As the star, co-screenwriter and an executive producer on The Muppets, it's safe to say Jason Segel has a lot invested in the project.  Thankfully, when I got to visit the set earlier this year, everything I saw and learned tells me The Muppets is going to be a great movie and something entire families are going to be able to enjoy together.While on set, I got to participate in a group interview with Segel between takes. He talked about the challenges of acting opposite puppets, designing the newest Muppet (Walter), how the script changed during the many years it took to get the film made, why they cast Amy Adams, were there any lesser-known Muppets he tried to get in the movie, what was it like to balance How I Met Your Mother with filming The Muppets, and so much more. Hit the jump to either read or listen to the interview.Before going any further, you should watch the brand new trailer and read the synopsis:
On vacation in Los Angeles, Walter, the world's biggest Muppet fan, and his friends Gary (Jason Segel) and Mary (Amy Adams) from Smalltown, USA, discover the nefarious plan of oilman Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) to raze the Muppet Theater and drill for the oil recently discovered beneath the Muppets' former stomping grounds. To stage The Greatest Muppet Telethon Ever and raise the $10 million needed to save the theater, Walter, Mary and Gary help Kermit reunite the Muppets, who have all gone their separate ways: Fozzie now performs with a Reno casino tribute band called the Moopets, Miss Piggy is a plus-size fashion editor at Vogue Paris, Animal is in a Santa Barbara clinic for anger management, and Gonzo is a high-powered plumbing magnate. With secret, signature, celebrity cameos, âThe Muppetsâ hits the big screen Nov. 23, 2011.
As usual, you can either click here for the audio, or read the transcript below. Finally, here's all our previous Muppets coverage and click on any image for high resolution.
Question:Â Was there any lesser-known Muppets you tried to get in the movie?
Jason Segel: Weâre bringing out a lot of Muppets from the archives. A lot of the guys from the old Muppet Show, some of the kind of obscure performances make appearances, which Iâm really excited about. I canât give too many away, but yeah, thereâs some old favorites of mine. Marvin Suggs and the Muppaphones appear. I donât know if you know who they are, but thereâs some really cool weird ones.
It seems like the older Muppet films were more geared towards adults, where the newer ones are focused more for children. Can you talk about how this film places in the series?
Jason: Weâre trying to hearken back to the original three Muppet moviesâThe Muppet Movie, Muppets Take Manhattan, and The Great Muppet Caper. I think that one of the things the original Muppet movies did amazingly well, and itâs what Pixar does really well now, is that they donât condescend to children by feeling like they have to dumb things down to the lowest common denominator. And when you donât do that, you get a family film in its truest sense. And entire family can sit and watch and enjoy it. The worst equivalent is Barney the dinosaur, where parents are having to sit there while their kids watch this, and the parents want to blow their brains out. This, I think, is going to be the exact opposite. I think parents are going to be laughing as hard as kids are going to be laughing. We have jokes geared towards children. We have jokes that are geared specifically towards adults that would go right over a kidâs head. Itâs a lot like what The Simpsons does, as well. Thereâs something very special about the whole family being able to sit down and enjoy something together. That was our goal.
How important was the music to you in this film, given that it played such a large part in some of the earlier movies, and your natural inclination as a musician?
Jason: We knew it was going to be musical from the start. All the great Muppet movies are musicals. When you look back at the great lineage of Muppet music, things like Rainbow Connection, thatâs not a joke of a song. That is a serious song. If a legitimate musician put that song out theyâd win the Grammy. So we really wanted the music to be great. James Bobin was the perfect choice for this movie because heâs been doing Flight of the Concords and it almost seems like heâs been training for this. Then we brought on Brett. It was just a perfect union of their styles and the Muppet styles. So I think weâre in really good shape.
Is there a lot of jokes referencing that The Muppets are in a movie?
Jason: Yeah, thereâs some self-aware humor. In the original script thereâs a lot more. We realized you only need a few of those moments to get that joke. But yeah, weâve got all of the original style of Muppet humor. James is a great student of comedy and of the Muppets. And Nick and I were tremendous fans. So we just tried to pay homage to some of that amazing work.
Is there a period of adjustment getting your sense of humor and the Muppet team together, finding a balance?
Jason: No. I think maybe there was a moment of weariness that I was doing this with a sense of irony, that there was a wink, wink about it. âOh, cute, R rated Jason Siegel is now going to do the Muppets and make fun of it.â I think as soon as everyone arrived on set and saw that wasnât the case, that this was coming from a very genuine place, we were all on the same team very, very quickly.
We all share a love of the Muppets, certainly, but also a love of comedy. Itâs funny. Itâs really easy to dismissâ¦part of the illusion of the puppetry is that you donât see the puppeteer. So you forget that these are amazingly talented people that are not only puppeteers, but theyâre actors, and theyâre singers, and theyâre great comedians in their own right. So itâs been an honor to work with this group.
Jason: There is, surprisingly. I did not expect that for a minute. But some of the best linesâ¦I mean these guys know the characters so much better than I could ever hope to. I can imagine what I think the character might say, but these guys have been playing them for 10, sometimes 20, 30 years. I wish you guys were over there so you could see how a kid reacts to those puppets. Itâs one of the most beautiful things youâve ever seen. The puppeteer just instantly disappears. You watch a childâ¦you can see the guy standing there with a puppet on his hand and heâs talking, and the kid is looking directly at the puppet. Every time it happens it reminds me of why I wanted to do the movie. Itâs a truly beautiful thing.
Is it a challenge to act opposite puppets?
Jason: It didnât take long before youâre looking right at the Puppet. I have a bit of a challenge as the puppeteers need monitors so they can see whatâs going on, because puppets donât have working eyes; theyâre puppets. So theyâre working off of monitors. But a lot of times we can see the monitor, so we can watch ourselves act. My acting is mesmerizingâ¦[laughter] So a lot of times I find myself just watching myself act when I should not be doing that.
Have you actually worked the puppets?
Jason: Yeah, I just operated Fozzie about a minute ago. Iâve done Fozzie, Iâve done Dr. Teeth, and Iâve done Beaker so far. Itâs been amazing. That is what knocks your socks off. This is going to sound different than how I mean it, but my hand is inside Fozzieâ¦Thatâs amazing! I never thought that would happen!
We know that youâre a big Muppets fan, theoretically speaking, are you going to take anything home after the shoot ends?
Jason: I really want a lot of stuff that I see around here. Theyâre very protective, certainly, over the puppets. But Iâve gotten a few bits of paraphernalia that Iâll save and treasure forever, and some really special photographs. Itâs like me with Kermit shooting the breeze. Thatâs the greatest picture Iâve ever seen. I love it.
Who created Walter?
Jason: Well, Nick Stoller and I did. We wrote the script together. Heâs my writing partner. We invented Walter.
How long did the design process take?
Jason: We did not get to design him physically, because then they would owe us a lot of money. So we came up with him on paper, and then they were very clear that we could not be involved in any aspect of the physical design of Walter. But it is pretty crazy when I saw him and I knew that he was born in our brain. Itâs like Nick and I had a little baby with our brains! Itâs pretty crazy.
I talked to you about this way back on Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Iâm curious how the scripting process has changed since then.
Jason: The concept has stayed the same. Some of the particulars have changed based on finding out more about the Muppets. In the original script, to be honestâ¦I think itâs fine to talk about this. I donât see why it wouldnât be. In the original script, I was a ventriloquist and Walter was my puppet. But one of the things that you find out is that you really donât want to cross the line into mentioning puppet. It becomes very, very complicated, because the Muppets are not puppets. The Muppets are living creates in this world.
So as soon as I realized that that made things really complicated to have a puppet versus the Muppetsâone thing is a puppet, these things are not puppetsâit became complicated. So we cut that aspect of the story, and it actually really simplified the story. So that was one of the things I found out just from working with these guys.
Are you all nervous to bring new puppets into the mix?
Jason: Iâm not nervous about Walter one bit. Walter is the sweetest little guy youâll ever meet. Heâs like a very young Kermit. Heâs naïve and heâs sweet. Walterâs thing is that he has never met anyone like him. Like I said, you donât use the word âpuppetâ, but heâs my best friend. We grew up in Smalltown USA; thatâs literally the name of the town. Heâs never seen anything else like him except for the Muppets on television. So his dream is to go meet the Muppets and kind of maybe have a family. So it really does have tones of a young Kermit.
But thereâs other new Muppets, too, isnât there?
Jason: Oh yeah, thereâs some other new Muppets, some villainous characters. Theyâre not specifically Muppets. Theyâre not very nice, so theyâre not Muppets. But yeah, theyâre adorable. I love them. Theyâre another great creation. I canât give too much away about them, but theyâre really cool.
You seem like youâre a big fan of the Muppets. Can you talk a little bit about using this film with references to other films?
Jason: We have some mention of the standard Rich and Famous contract from the original Muppet movie. We have a lot of things like that in there. To me, I just really wanted to pay homage to those movies that meant so much to me growing up. I wanted the experience, like we talked about, where parentsâ¦Our generation of kids, weâll remember those great movies, those great moments. And then also being able to have our age introduce our kids to the Muppets. So yeah, that was my goal.
Why was Amy Adams a great choice?
Jason: I wrote it for her. She was in my mind from the beginning. Every since I saw Enchantedâ¦[ audio cuts out]. First of all, sheâs the best actress alive. To go from Enchanted to Doubt and a fighter, I mean this woman can do anything. But sheâs able to do this wide-eyed naivety that is not part of her personality in real life. Sheâs one of the most smart, on top of it women Iâve ever met. But she can do this kind of thing that was reallyâ¦my character, her character, and Walter are true innocence. Sheâs able to do that. She channels it through her eyes, and she can sing. She is totally game. Sheâs up for it. She also really gets the joke. So she was just the perfect choice right from the start. I donât know what I would have done if we hadnât gotten her.
Can you talk about doing the movie and the TV show at the same time?
Jason: Itâs been tricky. Iâm doing seven day weeks; I mean true seven day weeks. My hard day is doing Tuesday to Wednesday. I do Tuesday daytime on the TV show, come here and do Tuesday night night shoot, and then go immediately back to the TV show to do Wednesday day. So it is a 36 hour day.
Youâre not sleeping at all?
Jason: I sleep in my trailer or when they drive me to set. I usually get back to the TV show at 7 and they start at 8, so I get a quick little naparoo. But itâs my dream come true, so you canât complain about it. Itâs what I had to do to get the movie made. And itâs really tough to be in a bad mood around Kermit, as silly as that sounds. I show up here as tired as I might be and they bring out Kermit going, [in Kermit voice], âHi-ho!â âAw, all right. Iâll smile.â Itâs just great.
And the TV show is a pleasure to be on. Weâve been doing it for six years now. Weâve got it kinda down to a science. Theyâve been, first of all, incredibly kind just to make the schedule work, because theyâve shot me out of a day of filming every week. My cast has been very patient about it. Everyoneâs working hard.
They knew that it was my dream. When I told them I was selling this three years ago, I think all of us thought, âOh, awesome.â But we knew it would be an uphill battle to get it made. And then once they said they were going to make it, everyone in my life was like, âAll right, whatever you need, letâs get this thing made.â Iâve had puppets and Muppet figurines in my house or my bedroom since I was a kid.
How was it acting alongside The Muppets for the first time?
Jason: Meeting Kermit for the first time was pretty crazy. We did a photo shoot for Entertainment Weekly where it was the first time they arranged all the puppets. They did something called armature them so that they were all in a pose. I was sitting at this table and I looked around and it was every single one of them. It was like 20 puppets. I think what struck me isâ¦Iâm not an arrogant dude. To be even like the tiniest footnote in the Muppet lineage is nuts to me. That is insane. So I feel very honored.
Did you have a favorite episode?
Jason: Peter Sellersâ episode just slaughters me. Itâs so weird. [laughter] No, it truly is. Itâs exactly why I love the Muppets. Scooter comes in at the beginning of every episode and heâs like, âFive minutes to curtain, Mr. Sellers!â And then Peter Sellers is like, âWhat should I do when I get out there?â Heâs like, âWell, all you have to do is be yourself!â âThere is no Peter Sellers. I lost Peter Sellers some time ago. All I know how to do is inhabit a character.â He goes on for like five minutes. Itâs like a dude having an existential crisis.[laughter] And then he sings a song called âWhiskey, Wine, and Wild Womenâ. So itâs why I love the Muppets. The kids are just thinking, âOh, cute! Fun!â Like a guy singing a song with puppets. Puppets are like watching Peter Sellers sing âWhiskey, Wine, and Wild Womenâ. Thatâs exactly my point. Itâs working on every level. Itâs firing on all cylinders.
I know you have a lot of contemporary stars with cameos and stuff. Are there any classic Muppet stars that make a cameo?
Jason: Iâm not allowed to talk about a lot of them, but weâve got some great cameos. Mickey Rooney kinda harkens back to that, Alan Arkin. Weâve got some really great cameos in there.
When it was announced that it was actually happening, did you get letters or calls?
Jason: I got a lot of calls, especially my contemporaries who have kids all wanted to be a part of it for their kids, and the idea of bringing their kids to meet the Muppets, or even to be able to show them the movie eventually. People love the Muppets. Thereâs a lot of Muppet love out there.
Did you write any of the songs? Could you also address those songs for adults and kids?
Jason: Bret McKenzie wrote most of the songs. And then we have a couple reprises of some of the old Muppet songs. I wrote one of the songs, but itâs a jokier song. Brett really just took the songs and ran with them. Theyâre awesome; really, really gorgeous.
Yeah, theyâre catchy so kids will be bopping along, but some of the lyrics are definitely adult-based. Part of the movie is Kermit trying to come to terms with the fact that the Muppets arenât together anymore. Thereâs a beautiful song that Kermit sings that is truly heartbreaking.
Can you tell us what some of the Muppets are doing when you find them in the film?
Jason: I donât want to give too much away. But weâve got them in various states of success or disarray. Some are famous. Some areâ¦destitute is the wrong word; you are not going to see any destitute Muppets. [laughter] But some arenât doing what they wish they were doing. So everyone is doing their own thing and itâs a bit of a struggle for all of them to come back and become The Muppet Show again.
Is there anything left you would like to do?
Jason: Iâd like to be President of The United States. [laughs] No, Iâd like to play the villain in a superhero movie. I think Iâd be really good at it. Iâm like 20% creepy. [laughter] No, I really am. I have 20% creepy. I exclude it from this movie. But look, when you watch Sarah Marshall, the Dracula musical is funny, but itâs 20% creepy. So I really want to play a villain in a superhero movie.
What about playing Vector? You played Vector, obviously. Heâs kind of a super villain.
Jason: Yeah, but I didnât get to do my creepy face. I do a really good creepy face.
What was more impressive, Kermit or Julie Andrews? Your first meeting?
Jason: I must say it was Kermit. I canât say honestly that Julie Andrews was one of my childhood idols. [laughs] I mean she was awesome, but Kermit truly formed my sense of comedy. Iâve said this before ad naseum, but when youâre a kid, Kermit is Tom Hanks. Heâs Tom Hanks for kids or Jimmy Stewart for kids. Heâs truly the every man.
I think even as a kid wanting to be an actor, I thought thatâs what I want to do. Thatâs who I want to be. Heâs so nice and sweet and heâs running the show, and everybody loves him. That was it.
Can you talk about the challenges of working seven day weeks with also thinking about other things?
Jason: Well, Nick, we write in my trailer a lot. We start filming Five Year Engagement as soon as this ends, which we also wrote; Nickâs directing. Itâs hard. But I spent 21-25 totally out of work. So now that I have a chance to do stuff, thereâs a part of me that feels like Iâm not letting this opportunity pass by. Because you see it go away very quickly. And itâs very fickle.
And I like writing. I genuinely do. I get tired and all that stuff, but when you think about itâ¦Itâs like the movie Alien when the aliens get to burst out of your chest. When I get an idea, itâs kinda hard not to do something because it feels like the alien is going to burst out of my chest. Iâm not good at setting it to the side and say, âIâll get to this eventually.â I want to start writing it, even if it means staying up all night, which is basically whatâs happening at this point. But I donât know. Iâm a pretty lucky dude. Itâs tough to complain. I mean look, thereâs like a million Muppets over there. Itâs crazy. I mean itâs really insane. I bought a house. [laughs] What do I have to complain about? A little lack of sleep? Thatâs all right.
Jason: No, Iâve gotta save it! Plus, it doesnât translate well to the written word. If this was being filmed I would do it. [laughs]
Just for our own entertainment.
Jason: [laughs] No, no. You gotta buy a ticket for that.
Can you talk about incorporating Jim Henson Studios into the actual film?
Jason: That was something I wanted to do. The idea was born at the Jim Henson Studios. They designed the Sarah Marshall puppets. While I was there I asked if I could see a Kermit or a Miss Piggy and they said, âWe donât have them here anymore. Weâve sold them to Disney. Disney owns all the Kermitâs and Piggyâs.â That literally was the moment the idea was born, was that the Muppets werenât at the Henson studios anymore. Then it grew from there. And Nick Stoller, I must say, is a tremendous writing partner. He came up with a huge amount of the idea. And James Bobin, when he signed on, really refined the script. Weâre a good triumvirate; not since the days of Rome. [laughter] Thank you guys! Itâs good to see you again. Youâre always all so nice.
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For more Muppets set visit coverage:
THE MUPPETS Set Visit (Video Blog)
Amy Adams On Set Interview THE MUPPETS
Nicholas Stoller On Set Interview THE MUPPETS
Director James Bobin On Set Interview THE MUPPETS; Plus New Behind the Scenes Images