Jim Henson: The Biography (93 page)

117
“Jim wanted to make a difference”
Being Green
, 152.

118
“When I go see a film”
“Inside the Labyrinth” documentary.

119
“fabulous”
Nina Darnton, “Screen: Jim Henson’s ‘Labyrinth,’ ”
New York Times
, June 27, 1986.

120
“[It’s] obviously made”
Roger Ebert, review of
Labyrinth, Chicago Sun-Times
, June 27, 1986.

121
“[It] has quite a lot going for it”
Nick Riddick, review of
Labyrinth, Cinema Papers
, June 1986.

122
“A crashing bore”
Review of
Labyrinth, Variety
, June 1986.

123
“Jim Henson knows what he’s doing”
Gene Siskel, “Henson’s Wizardry Lost in ‘Labyrinth,’ ”
Chicago Tribune
, June 30, 1986.

124
“series of incidents”
Ebert, review of
Labyrinth
.

125
“loses its way”
Review of
Labyrinth, Variety
, June 1986.

126
“I didn’t give a fuck”
Jerry Nelson interview.

127
“costly bore”
Review of
Labyrinth, Variety
, June 1986.

128
“I was stunned and dazed”
Therese L. Wells, “Henson: From Muppets to ‘Storyteller,’ ”
Hollywood Reporter
, January 30, 1987.

129
“[It] was a real blow”
Schindehette, “Legacy of a Gentle Genius.”

130
“I think that was the closest”
Harrigan, “It’s Not Easy Being Blue.”

131
Arthur Novell, Jim’s publicist
Markham/Novell Communications Ltd. was Jim’s agency of record. Novell was the primary liaison with Henson Associates and would become a trusted confidant.

132
“[It was] really despair”
Arthur Novell interview.

133
“absolutely the closest project to him”
Jane Henson interview.

134
“That movie looked exactly”
Larry Mirkin interview.

135
“Take a look at
Labyrinth
” FO interview.

136
“Life is a kind of labyrinth”
Labyrinth
production notes.

137
“You know”
Jerry Nelson interview.

1
“wasn’t the movie audiences,” “obviously, the picture,” “I work in one capacity”
Wells, “Henson: From Muppets to ‘Storyteller.’ ”

2
“these huge, grandiose visions”
CH interview.

3
“looking to all the world”
JH, introduction to
The Tale of the Bunny Picnic
.

4
“it was really fun to make puppets again”
CH interview.

5
“Having done the Muppet stuff”
JJ, archival interview.

6
“See how Jane reacts to all this,” “were sizing each other up”
Arthur Novell interview.

7
“She was spirited, outgoing”
Al Gottesman interview.

8
“Jim really used his hands”
Mary Ann Cleary, email to the author, April 12, 2012.

9
“that really capture the flavor”
LH interview.

10
“Most folktales”
Wells, “Henson: From Muppets to ‘Storyteller.’ ”

11
“the words, and the sound of a man’s voice”
Alan Jones, “The Storyteller,”
Cinefantastique
, circa 1987.

12
“He was the absolute top of the heap”
LH interview.

13
“[Jim] told me he had an idea”
Anthony Minghella, archival interview.

14
“ ‘sculpted foot syndrome’ ”
Duncan Kenworthy to JH, July 9, 1986 (JHCA 18521).

15
“I really don’t think we could sustain,” “some of the prettiest television we’ve ever done”
Diane Haithman, “The Muppet Man Joins His Cuddly Crew; Henson Variety Show Will Debut Tonight,”
Los Angeles Times
, April 14, 1989.

16
“As much as he loved objects”
CH interview.

17
“[Tartikoff] loves it”
Duncan Kenworthy to Brian Froud, November 12, 1986 (JHCA 12140).

18
“I thought it was just terrific”
JH to Paul Reubens, September 15, 1986 (JHCA 14067).

19
“we’re going to have great fun”
JH to Phil Ramone, August 20, 1986 (JHCA 14067).

20
“broken-family Christmas”
John Henson interview.

21
“consistently dark, victimized, and pessimistic”
Larry Mirkin to JH, “re IN TV,” January 2, 1987 (JHCA 14067).

22
“It’s time to stop thinking of him”
Wells, “Henson: From Muppets to ‘Storyteller.’ ”

23
“When a show arrives”
Walter Goodman, “John Hurt Stars in ‘The Storyteller,’ ”
New York Times
, January 30, 1987.

24
“one of Jim Henson’s finest moments”
Matt Roush, “Henson’s ‘Storyteller’ Is a Beautiful Beast,”
USA Today
, January 29, 1987.

25
“It is our responsibility”
“A Message from Jim Henson,”
The Storyteller
.

26
“it’s very hard to just visit”
Anthony Minghella, archival interview.

27
“I think Jim felt”
Richard Hunt, archival interview.

28
150 employees
Francis X. Clines, “Mr. Muppet’s Empire Is Thriving,”
New York Times
, October 25, 1987.

29
idealist
JH Myers-Briggs results (JHCA 10249).

30
“work for common good”
JH notes (JHCA 23509).

31
“I’ve never particularly wanted”
Monika Guttman, “Father of Muppets Diversifies,”
Kenosha News
(Wisconsin), December 13, 1987.

32
“The lawyers would all fight”
Jane Henson interview.

33
“many of whom”
JH, HA Quarterly Report, June 23, 1987 (JHCA 14067).

34
“It’s almost like the early days”
Jones, “The Storyteller.”

35
“in the same grand tradition”
Proposal for
The Jim Henson Hour
, late 1987 (JHCA 15814).

36
“In the many years we’ve been on television”
JH,
The Jim Henson Hour
pitch reel, December 1987,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oALgQAEH_Ok
.

37
“
The
Muppet Show
of the future!”
Lead-Free TV
proposal (JHCA 15814).

38
“unlimited potential,” “We’re tremendously excited”
Proposal for
The Jim Henson Hour
, late 1987 (JHCA 15814).

39
“I thought that was a wonderful way”
Kevin Clash interview.

40
“Imagination is what this show is all about”
The Jim Henson Hour
pitch reel.

41
“quite well,” “lovely”
JH, HA Quarterly Report, September 29, 1987 (JHCA 14067).

42
“He doesn’t do a lot of puppeteering anymore”
“Jim Henson Organizes a Reunion of Muppets,”
News-Press/Gazette
(St. Joseph, Missouri), December 1987.

43
“cherished,” “There’s a nice, naive quality”
Matt Roush, “Warm Your Spirit in a Muppet Wonderland,”
USA Today
, December 1987.

44
“I think people relate”
Candace Burke-Block, “Kermit, Miss Piggy, Henson, and Company Host Holiday Flick,”
Westsider
(Goodyear, Arizona), December 17, 1987.

45
“taking them [the Muppets] on an archeological adventure,” “specific and explicit”
JH to Brian Muehl, January 23, 1987 (JHCA 22024).

46
“figure out a way”
JJ, archival interview.

47
“this cheesy, terrible plot”
JJ, interviewed by D. W. McKim and Phillip Chapman, July 24, 1998,
http://www.muppetcentral.com/articles/interviews/juhl1.shtml
.

48
“It’s going to be the kind of movie”
FO to JH and Jerry Juhl, December 5, 1987 (JHCA 17236).

49
“a rich and mysterious”
Proposal for
The Jim Henson Hour
.

50
“We should be creating a kind of basis”
Andrew J. McCarthy, “Muppets on His Mind,”
Total Television
, December 1987.

51
“mixed feelings”
JH, HA Quarterly Report, December 17, 1987 (JHCA 14067).

52
“I like working collaboratively with people”
Being Green
, 73.

53
“all the work that I do in television”
JH, remarks at the Television Hall of Fame induction, November 15, 1987.

54
“It’s very exciting”
JH, HA Quarterly Report, December 17, 1987.

55
“We were working on
Storyteller
” Diane Holloway, “Prime-Time Puppets: Henson and Children’s Pals Create an Unusual Mix in Hourlong Series,”
Austin American-Statesman
, April 2, 1989.

1
“[I was] in a meeting with NBC yesterday”
JH to Bill Prady et al., January 19, 1988 (JHCA 15815). Prady would go on to develop such top-rated TV shows as
The Big Bang Theory
.

2
“nasty”
Mira Velimirovic to JH, April 18, 1988 (JHCA 22030).

3
“I don’t like this”
Roald Dahl to JH, December 2, 1986 (JHCA
The Witches
production file).

4
“for very valid reasons,” “It is one of my favorite projects”
JH to Roald Dahl, December 9, 1986 (JHCA
The Witches
production file).

5
“I will tell you”
Roald Dahl to JH, February 28, 1988 (JHCA
The Witches
production file).

6
“While I am not an advocate”
Amy Ash Nixon, “Witches Worry About Movie; Muppet Creator Working on Film,”
Beverly Times
(Beverly, Massachusetts), March 2, 1988. See also JH to Susan M. Baxter, February 11, 1988 (JHCA 8675).

7
“NBC is worried”
JH memo, February 3, 1988 (JHCA 20775).

8
“I think they’re the best television shows”
Patricia Brennan, “Jim Henson: From Muppets to Movies to Medieval Folk Tales,”
Washington Post
, October 25, 1987.

9
“When the cable is hooked up”
“Jim Henson: The Future of Video and Cable,”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoSutaKx0Ag&feature=related
.

10
“I love working on this show”
JH, HA Quarterly Report, March 16, 1988 (JHCA 14067).

11
“In broad strokes”
McCarthy, “Muppets on His Mind.”

12
“
The Disney Hour
consisted”
JJ to Jocelyn Stevenson, Mira Velimirovic, and Larry Mirkin, March 18, 1988 (JHCA 20864).

13
“I’m feeling quite good”
JH, HA Quarterly Report, March 16, 1988.

14
“Isn’t this a
romantic
view?”
Mary Ann Cleary interview.

15
“I think he was very much in love”
Richard Hunt, archival interview.

16
“I was really quite fond of her”
Heather Henson interview.

17
“I don’t think he ever wanted to marry”
BH interview.

18
“it’s great for my reputation!”
Arthur Novell interview.

19
“It was hard on him”
Richard Hunt, archival interview.

20
“bitchy,” “pooper scooper”
JH to Mark Shivas, March 17, 1988 (JHCA
The Witches
production file).

21
“I do think it would be courteous”
Roald Dahl to Duncan Kenworthy, April 18, 1988 (JHCA 9002).

22
“A
WFUL,”
“S
TUPID AND USELESS,
”
“PL[EASE] SHOW TO JIM H.”
Roald Dahl to Duncan Kenworthy, April 28, 1988 (JHCA
The Witches
production file).

23
“Things have been a little bumpy”
JH, HA Quarterly Report, June 24, 1988 (JHCA 14067).

24
“OBVIOUS. It is also TRITE”
Roald Dahl to Nic Roeg, August 2, 1988 (JHCA 9002).

25
“It is essential”
JH, HA Quarterly Report, June 24, 1988.

26
“David, I don’t know what I would do,” “He gave the kids undivided love”
DL, archival interview.

27
“I just felt that he was an amazing dad”
John Henson interview.

28
“I think we are going to see”
JH, HA Quarterly Report, December 17, 1987 (JHCA 14067).

29
“I tend to avoid confrontation”
Matt Roush, “Jim Henson, the Mogul of Family TV,”
USA Today
, December 15, 1987.

30
“It was frustrating”
Larry Mirkin interview.

31
“it was
so
difficult”
JJ, archival interview.

32
“This is great”
Larry Mirkin interview.

33
“I always prefer,” “It seemed the logical thing”
Haiuthman, “The Muppet Man Joins His Cuddly Crew; Henson Variety Show Will Debut Tonight.”

34
“except [that it] was kind of wonderful”
JJ, archival interview.

35
“a work in progress”
JH to Brandon Tartikoff, September 12, 1988 (JHCA 20851).

36
“[It’s] still so much fun to do”
Transcript, conversation between Jim Henson and Joan Ganz Cooney, October 26, 1988 (JHCA interviews box).

37
“Damon Runyon with dogs”
JJ, archival interview.

38
“I just love it”
JH, HA Quarterly Report, January 5, 1989 (JHCA 14067).

39
“He was just having such a wonderful time”
JJ, archival interview.

40
“need[ed] work”
JH RB, December 3, 1988.

41
“looking good”
JH, HA Quarterly Report, January 5, 1989.

42
“given the extra time,” “worked out quite nicely,” “It’s so incredible”
JH, AFI seminar, April 14, 1989.

43
“Maybe if it was a
better
haircut”
CH interview.

44
“I think we are getting a handle”
JH, HA Quarterly Report, March 21, 1989 (JHCA 14067).

45
“It hasn’t been an easy film,” “a bit in the middle”
Ibid.

46
“They put us in a time slot”
“Dialogue on Film: Jim Henson: Miss Piggy Went to Market and $150 Million Came Home,”
American Film
, November 1989.

47
“has to pick and choose”
See Jim’s introduction to
The Jim Henson Hour
, April 14, 1989.

48
“biggest problem”
JH, AFI seminar, April 14, 1989.

49
“Fixing what’s wrong”
Tom Shales, “Henson’s Happy Ending; Futuristic Muppets and the Storyteller Spell,”
Washington Post
, April 14, 1989.

50
“different”
Matt Roush, “A Madcap Mix of Jim Henson’s Muppetry,”
USA Today
, April 13, 1989.

51
“a bright addition to prime time”
Howard Rosenberg, “TV Review: Muppets
Maintain Huggability in Jim Henson Hour,”
Los Angeles Times
, April 14, 1989.

52
“that was then”
Amy Aldrich, “The Muppets Take Disney World.”

53
“I’m sorry the Sunday experiment”
Brandon Tartikoff to JH, undated note circa May 1989 (JHCA 14-0421).

54
“hurt”
Aldrich, “The Muppets Take Disney World.”

55
“disappointed,” “I don’t particularly like the way”
JH, HA Quarterly Report, Summer 1989 (JHCA 14067).

56
“We were very ambitious”
Larry Mirkin interview.

57
“a kind of craziness”
JJ, archival interview.

58
“
He was in love with technology”
Alex Rockwell interview.

59
“one of those characters”
JH, AFI seminar, April 14, 1989.

60
“It was like the show didn’t know”
JJ, archival interview.

61
“a chaotic hour”
Alex Rockwell interview.

62
“flying around”
FO interview.

63
“I know that this period of time”
JH, HA Quarterly Report, Summer 1989.

64
“releases me from a lot of business problems”
“Dialogue on Film: Jim Henson: Miss Piggy Went to Market and $150 Million Came Home,”
American Film
.