This Christmas season always turns our thoughts to the spiritual, the emotional and the magical. I get those kinds of goosebumps whenever the lights go down in a movie theater. And as corny as it may sound, I sincerely feel like my own mission as a filmmaker is to bring some magic into the world. As I look to the new year and many potential new projects, I hope I get more chances to do that. The world is tough. Reality is harsh. Movies — and art in general — can sometimes be our only means of escape and relief. So I don’t take my work lightly. I feel blessed to get to do what I do. I hope that whatever your harsh reality may be, you can still count the blessings in your life this holiday season. See you in 2012!

New Regency Lands ‘Fraggle Rock’ Feature Rights Auction – Deadline.com

The short version is that Weinstein Company’s rights to the Fraggle Rock movie have finally expired and Henson has made a deal with New Regency — a deal to start… all… over. Thanks for all the emails and Twitter messages about it, but it has very little to do with me. Everyone wants to know if this is good news for me, or if I will be involved with the rebirth of this project, or what the next step is.

The simple answer is, I don’t know.

All I can tell you is this: For the past year, Weinstein Company sat on the rights to Fraggle Rock until they expired, then quietly let the project die — without telling me, of course. I’ve found that, in this business, no one ever actually FIRES you. You just stop getting information. Projects don’t ever get killed, they just slowly evaporate (like Yoda dissolving away as his little robe just sinks to the floor) — peacefully, calling no attention to their demise. Well, I noticed its demise, believe me. For any Fraggle fans out there, please know that I was pushing and pushing and doing everything I could to get that studio to see the value of the movie and the value of my vision for it. I cut storyboard sequences together, I had a lead actor secured, I had a top music artist ready to produce the soundtrack, and from what I was told, I had a script that everyone liked. But as the studio experienced a regime change, new execs had other plans for Fraggle Rock. If you read my blog, you know that the number one request was to make the Fraggles “edgy.” Yaaaaay. The funniest part of that era was that once “The Smurfs” came out, I saw that they pretty much did everything to that movie that I was being pressured to do with the Fraggles. There was even a Guitar Hero scene. I kid you not. We were headed towards a very, very Smurfy version of Fraggle Rock, kids. So perhaps everything happened for the best. (And “Smurfs” has made a Smurf-pile of money, so what do I know?)

At the end of the day, I wasn’t meant with so much opposition as I was with quiet indifference. I was ready to bring in a new writer, hear the studio’s concerns and even start from page one, all over again. But I was told, “We don’t know what we want to do… we’ll let you know.” After hearing nothing for a year, I was finally able to confirm a rumor that Weinstein Co. had finally let the project die and Henson was going elsewhere. To be clear, while Henson was very supportive of my script, my deal to write and direct was with Weinstein. So as Henson takes the project to New Regency, they are starting over. I have no deal in place. No one owes me anything. But I sure would like to put my three years of energy, research and vision back to good use if they want to talk. I’m doing my best to be available to Henson and I will reach out to the folks at New Regency. But these new players will do what they feel is best for the Fraggles. I’d love to share what I think and I’d still love to be the one to make it happen. Only time will tell.

Thank you again for all of your support and encouragement over the course of this project. I’ll let you know any news if I have it.

Ruth thanks you, and I thank you.

This is a special show, because all proceeds are not simply going to a foundation or a national campaign. They are going to ONE PERSON who is fighting cancer and is a friend of mine, Ruth Noe. She and her husband have been through the wringer with chemo treatments and medical costs, so a bunch of artists are rallying to help them out. I’m honored to put my talents to work for this event. Come on out for the cause, and you’ll get to see me do some live comedy too.

I feel like the artwork got better and we started with a lot more followers onboard. The BIGGEST bonus was the very last post that went up today, when we ended with a top 40 “credit roll” rock ballad. In keeping with every over-blown tentpole movie about the end of the world, I think it’s a perfect addition. And since it’s about a giant pigeon, the lyrics are pretty much a four minute poop joke.

Listen to the radio single “FALL FROM GRACE” here. I’m sure Steven Tyler will be jealous.

The song was composed by Josh Greene, ace songwriter and screenwriter. It was performed by the long-dead, recently resurrected power band “BANDWAGEN.” Josh tells me there will be more from them in the future.

There will most probably be a third installment in this Twitter Series (trilogy!!), but I have to click into the best story for it. Until then, please leave comments here or on Roger’s Facebook page and tell me what you thought. Oh, and  buy a T-Shirt!

Self-promotionally yours,

Cory

Attached is the NEW PRESS RELEASE. Feel free to share it with any and everybody.

The Roger Cosmonkey Emporium is now online… T-Shirts, hoodies, even baby clothes! Just in time for Comic Con.

Many things have been percolating in the last month (see how I’m keeping the coffee thing going?). It’s been exciting to work in so many directions at once, in so many areas of the business. But it gets a bit schizophrenic to multi-task so much.

In addition to writing a new screenplay, I’m taking one of my feature projects to comics and developing it as a graphic novel. It’s sci-fi action and involves big robots. Hopefully I’ll be able to talk more about that soon. I continue to write on my young adult adventure novel, which is just plain fun. Let’s just say any day you get to write the words, “The electroguns ripped into the zepplin’s control deck,” it’s a fun day. And then there is the big fish I’m still trying to reel in: my next movie. I sit down with a studio next week to talk about one. Who knows?

Lately I’ve been talking to lots of different people who are telling stories in lots of different ways. Seriously — I’ve sat down with toy companies that are starting entertainment divisions, and film moguls who are investing in web content. The industry is changing so much and so fast, that features are looking at television and television is looking at the web and the DVD guys are um, investing in frozen yogurt shops. Everyone is either laying low or placing crazy bets. As one producer put it, “It’s the wild west these days. There’s no one way to do something.” I try to take comfort in the fact that I am still the storyteller and good stories will always be needed, no matter what technology or venue they are told in.

While I wait for the mighty, slow, rusty wheels of corporations to turn, I’m still launching another series of TWITTERSODES starring that simian badboy, Roger Cosmonkey. This time the story has some more complexity and I’m lampooning a totally different genre. I think you’ll enjoy. I’ll be tweeting out an encore performance of the original Cosmonkey series on JULY 11, just before the San Diego ComicCon. Then after ComicCon, I’ll be launching the NEW SECOND SERIES on JULY 25th. And if you see me at the Con itself, I’ll be a shameless walking promotion, wearing a space monkey T-Shirt and spreading the love with a bag of postcards. Don’t worry, if you follow me on Twitter (@RealCoryEdwards), you won’t miss anything because I will bug you about all of this incessantly.

My creative juices keep flowing, even when my arch villain “Studio Development” dogs my every move. Sometimes all I need to reboot is a dark room and some popcorn. I’m so glad that J.J. Abrams gave us “Super 8″ this summer. Bravo. It was like a nostalgic “movie time machine” for me. That’s the STUFF, man. The multiplex is my main source of inspiration and that film has given me rocket fuel for months.

That and all the lattes.