Friday, December 18, 2009

The Muppet Man

The Muppet Man
by
Christopher Weekes

Synopsis
"The Life story and tragic early death of Jim Henson, creator of the Muppets."

Thoughts

Truly touching and beautifully reverent to the man behind the fuzzy creatures and wild fantastical worlds that have touched so many.

I'm probably one of the biggest Muppet fans around, so I am completely biased, but this script truly touched me and made me (almost) cry. I loved every page and was endeared to the way the story unfolds.

Script Excerpt
[scrippet]
INT. BATHROOM, HENSON OFFICE, NEW YORK, 1963 - DAY
As JIM opens the bathroom door... a booby trapped wire causes the SHOWER CURTAIN to open...

...revealing a GIANT MONSTER FACE snarling from the bathtub.

JIM just blinks. Strange things happen all the time here.

JIM
Ha. Nice touch Don.

DON (O.S)
What?

JIM
What do you reckon?

The BOYS can be heard guffawing from outside.

JERRY (O.S)
Better watch out for those toilet monsters Jim.

INT. HENSON OFFICE, NEW YORK, 1963 - DAY
DON stands very proudly with his drink, laughing at JIM with the other BOYS.

DON
I’ve got no idea what you’re talking about Jimmy. No idea.

He goes to open his DESK DRAWER when THREE SPRING LOADED WORMS shoot out...

...scaring him half to death.

DON (CONT’D)
Jesus!

He falls backwards off his chair and onto the floor.

JERRY, CAROL and FRANK roll around with laughter.

DON (CONT’D)
Nice. Very nice.

JIM’S voice echoes through the room - laughing.

JIM (O.S)
Why thank you.
[/scrippet]

Learned
It is always a good thing to keep your truly high moments closely followed by setback or dark moments. This creates a good balance and helps keep the story progressing.
Title: The Muppet Man
Writer: Christopher Weekes
Pages: 138 (undated draft)
Status: Jim Henson Company is producing, still in development
Opinion: Absolutely Amazing.

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