jim Henson's Redbook snuck something under our radar: "In 1985, Elaine May was brought in to polish the script. The changes she made in humanizing the characters so pleased Jim that shooting began using her material." So that gives us something a little more solid (several reviews and articles at the time even noted May's contributions, though stressing the absence of credit). It was one of those "I've been meaning to get to it" things I'd completely forgotten about (some years ago now!) Thanks for the reminder! -- Andrew Leal (talk) 06:01, August 4, 2011 (UTC)

We finally found the best source on May, thanks to the Redbook fleshing things out: here, complete with dates. It would be nice if it was clearer what she contributed to the final script, but it was clearly some general polishing/final "script doctoring" (which usually goes uncredited). So yay, we can make the Elaine May page. -- Andrew Leal (talk) 20:29, April 10, 2012 (UTC)

Remake/Sequel?

Hillary Swank's IMDb page shows an entry for "Labyrinth" as being In Development, but you have to join IMDb Pro to see more. Looking around, I couldn't find anything else. Is this just barely an idea at this stage? -- Ken (talk) 04:16, October 15, 2009 (UTC)

Looking around, this actually referred to a remake of a 2003 French thriller called Labyr, part of the continuing trend of American remakes of successful foreign movies, so it's not relevant, whether it happens or not (all the news and gossip about it online is from 2006). -- Andrew Leal (talk) 04:21, October 15, 2009 (UTC)

Mak Wilson trivia

Puppeteer Mak Wilson added some trivia to this page in June 2008, as User:Scooch. I'm sure that it's true, but we don't have a published source that we can refer to... I'm not really sure what to do with this stuff, so I'm posting it here. Does anybody have thoughts? -- Danny (talk) 01:44, 6 July 2009 (UTC)

The puppeteer Mak Wilson lent a book to David Bowie (The Tao of Pooh) and never got it back!

The Bog of Stench really did live up to its name. If a drop of it got on the cast and crew's clothing, it never came off.

A very expensive Panoflex camera was accidentally dropped in the Bog of Stench by a clapper loader... who then became an ex-clapper loader.

It took 20 puppeteers in very uncomfortable positions to create the Shaft of Hands.

The voice of Hoggle was originally to be performed by the late British actor, Michael Robbins [1]. It was decided during rehearsals that Brian Henson would take the role.

I'd say consider him a reliable source and keep the parts that are less trivial, citing the user if needed, though we haven't generally been doing that with, for example, most of the tons of info that came directly from User:Vard and can't be found anywhere else, and so on. The parts about The Tao of Pooh, smell, etc. are cute but not the kind of thing we generally include. The Shaft of Hands bit seems worthwhile, though, minus POV about discomfort, and likewise the bit about Hoggle's voice, which I hadn't seen before. I think that's neat, since Michael Robbins was in The Great Muppet Caper (adding additonal plausibility outside of it coming from someone who was there), and it's something we could add to his page. Imagine Hoggle saying "I hate pepperoni!" -- Andrew Leal (talk) 03:07, 6 July 2009 (UTC)

I agree with Aleal on this one. I'd definitely consider Mak Wilson a reliable source. And after all we have occasionally cited "personal correspondence" (or some such) with sources. (When it's a really good source like that. Emma 21:11, October 16, 2009 (UTC)

Press release for "the Academy"

Is this release of use? There's also film and backstage photos.[2] -- Zanimum 12:54, 23 June 2006 (UTC)

“Labyrinth” to Bring Goblins to Life at the Academy

Beverly Hills, CA — An evil goblin king, a talking door knocker, fairies and a colony of goblins will join producer/director Brian Henson and members of the Jim Henson Creature Shop at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ 20th anniversary screening and onstage discussion of “Labyrinth” (1986) on Thursday, July 20, at 8 p.m. at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.

A post-screening conversation featuring the creative team behind “Labyrinth,” including Henson, who is the voice of Hoggle and co-CEO of the Jim Henson Company, will offer the public a rare opportunity to hear from animatronics specialists both behind and infront of the camera.

Starring David Bowie and Oscar®-winner Jennifer Connelly (“A Beautiful Mind”), “Labyrinth” follows the fantastical adventures of Sarah (Connelly) as she attempts to rescue her baby brother Toby (Toby Froud) from being transformed into a goblin by Jareth, the goblin king (Bowie).

“Labyrinth,” a milestone in the development of animatronic technology, utilized a very early version of what would ultimately become the Henson Performance Control System, which in 1991 received a Scientific and Engineering Award from the Academy for allowing a single puppeteer to remotely control up to 32 isolated facial movements in an animatronic character. The technology made it possible to express complex emotions through the character and simulate a live performance in real time.

The Academy’s current exhibition “It’s Alive!: Bringing Animatronic Characters to Life on Film,” which contains original animatronic puppets from the film, will be open for viewing immediately following the screening.

Tickets to “Labyrinth” are $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members. Doors open at 7 p.m. Seating is unreserved.

The Samuel Goldwyn Theater is located at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. Free parking is provided in the garages located at 8920 and 9025 Wilshire Boulevard. For additional information, call (310) 247-3600.

Editors: Please note that downloadable images are available at http://photos.oscars.org/.

If nothing else, I gotta visit that animatronics exhibition. I think the exhibition is worth an honorable mention on the page, as it does concern the puppets...which are really great puppets. (It's all about the puppets for me, isn't it?) Chunk 16:51, 23 June 2006 (UTC)

British Board of Film Censors (BBFC)

I have found this article from the BBFC website about the movie and thought someone may find this useful, Hope this help:

• British Board of Film Censors (BBFC)