3 “It was the juxtaposition” Anne Tasker, Approved Dark Crystal Production Notes (JHCA 14-0260).
4 “perhaps a lodestone” Treatment for Mithra, August 4, 1977 (JHCA Dark Crystal box).
5 “Normally you write the script first” Tasker, Approved Dark Crystal Production Notes.
6 “struggle through terrible dangers” “The Crystal: A Fantasy Adventure Film conceived by Jim Henson, designed by Brian Froud, dimensionalized by The Muppets” pitch book, circa summer 1979 (JHCA 770).
7 “I felt that if we gave too much time” DL, archival interview.
8 “He was always interested in the idea” CH interview.
9 “Jim wanted to do The Crystal” DL, archival interview.
10 “The idea of doing very naturalistic creatures” JH Quotes.
11 “In England, while we were making” Rinzler, 71.
12 “Working with STAR WARS on YODA” JH RB, November 1978.
13 “It became a mutual thing,” “I thought he was the best puppeteer,” “Jim called me into his trailer” Rinzler, 71.
14 “it was acting, not just performing” FO interview.
15 “They were building a special effect” Kathy Mullen interview.
16 “really fuckin’ heavy” FO interview.
17 “It was very hard” Kathy Mullen interview.
18 “It was just the sort of thing” Michael Stein and Jessie Hortsing, “Muppeteer Jim Henson and Star Wars Producer Gary Kurtz Talk About Their Newest Project: The Dark Crystal,” Fantastic Films, February 1983.
19 “loved” JH RB, January 1980.
20 “beautiful suits” BB, archival interview.
21 “How much do you think that costs?” DL, archival interview.
22 “Was that all right?” Arthur Novell interview.
23 “The long range product” Skow, “Those Marvelous Muppets.”
24 “After five seasons” Judith Feingold, “An Interview with Jim Henson,” circa 1980, unmarked clipping (JHCA Muppet Show box).
25 “because I so enjoy those movies” Production notes, The Great Muppet Caper (JHCA Great Muppet Caper box).
26 “joyful” JH, “Thoughts on MM2” (JHCA 10616).
27 “There are a great many problems” JH to Martin Starger, February 11, 1980 (JHCA 17932).
28 “not looking good” JH RB, March 1980.
29 “We were really interested in nonlinear storytelling” LH interview.
30 “Lord Grade’s office chartered a flight” Being Green, 144.
31 “I thought it [Cannes] was trashy” DL, archival interview.
32 “[It] seemed to do a shimmer dance” Being Green, 144.
33 “That’s the money” FO interview.
34 “And he just said to me” Jocelyn Stevenson interview.
35 “I want to talk with him about an idea I have” Ibid.
36 “I said, ‘She’ll be great!,’ ” “You were right” BH interview.
37 world is coming to an end When the fifth season of The Muppet Show finally aired, the Gene Kelly episode would actually be televised first, further obscuring the “end of the world” joke.
38 “All at Elstree hope the Muppets will return” Jack Greenwood to John Krawiec, August 1980 (JHCA correspondence box).
39 “We finished our 120th Muppet Show” Feingold, “An Interview with Jim Henson.”
40 “was a great adventure for all of us” CH, email to author.
41 “really didn’t like being by himself” Jane Henson interview.
42 “somewhat public,” “It horrified him” Ibid.
43 “I think [Jim] was evaluating” Steve Whitmire interview.
44 “For the life of him” LH interview.
45 “make or break someone’s day” DL, archival interview.
46 “I feel a little distant from you” Ossie Morris to JH, July 14, 1980 (JHCA 17934).
47 “It has taken me twenty years,” “Usually the cameraman insists” The Great Muppet Caper, production notes (JHCA Muppet Caper production box).
48 “My dad wanted me to just figure it out,” “Brian, you did a really” BH interview.
49 “something new—something to talk about” See Jim’s handwritten notes on The Great Muppet Caper (JHCA 10616).
50 “If I had to search out” JH, “Guilty Pleasures,” November 1982 (JHCA 10242).
51 “So as soon as Frank” Caroly Wilcox, archival interview (JHCA 10356).
52 “He had no patience for” BH interview.
53 “so the whole place,” “It was quite elaborate” JH, AFI seminar, April 14, 1989.
54 “it was difficult at times” FO interview.
55 “Jerry, that’s what insurance companies are for” Jerry Nelson interview.
56 “It [Dark Crystal] had become overblown” Kathy Mullen interview.
57 “It was the focus” CH interview.
58 “He had it in his head” DL, archival interview.
59 “a prospect for perennial usage” Variety, December 24, 1980.
60 “charming” John J. O’Connor, “TV: Whole New Cast of Muppets,” New York Times, December 15, 1980.
61 “I want to do a children’s television show” Jocelyn Stevenson interview.
62 “we talked about doing a show” Michael Frith interview.
63 “Something that [Jim] had been observing” Jane Henson interview.
64 “[Jim’s] genius” Jocelyn Stevenson interview.
65 “What the show is really about” Woozle World treatment, April 3, 1981 (JHCA 10650).
66 “Jim asked Jerry and Jocelyn and me” Michael Frith interview.
67 “We sat around and talked” JJ, archival interview.
68 “Fraggle Rock was a true depiction” DL, archival interview.
69 “I have wound up doing things” JJ, archival interview.
70 “he’d make each one of you feel” Jocelyn Stevenson interview.
71 “Nobody’s ever developed a television series” JJ, archival interview.
72 “Creatively, I find I work best” JH Quotes.
73 “there was some difficulty blending together” Tasker, Approved Dark Crystal Production Notes.
74 “I think it would be better,” “To Jim, that was the most important thing” FO interview.
75 “You have all of these techniques” JH Quotes.
76 “When we’re doing major characters” JH, AFI seminar, May 6, 1986.
77 “My father had a unique way of working” Finch, The Making of The Dark Crystal, 11–12.
78 “We knew when we went into this film” JH, “Guilty Pleasures.”
79 “Mimes, Dancers and Actors” Advertisement, Stage and Television Today, May 29, 1980.
80 “Performers were on their haunches” The Making of The Dark Crystal, documentary.
81 “I think the idea of conceiving” Stein and Hortsing, “Muppeteer Jim Henson and Star Wars Producer Gary Kurtz Talk About Their Newest Project: The Dark Crystal.”
82 “We could never have tried” JH Quotes.
83 “He was trying to reach out” Jane Henson interview.
84 “I guess I’ve always been most intrigued” JH Quotes.
85 “It has a lot of elements of fairy tales” Tasker, Approved Dark Crystal Production Notes.
86 “a story about genocide” Michael Frith interview.
87 “We are working with primary images” Tasker, Approved Dark Crystal Production Notes.
88 “Well, we can’t all be perfect” Michael Frith interview.
89 “had pretty much come to a common feeling” JH, “Guilty Pleasures.”
90 “Things were not smooth” FO interview.
91 “Jim didn’t tell you what to do” Being Green, 35.
92 “Jim had the head of a producer” DL, archival interview.
93 “He saw the movie in his head” FO interview.
94 “Everyone knows how a human moves” Tasker, Approved Dark Crystal Production Notes.
95 “I’ve never done any perf
orming” Stein and Hortsing, “Muppeteer Jim Henson and Star Wars Producer Gary Kurtz Talk About Their Newest Project: The Dark Crystal,” 55.
96 “was just too damn busy” Kathy Mullen interview.
97 “I really do believe” Ibid.
98 “You see this character walking” JH Quotes.
99 “You have to be concerned” Finch, The Making of The Dark Crystal, 60.
100 “an exercise in logistics,” “This just never ends,” “It was massive” FO interview.
101 “You went off and built this great career” Joan Ganz Cooney, interviewed by Jim Henson for production of The Jim Henson Hour, October 26, 1988 (JHCA 7965).
102 “grueling work,” “had a wonderful time,” “It was just so great” JH, AFI seminar, May 6, 1986.
103 “sure hand in guiding” Film Reviews, Variety, June 25, 1981.
104 an old Hollywood power couple Vincent Canby, “Screen: Miss Piggy Stars in ‘Great Muppet Caper,’ ” New York Times, June 26, 1981.
105 “humanity, tenderness and intelligence” Rex Reed, “Musical Muppets Merely Marvelous,” Daily News (New York), June 26, 1981.
106 “[Jim] was just like a little kid, beaming” DL, archival interview.
107 “Yeah, she was absolutely no bullshit” FO interview.
108 “We said, ‘All right’ ” Michael Frith interview.
109 “But I really have to thank Jim” Karen Prell, interviewed by Kenneth Plume and Phillip Chapman, “Animateer Karen Prell: An Interview with Puppeteer, Animator and Writer,” MuppetCentral, September 11, 1998, http://www.muppetcentral.com/articles/interviews/prell.shtml.
110 “I think we went through the motions” Dave Goelz, interviewed by Kenneth Plume, “Gonzo Puppeteerism: An Interview with Dave Goelz,” MuppetCentral, January 28, 2000, http://www.muppetcentral.com/articles/interviews/goelz3.shtml.
111 “I really pushed to do that character” Steve Whitmire, interviewed by Kenneth Plume, “Ratting Out: An Interview with Steve Whitmire,” MuppetCentral, July 19, 1999, http://www.muppetcentral.com/articles/interviews/whitmire1.shtml.
112 “just kind of finding out who they were” Kathy Mullen interview.
113 “I like to think” “Two Days with Trevor Jones at the Phone,” BSOSpirit, June 2004, http://www.bsospirit.com/entrevistas/tjones_e.php.
114 “It was a clash” “Robert Holmes à Court, 53, Dies; Australian Built Business Empire,” New York Times, September 30, 1990.
115 “Holmes à Court was a cold” FO interview.
116 as quickly as possible While Henson Associates business manager Al Gottesman recalled Jim wanting to purchase the film from ACC immediately following the film’s premiere in Detroit in July, an April 29, 1982, letter from Holmes à Court to Jim reveals Jim and Holmes à Court had actually been in discussion for some time. See M. R. H. Holmes à Court to JH, April 29, 1982 (JHCA 9756).
117 “Fraggle Rock is the first show” JH, AFI seminar, May 6, 1986.
118 “He just let it be what it was” Steve Whitmire interview.
119 “I think of myself as fairly limited” JH Quotes.
120 “Jim was a huge gadget fan” Bacon, 14.
121 “Dark Crystal was a $25 million R&D project” Michael Frith interview.
122 “Neat” This response was typical. See JH RB.
123 “it was very special” Steve Whitmire interview.
124 “[Cantus] was great” Jocelyn Stevenson interview.
125 “The idea” JH, AFI seminar, May 6, 1986.
126 “completely endearing,” “fetchingly whimsical” John O’Connor, “TV Weekend: Five Hours of ‘Lazy,’ ” New York Times, February 24, 1984; Tom Shales, “The Fraggle Factor,” Washington Post, January 10, 1983.
127 “unprecedented” Associated Press, “Names in the News,” April 7, 1989.
128 “a very nice project” JH, AFI seminar, May 6, 1986.
129 “to make final decisions” JH memo to Everybody, “Sneak Previews—Dark Crystal,” March 10, 1982 (JHCA 9756).
130 “going on forever,” “What did you think?” Michael Frith interview.
131 “close to being an epic” JH Quotes.
132 “He was so proud of it” CH interview.
133 “Not great” JH RB, March 19, 1982.
134 As the theater emptied FO interview.
135 “a big miscalculation” LH interview.
136 “The movie went off” FO interview. Memories are conflicted on when, exactly, executives from Universal first saw the film, with Oz recalling a viewing in Hollywood and Al Gottesman remembering a showing in London.
137 “He felt the studio” Jane Henson interview.
138 “[There was] that sense of dismay” CH interview.
139 “It was a huge overhaul” LH interview.
140 “running a tape backwards and forward” David Odell, “Reflections on Making The Dark Crystal and Working with Jim Henson,” The Dark Crystal: Creation Myths (graphic novel) (Los Angeles: Archaia, 2013).
141 “A bit better” JH RB, July 12, 1982.
142 “too boring,” “He felt that the movie was about a balance” Jane Henson interview.
143 Jim decided he’d had enough Again, memories are foggy on whether it was his annoyance with Universal or ACC, following the Detroit premiere, that drove Jim to purchase the film from ACC. While Jim was annoyed with Universal, they had no financial investment in the film—at least beyond distribution—so Jim’s decision to purchase the film from ACC would have no direct impact on his relationship with Universal, making it unlikely the studio had triggered his response. However, Al Gottesman, whose memory is more reliable on these things, recalled Jim phoning him on the way back from Detroit and saying that Grade [sic] and ACC didn’t understand his film. Oz, too, recalled it this way.
144 “I can’t work like this,” “There was really only one thing he could do” John Henson interview.
145 “I’m going to buy back The Dark Crystal” BB, archival interview.
146 Brillstein was stunned, “And most of the time he was right” This section is based on personal and archival interviews with BB, DL, CH, and Jane Henson.
147 “It was a huge gamble” CH interview.
148 “It was a good deal” FO interview.
149 “What happened to the Muppets,” “They’re not there,” “We’re not telling!” John Calloway interview with JH, WLS-TV Chicago, November 23, 1982.
150 “With all of the developments” JH Quotes.
151 “a watered down J. R. R. Tolkien” Vincent Canby, “Review: Henson’s Crystal,” New York Times, December 17, 1982.
152 “Jim Henson and his colleagues” Gary Arnold, “The Finest in Fantasy,” Washington Post, December 21, 1982.
153 “enjoyable [and] imaginative” John Engstrom, “ ‘Dark Crystal’ Is Fantastic!,” Boston Globe, December 18, 1982.
154 “sketchy” “Film Review: The Dark Crystal,” Variety, December 15, 1982.
155 “The Dark Crystal really polarized opinion” Bacon, 15.
156 “I find that often” JH Quotes.
157 “I felt sad for Jim” FO interview.
158 “I thought I had failed miserably” Kathy Mullen interview.
159 “The most impressive thing” FO interview.
CHAPTER TWELVE: TWISTS AND TURNS
1 “We have been very pleased” JH to Daniel Burge, January 27, 1983 (JHCA 9878).
2 “first time” JH RB, March 2, 1983.
3 “was a huge undertaking” JH to Daniel Burge, January 27, 1983 (JHCA 9878).
4 “In this business, there is nothing more compelling” JJ, archival interview.
5 “He loved the good things” BB, archival interview.
6 “He wanted my mom to be happy” CH interview.
7 “I can’t come back here” Jane Henson interview.
8 “handshake of a separation” Ibid. Despite Jane’s kind categorization, the separ
ation was, in fact, very legal.
9 “have an above-board independent life” LH interview.
10 “escalated quickly” Jane Henson interview.
11 “painful and inevitable” Ibid.
12 “really upset,” “There was a part of me” Heather Henson interview.
13 “I was looking at the year ahead” “Interview with Jim Henson,” The Muppets Take Manhattan DVD, Special Feature.
14 “I had learned a lot about directing” FO interview.
15 “The next one will be” Leslie Stackel, “Jim Henson: Master of Muppets,” Starlog, August 1984.
16 “This time” Froud, The Goblins of Labyrinth, 139.
17 “I immediately pictured a baby” Ibid.
18 “What is the philosophy of [the] film?” See Jim’s notes on “The Labyrinth” (JHCA 10732).
19 “We played around with various story lines” Labyrinth production notes.
20 “define and inspire” Froud, The Goblins of Labyrinth, 14–15, 140.
21 “way too over jokey,” “I asked Jim” FO interview.
22 “very precise in terms of his characters” “Interview with Jim Henson,” The Muppets Take Manhattan DVD, Special Feature.
23 “There’s a sense of our characters” Being Green, 91.
24 “We did our first film in Los Angeles” The Muppets Take Manhattan production notes.
25 “We got a very nice, happy feeling” “Interview with Jim Henson,” The Muppets Take Manhattan DVD, Special Feature.
26 “I thought, ‘Well, getting a degree” BH interview.
27 “it was under an umbrella of safety,” “I fucked up” FO interview.
28 “We sort of go up and down” Stackel, “Jim Henson: Master of Muppets.” 359 “an opportunity to stretch” “Interview with Jim Henson,” The Muppets Take Manhattan DVD, Special Feature.
29 “He’d say, ‘I can’t be expected’ ” Steve Whitmire interview.
30 “I’m just an actor,” “The argument will continue on” Stackel, “Jim Henson: Master of Muppets.”
31 “shooting Muppet babies in Movie” JH RB, August 29, 1983.
32 “short, stubby arms and legs,” “very difficult” FO interview.
33 “It becomes quite a game” JH, AFI seminar, May 6, 1986.
34 “Things spring up in your head” FO interview.
Jim Henson: The Biography Page 65
