Disclosure – I was invited to the #MuppetsMostWantedEvent. Costs and expenses for my trip were covered by Disney but all opinions expressed are my own.
To have a successful film, you got to have a good director. The film director is the one that controls the artistic and dramatic aspects of the film. The director works with the producers and the songwriters to determine the best ways to visually present the ideas that are being put together for the film. The director also has the final say in who will be chosen for each cast member. Without a good director, you probably won’t have a very good film.
This month during the Muppets Most Wanted Press Junket at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, our group was able to interview James Bobin, the director of “Muppets Most Wanted” as well as “The Muppets” that came out in 2011. James Bobin also happened to be at the after party that I attended for the Muppets Most Wanted Red Carpet Premiere. Always smiling, just like Ricky.
Our interview with James Bobin went pretty well and our group got to ask him some great questions. It was a great experience just being in the room with such a talented man with such a cool accent.
So here are are few of the questions from our interview that I want to share:
Who is the most difficult Muppet to work with?
Bobin: I’ll let you guess who the most difficult Muppet is who I work with. None of them, they’re all a total joy to work with. I’m a huge fan, I grew up watching the Muppets as a kid, so working with them for me is like working with my heroes.
Muppets Most Wanted has a very international flavor. Was there any thought to stopping in Sweden for the Swedish Chef?
Bobin: No, because then you’d tell he’s not Swedish. What he speaks is some weird amalgam of Jim Henson’s kind of rubbishy Swedish, like made-up Swedish. So obviously they had him talking and then someone actually speaking real Swedish, they’d go, “Hang on a minute that’s not the same thing.” So no we’ were very particular to avoid Sweden.
What would you say is the toughest scene you had to film?
Bobin: Every scene’s pretty difficult. The Muppets is not an easy thing to shoot.
Have you started on the next Muppet movie?
Bobin: No, too tired, sorry. I’m exhausted. Ask me again in another year’s time. I love working with these guys, and as you know they’re my heroes, so I really loved it. I would love to do more because this is really fun. I mean, I’m incredibly lucky to have this job. It’s like my dream.
The locations were largely chosen because I’m a fan of those kind of old-style caper movies and they’re always in places like Monte Carlo and Berlin and Madrid. It’s a very international feel. I like the idea of Muppets going global. That to me is interesting, that it’s not just about U.S. and the U.K. But they have a global interest. And that’s really, a fun thing to me.
If you missed it, be sure to check out our Mommy Blogger Interview With Kermit, Miss Piggy and Constantine that I posted last week!
For musicals, I think that Muppets Most Wanted would have to be my new favorite. I have been listening to the sountrack daily since I seen the film, the songs are so catchy. For those that enjoy the music aspect to these films, check out this video with songwriter Brett McKenzie and James Bobin.
Muppets Most Wanted is playing in theaters NOW! For those of you on social media, be sure to:
- Like The Muppets on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Muppets
- Follow The Muppets on Twitter:@MuppetsStudio
- Follow Miss Piggy on Twitter: @RealMissPiggy