BAM!
Nov 20-21, 2004 : NYC
page 1 - page 2 - page 3 - page 4
Part
2: Martha Gets Digits
Okay, so where were we? David actually joined us during Caroll's Q&A -- I don't know how he got into the theater, but he showed up in the middle there -- so we're all hugging and being happy to see David. I also ran into a guy named Noah Ginex, who made the neat Animal costume that was featured in this year's Halloween Parade. I didn't have much time to talk to him, but he was a very sweet guy.
As we're heading out, David tells us the exciting news: "They have the Jim figure!" We're all excited, and we rush downstairs to the lobby. While we were in the theater, they've set up a little gift-shop booth. They have some little Nanco Kermits, a couple puppetry books, and some Sesame Street bags -- and they have the Jim Henson figure, lined up in boxes. This is four days before they went on sale at Palisades; for all I know, we might have bought them before anyone else in America. It felt special and cool, like it always does at these Muppet events -- like treasure is going to fall out of the sky into your hands at any moment. There are seven of us there, and at least four of us bought Jim. We found out later that there were only 24 toys there, and they sold out by early afternoon, so we were lucky to grab 'em.
Then we waited on line to meet Caroll Spinney, who was signing books in the lounge. There weren't many people in front of us, but we ended up waiting a while, because Caroll took a lot of time to talk to people. We didn't mind. It was Caroll being Caroll. We had a lot to talk about anyway, what with people meeting each other and hugging and everything.
While we were waiting, Craig came up and said hi, and got introduced
around. He said that things were going well so far with the event,
everybody seemed happy. It was a little chaotic leading up to the weekend,
because they were dealing with three different companies for the material
they were showing. The Great Muppet Caper print just came in the day
before. I asked him about a sign that we saw posted on the doors of the
theater, which said that our being on the premises constituted our
permission to be filmed for a project called "THE MUPPETS DVD."
Craig said he had no idea what that was about, he just saw those signs
himself. He said he'd let me know when he found out...
We got in to see Caroll, and Martha was one of the first people to the table. Caroll signed Martha's book, and admired the Big Bird scarf. She told him that she made it, and he was very impressed. Martha offered to make one for him, not really expecting that he would say yes -- and suddenly Caroll's wife Deb, who was sitting nearby, jumped up and said: "Would you really?" Martha said sure, and Deb ran off to get a piece of paper and a pen. She sat Martha down and talked to her about it, writing down Caroll's home address and telling her how much Caroll would appreciate it if she would make them a scarf. David looked over at her, and murmured to me: "Oooohh, Martha's gettin' digits!" It was very exciting, another treasure from the sky moment. When Martha got up with the address in her hand, she was glowing. We all agreed, Martha was winning.
Everybody got a little time to chat with Caroll, which was neat. I asked about Sesame Street's future, and he confirmed that they had just signed a contract for three more seasons, and they're working on increasing the number of episodes. Peter showed Caroll the Jim Henson toy, and Caroll gasped: "Jim's a TOY? Oh, he would love to be a toy!" Then he kissed his fingers, and put his fingers on Jim's face. And how freakin' cool was that.
When we left the lounge, it was around 1:30, and the next thing that people were going to do was go to The Muppet Movie at 4:30, so we had some time to kill. Peter had to go to work for the rest of the day, but we'd see him again at night. The rest of us went out to TGIF's for lunch, where David unboxed his Jim figure and carefully worked all the joints loose. I didn't realize that David was so into the action figures, but let me tell you: David is so into the action figures. At one point he cuddled his Jim figure and kissed him on the head. And then he sniffed it for the paint fumes high.
On the way back to the theater, I experienced a little bit of instant karma. I was crossing the street on a yellow light, and it turned red as I was about 3/4 through. There was a very impatient driver who revved up, and actually started moving as I was still in front of him, just to make me jump. I got out of his way -- but he'd revved up so much that he shot past me and bumped against a trash can, which tore his hubcap off. Ha! And then straight to a red light, so he was stopped right in front of me and could turn back and see me laughing my ass off. I can destroy people with my mind!
When we got to the theater, we met up with Patrick, who'd just arrived. That was lovely, cause Patrick is always smiley and excited, and a good addition to any posse.
There was still a little while before the movie
started, so we went into the lounge -- and there was Jerry Juhl, with his
wife Susan. Jerry and I have corresponded a little bit ever since I did
MuppetZine, so we vaguely know each other, but this was the first time
we'd ever met in person. I said hi, and then introduced him to everybody
else. He said, "I heard the Pigs were here!"
Smig had sent me a picture that he drew for Jerry, so I gave it to him -- a full-color caricature of Jerry sitting at a typewriter writing Muppet scripts, with Taminella leaning over and laughing at him. Jerry and Susan were absolutely delighted to get this; he remembered Smig from MuppetZine, and he really appreciated getting the picture.
We all talked to him for a little bit. He went to visit the Oz set last month, and he said that it looks beautiful -- the sets and costumes are really good. Susan said that Fozzie as the Lion and Gonzo as the Tin Thing are especially nice. In general, people were excited to work on it, and Kirk Thatcher was doing a great job as the director. Jerry seemed to have some reserve about it, which I think was about the script not being as good as it should be -- but I didn't want to pry into that obviously delicate area.
I asked him about how things felt with Disney owning the Muppets; he kind of rolled his eyes and said it was too early to tell. He said, "It's not going to be the same, guys..." Henson used to be like a little repertory company, and now it's not little anymore. Disney might want to have Kermit shooting a movie somewhere, and then at the same time have him making an appearance somewhere else in the country... They're still working all that out. We also talked a little bit about Fraggle Rock coming out on DVD, and the possibility of Disney putting out a complete set of Muppet Shows. Jerry said, "Well, Disney isn't averse to making money..." Then Jerry and Susan had to leave; Jerry was going to do the introduction for The Muppet Movie, and he had to get ready.
Then Kellie joined us, and everybody went off to The Muppet Movie, except for me and Patrick. We went off to check in at the hotel, and we met up with them at 6:30 for the Commercials and Experiments session...
page 1 - page 2 - page 3 - page 4
