Stoller & Segel can't forget SARAH MARSHALL... or THE MUPPETS!
The guys behind FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL have struck a deal with Disney to make the new MUPPETS movie.
Nick Stoller (writer/director) & Jason Segel (writer/actor), the two graduates from the Judd Apatow academy whose male-centric comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall opens next month have struck a deal with Disney to helm the next Muppets movie. Segel and Stoller will write the script and Stoller will direct. Are you surprised these guys got the gig? Yeah me too but it would seem their negotiations skills and love for the characters is what won out in the end. Here's Variety's take on the matter...
In "Sarah Marshall" Segel's character writes a "Dracula" musical performed by puppets. Those cloth creatures were custom-made by the Henson puppeteers, and the experience emboldened Segel to pitch his concept for a Muppets movie when he was invited in for a general meeting with exec Kristin Burr. Segel got a deal in the room and enlisted Stoller to co-write and direct the project.It would seem that the Muppets make quite a big appearance in Forgetting Sarah Marshall. So with them being fans of the Muppets, then we have no reason to think they will write in gay jokes, sexual references or outrageous social misfits... right? The last Muppets movie was an awful t.v. film The Muppets Wizard of Oz, with the last theatrical effort being Muppets from Space in 1999 which was a financial flop, grossing $2 million less than the production budget. Muppets are in a dire straight right now and the hiring of these two young, fresh faced guys in the industry to be given free reign on the characters has to be a good thing.