This report comes to us from Guillermo Gomez, one of the original ToughPigs pals and Muppet Wiki admins. Thanks for sharing your Frank story with us, Guillermo!
Hey all! I know it seems like ages since anybody’s heard from me, but that’s because I’ve been making films, working at an international film festival, and mining VHS tapes for valuable material like Sesame Street episodes. But this past Saturday, I had the incredible fortune of being in the same room with somebody I never thought possible: the one and only Frank Oz.
The event was called “In the Director’s Chair with Frank Oz: In Conversation with Pete Docter”. It was presented by The Walt Disney Family Museum (a must visit if you ever come to the Presidio), and held in the auditorium at the Letterman Digital Arts Center, which is practically a Star Wars museum in and of itself, with a bronze Yoda statue in front. What better place, right?
Photos by Cherlyn Beatty, used with permission
The museum had informed visitors in advance that we would not be allowed to line up until 12:30 PM, but I had a feeling I would want to get there much earlier due to the anticipated road work on the way, as well as the inevitable barrage of fans. And I’m glad I did, because I met the wonderful and charismatic Cherlyn, who had traveled here all the way from Pittsburgh. When I encountered her, she was sitting on a bench, sporting that Onion t-shirt we’ve all seen, announcing that the building was not open yet, in her stage voice that reminded me of Prairie Dawn. She had obviously learned a lot from Lydia, since her left arm bears a collection of tattooed Muppet performer autographs which rivals mine (on paper), and she rightfully boasted her latest addition to the menagerie of markings: Frank’s autograph, which she was told she would never get. Oh yeah, and Bill Barretta’s John Hancock was also newly minted in ink as well. What are the odds that both of them would be there that day?
While in line, Cherlyn and I gabbed to each other about our Muppet related experiences, which is something I don’t normally have an opportunity to do with others, to the point that I almost felt like my fandom had gone dormant. But lately, I am observing that not a single day goes by when a Frank Oz character or quote doesn’t go through my neurodivergent head at some point in the day. For instance, whenever I use the speech-to-text feature on my iPhone and dictate “question mark”, how can I not think of Cookie Monster doing the same as he types on a typewriter? Heck, my fascination with Frank’s characters has even rubbed off on my dad on some occasions.
The seemingly endless long line was finally let into the auditorium, and we didn’t have to wait long before the discussion finally began. (Although ironically, after we were told to turn off our cellphones, they announced that there was a QR code we could scan and enter questions in advance for the Q&A. Mixed signals, anyone? *rimshot*)
The primary focus of the discussion was Pete asking Frank questions about directing, but Frank would frequently turn the tables on Pete, demanding answers out of him pertaining to the animation medium. I mean, the CCO of Pixar was getting straight up grilled by the original Tough Pig. Can you picture that? Priceless! Frank even pointed out that he and Dave Goelz (also in the audience, WOW!) had appeared in both of the Inside Out movies, adding what may be the quote of the year: “We’re tired of saving Pixar.” (I’m guessing he doesn’t think very highly of Hoppers, considering what went down with Doc and all.)
As an occasional film director myself, I found some of Frank’s points interesting, especially his opinion that “coverage is the death of style” – which I now interpret as “less (coverage shots) is more (style)”. Mind officially blown. I also learned that one of the reasons he signed onto What About Bob? was because he was still blue after Jim Henson died, and seriously needed a laugh, much like we all did (and still do, especially today).
I had told Cherlyn earlier about the videotaped interview that Frank did with his father in the early 70s, which was shown in a small subsection of a Muppets exhibit at the Jewish Contemporary Museum in 2022. This info contributed to the question she asked, which was “where can we see the interview with your father?” Frank didn’t have a definite answer for that, but he explained the context, and repeated what he said in his video message to museum goers: it is easier now more than ever to use your iPhone to interview and videotape your parents and other family members, so do it, because it will mean something in 20 or 30 years. Seriously, why are we not doing that lately? Why are you not doing it right now?
(Sidenote: I have a theory that doing this interview with his father was the reason that Kermit filled in for Grover in Episode 376, but don’t quote me on that.)
The last question was about how Frank got along with his fellow Muppet performers while he was directing them in The Muppets Take Manhattan (the full story of which should be in the commentary track on the recent 4K release). He and Dave joked about the amount of tension, but I could clearly detect the water under the bridge. Oddly, Frank, Dave and Bill had the perfect opportunity to plug their new online miniseries Judge Boing Boing, but didn’t take it. The ultimate lesson in being humble.
As we departed, Cherlyn and I exchanged information and she called me her new best friend. And oh, the double take she made when I told her that my Muppet Wiki username is MuppetVJ. How heartwarming is that? It only goes to show what can happen when you stick out your hand and say hello.
In the world of fandoms, one’s judgment can often be clouded from spending so much time alone in front of a computer screen. But being able to talk to each other in person, with our guards down, reminds us that we are all more than just statuses, usernames and blocks of text – we’re human. And we all have our motivations for what we collect, whether it’s autographs, video material, t-shirts or bobble heads, but it’s always the same magic that unites us (except for those annoying autograph scalpers driven by money).
So to my old ToughPigs friends Danny, Scott, Ryan, Peter, Carolyn, Joggy, Amy, if you’re reading this: don’t worry, I never left the magic. Because I just cannot. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to go schedule an interview with my parents.
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by Guillermo Gomez
