People ask me, "Chase, where can I find videos of you? Chase, where can I find things that you think that are funny and that you must share with the world?" I used to simply reply, "Well, old lady that smells like jello and aqua net-- Canada" but, I can now tell her and you, to come to this website. You should come everyday! Really. I need the numbers to boost my self-esteem....
Does anyone remember the old Alfred Hitchcock movies? Of course you do. "The Birds," "Psycho," "Vertigo," and "Don't Eat Broccoli Before Bedtime" (okay not that last one. maybe ) Well, he also had a TV show "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour" and in all these things he would always make a cameo. Very meta. It would be kind of fun to find him in these things.
So, that brings me to our story today. Someone had a GENIUS idea to cut and paste some audio and clips together to make an episode of "The Muppet Show" with a special guest- Jim Henson! This is genius! You must watch this! This is the Muppets going meta-meta-meta!! Enjoy!
HAHAHA! I love it when Gonzo says "What's a puppet?" and Waldorf tells Statler he is "betraying his own kind"!!!! HAHAHAHA!
Okay. Wrap your head around this, kids. Remember way back, a long time ago when there was a Facebook campaign to get our beloved Betty White to host the iconic SNL? And it worked? She went on to host the show to it's highest rating in a long time, schooled any host that has came along after her, and even got an Emmy for it back in September. With this campaign working, people's voices were heard on an iconic show, accolades were given, and Betty White is now WHITE HOT. She is Hollywood's it girl. Enter Cookie Monster.
I saw this in a message I got today, and I can't tell if this is parody of the Betty White FB campaign, or if Cookie and our friends at Sesame are legit, but he wants to host SNL. He even made a video showing us what a show would look like with him as our Master of Ceremonies......
Very funny video. Cookie Gaga? Brilliant! Perfect Parody. But is it? Does he really want to start a Facebook campaign bombarding studio 8H? I don't know. In my opinion, this is a bad idea. I know you are shocked to hear that. I don't think every Tom, Dick, and Cookie needs to try to host the show after Betty's fan-led campaign. I also think the there is a whole heap of problems that would come to the writers. Cookie is a very two-dimensional character. A whole hour of him doing sketch comedy may be a train wreck. But, I think a cameo would be fantastic.
The best Muppet to host SNL, is the emcee that has the most experience, and I am sure would bring a pig, bear, and whatever with him: Kermit! But, how much fun is all of this? Who ever came up with the idea of Cookie auditioning for SNL should know that they are kinda brilliant!
If you want to see Cookie host SNL click HERE and like his Facebook page to get his campaign goin'!!!
So, my friends at Entertainment Weekly this week have a first look at the new Muppet movie that went into production a few weeks ago. This is a big deal. Everyone in Hollywood is talking about this film starring Jason Segal and Amy Adams and a host of celebs fulfilling the "Celebrity Cameo" roles, this promises to be the Muppet movie I have been waiting for. It is currently titled "The Muppets" and I am sure that is only a working title. That is a terrible name for a Muppet Movie. Well, not terrible, it does explain who they are...
Anywho, The Frog and The Pig and Bear are back! There is even a new Muppet named Walter, that you can see at the front of the photo holding an iphone. (These guys are hi-tech!) Details are very hush hush on the script, but Disney is banking on a hit. They even called in the boys over at Pixar to help with the script. Expect to hear more things as filming continues. Look at how good everyone looks! The Frog hasn't aged a day...
Okay, Folks, I have been trying not to put EVERYTHING The Muppets do on here, but this is just too funny! The Swedish Chef attempts to make popcorn. Or, he attempts to make popcorn shrimp. I don't know, I don't understand mock swedish. All I know, is it's funny and it makes Red Lobster's popcorn shrimp look boring. and lazy. and unfunny. Plus, it has a catchy song from the Seventies!
As anyone who knows me at all, knows that I am some sort of muppet. I gotta be. I don't remember a time of my life when they were not a strong influence in my life. Kermit playing the banjo, Piggy karate chopping someone, Gonzo lusting after chickens, Animal yelling "Woman!" They were always apart of me.
Last month was the 20th anniversary of Jim Henson's death. Jim is the man responsible of creating and assembling this motley crew of creations, as well as putting a big yellow bird on Sesame Street, and many other worlds that were explored on film and television. He was a true genius in the vein of Walt Disney and Mark Twain, and we lost him way to soon.
I was only five years old the day Jim died. I came home from school, and my mother was prepared to tell me the news. I sobbed. It was like a death in the family. My first questions were about Kermit and Piggy and all of their friends, and what they would do now, and my mother had no answers. She just hugged me and mothered me. I knew they were puppets, somehow, but didn't fully understand how they operated. I knew they were just "held up." If Jim Henson wasn't there to hold Kermit up, what was to become of him?? I remember this day as it was yesterday. It is very profound in my memory.
As I am now an adult, the humor and irreverent style with a sweetness that the Muppets carried has stayed with me. I have has the pleasure to meet and talk with a few of the original Muppeteers about Jim and his outlook on life and work and I hold him responsible for my silly sense of humor. Jerry Juhl was head writer for the Muppet Show and a performer before that, and he was responsible for their silly sweetness. I blame him for the way I write jokes, as well. From a very young age, these men groomed me to be a comedian and writer, and humorist.
Recently, this sweet silliness and irreverent style has been unveiled for the public to see. At 30 Rock in NY, The Muppets made their mark a long time ago when they were guests on The Tonight Show with Jack Parr (he was before Carson!) I will let my buddy Frank Oz explain in this video to Brian Williams....
It really gets to me how emotional he gets and he explains that he is the "last man standing." Jim has been gone for 20 years, and we lost Jerry Juhl a few years ago. The world is a little less funny, a little less silly.
Muppet Writer, Jerry Juhl and Muppet Builder, Don Sahlin
Here is Frank cutting the ribbon with Meridith Viera and Jimmy Fallon for the pipes to be part of the NBC studio tour....
I hope that you all can see what I am talking about when I say I hold these men responsible for my sense of humor. I also think that they have affected and effected a lot of folks. I mean, I am not their only fan! Just their biggest. There has never been a time in my life that Kermit or his friends have never been an important part of it. I have forced The Muppets upon others. I was even at the dentist the other day, and started singing the Muppet Show theme to let them know when I was in pain! They are my happy place. They are my sane place. They are my insane place. They are my place.
I will probably never stop feeling the loss of Jim Henson, a man that I only knew in this life through his work. I could go on but, I will end this post with a quote from Kermit that I hold as a mantra. At the end of the Muppet Movie, Kermit and the gang are being chased down by a business man who wants Kermit to be a spokesman for his french fried frog leg restaurants. It is the business man's dream to own a chain of these crummy restaurants. Kermit replies, " Yeah, well, I got a dream too. It's about singing a dancing, and making people happy. That's the kind of dream that gets better the more people you share it with." I find that to be more true everyday.
