May
27
2008
A Fraggle Rock update: Script writing is rolling along. Fraggle comedy and action ensues.
Writing is tough. It’s bringing something to life out of thin air, and that blank page can be daunting. Different writers work different ways. For me personally, my favorite part is the first draft. I can be sloppy, I can be long in page count, and I can write FAST. And I have the need for speed. It’s “getting the clay on the wheel,” as I like to say.
I can’t give any details about the Fraggle Rock script, but here’s how it’s going: I have blasted off into my wonderful free-fall of first draft, and have about fifty pages done. Part of the freedom to write (for me) comes from a very nailed-down outline. The outline for Fraggle Rock is extensive, around seventeen pages. It is the product of many meetings with the Henson and Weinstein folks, and has every little story beat we could think of. The outline as been picked at, beat up, and shot at for any major problems. So now I have the freedom to lock myself in my laboratory and create, knowing that I am working from a road map that everyone has signed off on.
Of course, new twists and turns will present themselves as I write; things will be discovered off the beaten path of the outline. That’s inevitable. But when the studio has signed off on an outline, I am LESS likely to turn in a draft that surprises them (in a bad way).
I’m having a lot of fun. I just finished my first action scene (yes, there WILL be action scenes!), and am cracking some decent jokes. It’s hard to create jokes for Fraggles, since they have no pop culture references whatsoever. That’s probably a good thing… that means I have a better chance of creating a timeless movie (If I see one more cute iconic character ruined by “Shrekking It Up” for easy jokes, I’m going to go postal).
Gobo, Red and the gang say “Hi.”
19 comments
May
13
2008
I’m pleased to announce that I have just finalized a deal to write and direct
You can read the big
Variety article here. Aside from getting the main character’s name wrong, it’s fairly accurate.
This is a very exciting project that has been anticipated by fans for a long time, and I am pleased and honored to be the guy to make it happen. I will be working closely with
The Jim Henson Company and The Weinstein Company to bring this live action feature to the big screen. This will be a major theatrical release which will introduce the Fraggles to a new generation of fans.Now let me answer your immediate questions:
Q: Will these be the real puppets and not some CGI animated thing?
A: Yes. Real puppets on real sets with live actors. It’s my goal to do everything the “old school Muppet way.” I do believe there are many Henson fans who would have my head on a platter if I attempted anything else. If it is possible to do something physically, on set and “in camera,” we will do it. But it’s also fair to say that I will use today’s effects to enhance or help any scene. I will just keep asking myself, WWJD? (“What Would Jim Do?”)
Q: Will there be music?
A: Lots of it. Everyone has always anticipated this to be a musical adventure. I’ve always felt that some of the best moments of the Fraggle series are when they all break into song. Songs will all be new original ones, created just for the movie.
Q: What is the plot? A: A secret. Okay… all I can say is that the Fraggles have to solve a murder committed by drug smugglers posing as art collectors… no, wait a minute. That’s the plot of
Beverly Hills Cop. What’s actually true is that the Fraggles will encounter the human world for the first time. This was the idea Henson always wanted to do, and then I have come up with an original take based on that. There will be elements of a classic fantasy “quest” movie with some traditional high-energy
Muppet hijinks thrown in.
My goal is to make this more than just a “cute” movie that occupies a kid’s attention span for 90 minutes. And the movie will not simply be a feature-length version of a Fraggle TV episode. It will deliver much more.
I want to create something that will stay true to the spirit of the original show, but also go way beyond it. This is going to be a big fantasy adventure film that stands up to anything else at the multiplex today. Everyone involved in this project wants the same thing.
Q: Will all the original characters be in the movie? You’d better put (name of character here) in the movie or I will go insane and storm the gates of the Jim Henson Studios.
A: First of all, don’t take this so seriously. And second of all, if you dare storm the Henson lot, hundreds of animatronic goblins from the movie
Labyrinth will pummel you. I can’t promise which characters from the Fraggle series will end up in the movie. I can only promise that Gobo, Red, Wembley, Boober, Mokey and Uncle Matt will be in it.
I will have more to blog about as I move into the writing process. I have already begun the script and am having a blast. I couldn’t be happier to work on such a dream project. The Muppets were a major creative touchstone for me growing up, and it’s an honor to help carry on the Jim Henson legacy.
More Fraggle News soon!
17 comments
May
12
2008
So this is the flip side of my previous rants, where I must admit something: while I stand on my instincts as a filmmaker, I am dead if I stop listening to my audience. If I think a screenplay of mine is clear on a story point, and then a reader tells me they didn’t get it at all, whose fault is that? The reader? Nope. It’s up to me to rewrite that script until my reader fully understands the story. I can get frustrated that nobody caught the first version — my version — but the common man is the guy who is buying (or not buying) the tickets. My art is not only what I intend it to be. Ultimately, my art is also what my audience perceives it to be.
I have every intention of driving a project with the fuel of my personal vision, but I am not above tailoring that vision to be better received. Nobody wants a smaller audience for their films. Nobody. I don’t care how much of an indie autuer they claim to be, if they say they don’t care about getting a larger audience, they’re lying. Film is a popular medium. And as a filmmaker, my work will only thrive as my audience grows.
Filmmaking is a constant learning process. And the best way an artist can learn is to swallow his or her pride and fully absorb the audience’s honest reactions, good and bad. But it ain’t easy.
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