Wow, I have a rather bad headache, and I was planning on just going to sleep. Yet, after reading on Cinematical that The Muppet Movie was inducted into the Library of Congress' National Film Registry, I got so excited I couldn't resist. For those of you not in the know, the National Film Registry was set up by the National Film Preservation Act of 1988, that allows the Library of Congress to select 25 films a year for preservation in honor of being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant films". This year, heading up the list is Jim Henson's lovable felt creatures in their debut feature film, 1979's The Muppet Movie, directed by James Frawley. Other noteworthy additions this year is Michael Jackson's long form groundbreaking music video Thriller, directed by John Landis, Sidney Lumet's Dog Day Afternoon, Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West, the 1959 romantic comedy Pillow Talk and the avant-garde 1949 short film The Lead Shoes.
I also cannot go to bed until I pass along something awesome that Geekologie posted, an amazing replica of the Back to the Future DeLorean time machine from eBay.
One may wonder how these four images comes together, but you soon will. I'll begin by saying that one of my favorite movies of all time is Spike Jonze's Being John Malkovich, written by the enigmatic Charlie Kaufman. Kaufman's writing style on that film has been referenced in the cinema blogsphere twice today, and I must say, if we have to endure the copying of styles, it should definitely be that of Kaufman's. The first reference to the 1999 quirky classic comes the way of a Los Angeles Timesarticle on the recent winner of the Hollywood Black List top spot, an annual ranking of the best screenplays yet to make it to the silver screen, The Muppet Man. The script is by an unknown by the name of Christopher Weekes, and is concerns the life of Muppet creator Jim Henson, but takes a more fantastical Kaufman-esque route that I think we would all generally identify as Henson's broad imagination would have seen things. Sadly, the article nearly confirms that the entry will stay on the Black List, as The Jim Henson Company would prefer a straightforward biopic on the ingenious man behind the felt creatures we all know and love.
Second on the list of Kaufman references comes the way of a Cinematical article on Tobey Maguire's future projects, particularly a film called Prisoners of Trebek, a surreal tale of a Jeopardy! contestant finding love during the show, with Alex Trebek taking a similar role to that of John Malkovich in the aforementioned Kaufman flick. Sounds absolutely incredible.
The article does not stop there though. It also links to a Latino Review story on how Maguire's agency is also in talks with Guillermo del Toro and the team behind The Hobbit to play the role of Bilbo Baggins. I have to say, I don't think anybody will be gung ho about the possible addition of Maguire, but I must say, if a person I am against has to get the role, at least I can be rest assured that Maguire actually has the ability to act. He kept the nerd audience at bay with a decent turn as Peter Parker, but more prominently showed his skills in the 2000 dramedy Wonder Boys. I am still personally pulling for a choice I saw offered up on a message board sometime back, Martin Freeman, most famous for his role in the British version of The Office, or to American audiences as Arthur Dent in the film adaptation of Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
In some more very intriguing news/rumors that deserves a full post on its topic alone, Pajiba has thrown David O. Russell (still known to me as the guy that directed the incestuous comic romance Spanking the Monkey) as the possible director for Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Even more amazing than that, during one my nights spent playing Madden 10 instead of blogging, it was announced that Natalie Portman will be producing and starring in the big screen version of the eccentric read.
Finally, if all of that news/rumor mill hasn't been enough to quench your thirst for the day, here is possibly the most kick ass video of all time from Back to the Future Part III, where Verne, one of Doc Brown's children, manages to sneak in a somewhat suggestive gesture in the background that just took roughly nineteen years to find and garner its own YouTube video. Enjoy.
I was just flipping through the pages of Geek Monthly and read a wonderful article on the genius of Jim Henson in honor of a traveling exhibition of the art of the Muppet creator. The article points out that most of the time Henson's beloved characters are much more recognizable than he ever will be, but the new exhibition, Jim Henson's Fantastic World, attempts to focus on the man behind the puppetry, as well as the art of it all, and some of the more profound statements he was making. This included speaking a little of the pre-Muppet Henson and his 1965 Academy Award nominated short film Time Piece.
We are all well acquainted with The Muppet Show, the many cinematic spin-offs that would follow, Sesame Street, Fraggle Rock, The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, early Saturday Night Live, The Jim Henson Hour and even some of us are familiar with Sam and Friends. However, I had never seen Time Piece before looking it up tonight, but it is something I instantly have to share. The little experimental short that debuted at New York's Museum of Modern Art only has one word of dialogue and is otherwise set to a ticking soundtrack to keep with the clock motif. The surrealism of the film, along with some more adult content (despite keeping a more cartoonish tone) seems somewhat different than what we're used to from Henson, but it definitely fits. Also see if you can spot Muppet regulars Frank Oz and Jerry Juhl. Also, I noticed in the end credits of the film that April March is credited as the stripper. I got really excited until I realized that 1965 was the year the singer April March was born.
I looked up to see if I could find The Chicken, the Claude Berri short that would take home the Oscar statuette over Henson's film, but alas, I could not find it. Nonetheless, I seriously doubt it would be as good of a film as this, with or without the nostalgia of Henson. One last note on Henson, despite going to Atlanta a few times, while looking up Time Piece today, I came across The Center for Puppetry Arts for the first time, established to educate and entertain in the medium of puppets. Henson originally cut the ribbon on the public opening for the center and museum along with his most famous character Kermit the Frog in 1978. The center has also announced that a wing of the museum to focus strictly on Henson's work will open in 2012, adding to an already impressive collection from Henson's workshop. So now, without further adieu... a treasure that has been forgotten by the passing of years, starring, written, directed and produced by one of the true geniuses and innovators of television and cinema, Jim Henson's Time Piece. Time Piece
P.S. Yesterday Yoshito Usui was found dead. I mention this briefly, because to most people Usui, whom was found after turning up missing during a hiking trip due to natural causes, wasn't really famous at all. Yet, Usui was the creator of Crayon Shin Chan, a rather bizarre comical anime that is part of the Adult Swim family, and to keep relevant to my blog, produced several film spin-offs from the anime series, itself adapted from Usui's manga, which may or may not find the eventual stateside light of day. R.I.P. Usui.
Wow, I have a rather bad headache, and I was planning on just going to sleep. Yet, after reading on Cinematical that The Muppet Movie was inducted into the Library of Congress' National Film Registry, I got so excited I couldn't resist. For those of you not in the know, the National Film Registry was set up by the National Film Preservation Act of 1988, that allows the Library of Congress to select 25 films a year for preservation in honor of being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant films". This year, heading up the list is Jim Henson's lovable felt creatures in their debut feature film, 1979's The Muppet Movie, directed by James Frawley. Other noteworthy additions this year is Michael Jackson's long form groundbreaking music video Thriller, directed by John Landis, Sidney Lumet's Dog Day Afternoon, Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West, the 1959 romantic comedy Pillow Talk and the avant-garde 1949 short film The Lead Shoes. 
