muppets

‘Forgetting Sarah Marshall’ Guys Now Penning ‘Forgetting Nurse Janice’ For Henson Co.

6:31AM Seth | The Dracula: The Puppet Musical sequence in Forgetting Sarah Marshall so impressed the Jim Henson Co., who produced the puppets, that they’ve hired Jason Segel and Nick Stoller to write and direct the next Muppet movie. They’re hoping the whole Apatowian raunch-with-heart formula will lend itself nicely to a story about Miss Piggy’s accidental knocking-up by Kermit’s unambitious stoner character, which will result in a mutant frig baby that both will love despite its freakishly beflippered snout. [Variety] As we noted yesterday, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (that’s the one where everyone except Draco Malfoy dies at the end. Kidding! Never read it.) is so expansive, Warner Bros. had no choice but to split it into two, billion-dollar-earning blockbusters instead of the regular one. Consider this a coup for everyone involved–particularly fans of post-jailbait-aged Emma Watson. [Variety] More »

YouTube Clip Of The Day

11:37AM Jess McGuire | The other day our friend Talia reminded us of someone we loved very deeply once upon a time. PEPE THE KING PRAWN! Our favourite Muppet ever, hands down. “You tell heeem, an I weeeel smack you. I weeel smack you like a bad, bad donkey, okaay?” LOVE YOU, PEPE! More »

Trade Roundup: Jailhouse Karaoke, Counting Celebrities, And Blood-Soaked Wedding Gowns

6:30AM Defamer Hollywood | · Critic-proof director/producer Brian Robbins takes on Jailhouse Rock, a film based on the real-life story of an American Idol-like signing competition (the “Inmate Idle Singing Con-Test”) that took place in an Arizona jail, for Disney. While it’s probably too soon to think about casting, it’s hard not to imagine Robbins throwing some orange jumpsuits on his Wild Hogs dream team and letting them loose on renditions of “Summer Lovin’” and “Paradise by the Dashboard Lights.” Projected opening weekend gross: $US42 million. [Variety] · Ben Stiller, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Hudson, Paulie Walnuts, Bobby Baccala, Alicia Keys,and Sheryl Crow are among those who’ve signed up for Elmo’s Christmas Countdown, a one-hour Muppets holiday special in which the famous will help the ticklish star count down the days to Jesus’s birth. [THR] · HBO renews Big Love for a third, 12-episode season, which should be completed well in advance of a possible strike. In other HBO news, John from Cincinnati still makes no fucking sense. [Variety] · Fox wins another uneventful, creatively barren, rerun-heavy summer Monday night behind Hell’s Kitchen and Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? [THR] · ABC greenlights Here Come the Newlyweds, a reality competition series in which six newly married couples fight to the death (or at least to the divorce) over a steadily increasing cash prize. [Variety] More »