- Title: UK: Muppets Movie film premiere in London
- Date: 28th January 2012
- Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UK (JANUARY 26, 2012) (REUTERS) ( * BEWARE FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY **) DIRECTOR JAMES BOBIN POSING WITH KERMIT AND MISS PIGGY MOVIE POSTERS / MEDIA LINE UP ON RED CARPET (SOUNDBITE) (English) MISS PIGGY, WHEN ASKED TO KERMIT WHEN HE WILL FINALLY ASK HER TO MARRY HIM AND WOULD SHE TAKE HIS NAME, SAYING: MISS PIGGY: "Would I? Yes! I do! Oh Kermit! I'm so happy!" (begins kissing Kermit) KERMIT: "Piggy! Piggy! Wait a minute calm down! That's what we call a hypothetical question. You see, she asked me if that happened would you do it? That doesn't mean it happened." MISS PIGGY: "I said yes." KERMIT: "No, no, no. It didn't happen. Besides I'm afraid if she took my name, I might not get it back, so it might be a problem." MISS PIGGY: "Oh." KERMIT: "I mean, I never got my saw back when you borrowed it, so there you go." MISS PIGGY: "I thought you gave that to me." KERMIT: "No."
- Embargoed: 12th February 2012 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: United Kingdom
- Country: United Kingdom
- Reuters ID: LVA5L01WCEAP403FEH518C7L5ZA0
- Story Text: The British premiere of "The Muppets" made for some uncomfortable but must-see viewing when Miss Piggy thought she was finally walking down the pond as Mrs. Kermit the Frog, on Thursday (January 26).
But were the long-time lovers who many consider the "Brad and Angelina" of the Muppet world, referring to the A-list actor couple gracing the cover of celebrity magazines, finally going to tie the knot? Sadly, no.
The awkward moment was captured by television news cameras.
When a reporter asked Kermit when he was finally going to pop the question and to Miss Piggy if she would take his name, Miss Piggy exclaimed "I do! I do!"
But Kermit silenced her, saying it was a hypothetical question, adding "Besides I'm afraid if she took my name, I might not get it back, so it might be a problem." He then told reporters about an incident where he let her borrow his saw and she never returned it.
Piggy, in her defence, said she believed he gave the tool to her as a gift.
In "The Muppets", Kermit and Piggy join their fellow actors and friends in hoping to revive the Muppet magic. The old Muppets theatre is threatened to be drilled under, so three muppet fans (Jason Segel, Amy Adams and Walter, a puppet) make it their mission the bring the old gang back together. The Muppets have been split up for years by now with Kermit the Frog living in his mansion in Hollywood, Miss Piggy working as editor of French Vogue in Paris and Fozzy the bear performing with a band called 'The Moopets'. As it turns out, getting the old colleagues from the Muppet Show back together is not as easy as thought at first.
The major obstacle for the Muppets however is that they have to raise ten million dollars to save their theatre, so they do the only thing they are great at together: Putting up a charity show to raise the money, the Muppets telethon. They only have two days to put a show together...
British director James Bobin directed the first Muppet movie in over a decade, and said the important goal for him was to make the Muppets relevant today.
"It's kind of an art imitating life situation for me, because the question for me is what have they been doing all these years? I can't really answer that to a degree. But it's also a lovely idea of getting the band back together again. It's kind of an emotional journey to go on. It's good for people to know the Muppets really well, it's kind of good to see that get back together again. But also for those people who don't know them at all, it's kind of like, here they are and here's what they do. Because the important thing for me is not to tell you they were great in the Seventies, the whole thing was that they're really great right now, that was really important," he told Reuters Television.
Bobin was asked to take on directing duties after Muppets creators saw the hugely successful comedy "Flight of the Conchords". Bobin wrote, directed and produced the Emmy-nominated show about a folk band from New Zealand going to New York in search of stardom. One of the main stars Bret McKenzie wrote a song for "The Muppets" film "Man or Muppet" which has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song.
Bobin said he was ecstatic over the nod and answered the question on many people's minds.
"Big question for everybody there - are you a man or a Muppet? I think I'm probably a man but I'm a Muppety man, so that's ok," he said.
British designer Giles Deacon was given the difficult task of designing a dress for Miss Piggy for the premiere. He chose one from his most recent collection and admitted it was tame even for the most demanding pig in fashion.
"Yeah she's got some silver gloves on, it's all silver metallic leather, with some laser-cut details on it, with some Swarovski elements on it. It's kind of a Dolly Parton/Miss Piggy extravaganza. It's kind of subtle for her," he said.
Deacon spilled the secrets on Piggy's diva demands which included a white room and white flowers and "we had to make sure everybody in the studio had to face to wall when she came in."
Deacon did confirm that Miss Piggy would be attending the Oscars but wouldn't confirm or deny whether he was designing her dress.
Bobin said this latest Muppets film would be the first in what are many planned films featuring the beloved puppets made famous by the late Jim Henson.
"The Muppets" will be released in the United Kingdom on February 10. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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