Nov 29 2008

To The Fans

I read a lot of internet chatter on the Fraggle Rock movie, because, frankly, I care what the fans think. I can’t help but care. Yes, I am doing what I feel is best for the movie, but I also know that there are people out there that don’t want NO ONE messin’ with their Fraggles.


But what is “messin’ with them” anyway? Everyone has a different opinion. The moment Daniel Craig was cast as the new Bond, entire websites were dedicated to hating him. And ninety seconds of a new Star Trek trailer was enough to convince some uberfans that the entire movie they haven’t even seen is complete trash.

This is the playing field I am about to enter.

So on one of the more popular comment boards this week, there was much discussion over whether the Fraggle film would be a remake (a sacrilege!) or a direct sequel (an odd choice since the last episode aired 25 years ago). I couldn’t help but drop my comments on the board, and I thought I’d reprint them here:

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Interesting discussion (I told you I’d be reading!).


The words “remake” and “reboot” seem to have become dirty words, so I won’t use them here. But in order to make the BEST MOVIE I can, some things from the series have to change. Hopefully, you will feel that the changes are things that make the Fraggle’s world seem more real and more connected to the world we all live in now.


It’s safe to say that this is not a sequel that picks up from the final episode. But it is also not a complete remake. It’s something in between. It takes the world of Fraggle Rock and the ageless characters that live there and puts them in contact with our world TODAY. 


Doc is still there, but he will be the same age you remember. Sprocket is still there, but still the same dog he was 25 years ago. So in the same way that Batman and Bond are forever young and forever regenerating, our intent is to keep Fraggle Rock the same as you remember, while connecting it to our current, modern times.


Tonally, you guys have nothing to worry about. I hear you. I’m not insane. I want you to like the film! Every line of dialogue and every scene is being carefully weighed against the ORIGINAL INTENT and TONE of the series. Lisa Henson and Brian Henson are reading every draft and sitting with me at every meeting. The heritage is being preserved. But that heritage also has to grow up to make some new fans from this generation of moviegoers. 


I hope you understand that’s what we’re all trying to do: make a modern, relevant Fraggle Rock movie that comments on the world we live in TODAY. That was Jim’s vision from the start, and so that’s why TODAY’S WORLD plays a major part in the Fraggles’ adventure. But no, there will be no kung-fu fights in slow motion.


I can’t wait to make the film, and I earnestly hope you will love what we’re doing. 

17 comments

Nov 20 2008

Optimism: The Final Frontier

Today I’m sick as a dog, so why not blog? 


First of all, can I just geek out for a moment about the new Star Trek Trailer? I’m not even really a Star Trek fan, but WOW. The most awesome part about the trailer is that I didn’t even KNOW it was for Star Trek for the first minute. It totally threw me off. That’s J.J. Abrams for you. And speaking of Trek, without even seeing the new film, I have a feeling that Star Trek and the Fraggle Rock movie have some things in common.

No, Fraggles will not use transporters in the new film.

I have been watching the Trek project closely, since it is also a re-boot of much loved characters from an old show (and it has its share of fanboy critics). J.J. has dared to restyle the bridge, rewrite Trek history and recast legendary roles. He’s also made a daring leap with a tone that is foreign to current genre movies… optimism.

Hope? Optimism? What times does this guy think we live in? Times that need a boost of the stuff, I believe. In the wake of a new president who’s election was won on these ideals, it seems like there is a hunger for hope, even if it has not trickled down to all of our culture yet.  In recent interviews about Trek, Abrams has been quoted as saying, “I’d like to make optimism cool again.”

That’s why now is the perfect time to make a Fraggle Rock movie. The pendulum has swung pretty far into the dark, and we need it to swing back. The original Star Wars came out just after the Vietnam War. People needed escapist entertainment, but they also needed a story that saw clear-cut goodness against clear-cut evil. Star Wars was a ridiculously hopeful movie that came out at just the right time. And we ate it up. 

I look forward to the new Trek, and to a new optimism. This can only pave the way for foolish mantras like “dance your cares away,” or a major movie starring a singing puppet.

5 comments

Nov 14 2008

Fraggle Draft 3 Completed

You know what’s awesome? Turning in a script. I took myself out for a steak, I was so ecstatic. 


This recent draft of “Fraggle Rock” was a long haul, for some reason. I know, the cartoon me was wandering around in a metaphoric desert for a while, and some of you were concerned. It just took a while to figure out some things. There were questions posed by producers and the studio that I had to have answers to. And they were significant questions… about the lead character’s arc and uh, the whole plot and stuff. Then I realized that there may just be TOO MUCH happening in this story. My tendency is to overwrite, then after a few weeks, chisel things way down again. It’s happened on the last three scripts I’ve written. I suddenly see the story from a bird’s eye view and realize that I’ve written a miniseries. I should just have the word “SIMPLIFY” in giant letters on my office wall.


So things are simpler, or perhaps I should say “streamlined.” I’ve changed a lot of act one and moved an entire section of act two. And there are a lot more jokes. I feel strongly about this draft… I really love it, and I get excited thinking about actually making it into a movie.

Now I’ll hear what the Henson team thinks… what the Weinstein team thinks… and most importantly, what Harvey thinks. 

On a different note: I know many of you heard that there was a possibility of a NEW segment being shot for the Fraggle Rock Series boxed set. It was to be a mini-episode for Red Fraggle to star in. I wrote a script for it, and we were days away from shooting, but forces beyond our control prevented it (and by “forces,” I mean contracts and legalities that were not yet ironed out with the distributor). Sorry for all you fans who had anticipated that. It was a fun segment, but it was only going to have one Fraggle in it anyway (Red is the only new puppet that has been created so far). I think that in the end, it will be all the more glorious to let the movie mark the Fraggles’ official return.

Some of you have asked for any tiny spoiler about the movie… one shred of detail from the script. So here goes. Ready?

There are two jokes about catapults. 

Boom. Spread the word.

4 comments

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