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| America's most wanted: Jim Henson's Muppets are at it again Posted: 19 Apr 2014 09:00 AM PDT The gang is back in another cinematic feature and this time they've recruited the help of British comedian Ricky Gervais. Cinema has plenty of classic couples – Hepburn and Tracy, Bogart and Bacall, Brad and Angie – but few are as ageless or as lovable as Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy. The charming amphibian and his porcine paramour are reunited on the big screen for the eighth time in Muppets Most Wanted. In this Disney caper, the Muppets fall into the clutches of the world's No. 1 criminal, Constantine, who, with the exception of a facial mole and a vaguely Eastern European accent, bears a striking resemblance to Kermit. After a case of mistaken identity leads to Kermit's imprisonment in a Siberian gulag run by Tina Fey's warden Nadya, Constantine – disguised as the Muppets frontman – travels with the gang to major European capitals to pull a series of heists with the help of his second in command, Dominic Badguy (it's pronounced "Bad-gee"), played by Ricky Gervais, posing as an international tour manager. Most Wanted arrives as a follow-up to 2011's The Muppets, which returned Jim Henson's foam-and-felt superstars to theatres for the first time in more than a decade and introduced a new Muppet, Walter. Written by Nicholas Stoller and star Jason Segel and directed by James Bobin, that film grossed US$88mil (RM285mil) at the box office and won an Oscar for Bret McKenzie, the Flight Of The Conchords comedian who penned songs for the musical. It also helped bring the Muppets to the attention of a new generation of viewers. "I have a whole new army of fans now at my disposal. I just say the word and they'll come running," said Miss Piggy. "Whatever that word is, don't say it right now because we're in a small room," Kermit the Frog responded. The film was shot primarily in England last spring, and Kermit the Frog described the experience as a creatively satisfying one. "It was different," he said. "The first one we did with James was wonderful, but he was just getting his feet wet." "This movie is 100 times better," Miss Piggy said.  Fun ahead: Miss Piggy, Kermit The Frog and the Muppets are back. Such candor is a rare thing in Hollywood, but Kermit and Piggy aren't conventional stars. Neither is Gervais, the confrontational comedian best known for boundary-pushing TV comedies such as The Office and Extras, who joined the famed Muppets duo for a quick chat about the new movie recently at a Beverly Hills hotel. Ricky, many comedians cite the Muppets as an inspiration. Were they a creative influence for you? Ricky Gervais: I didn't realise until doing this movie the obvious profound effect they'd had on me. I think they're the same as I tried to do on Extras. They would take celebrities and make them these divas or egomaniacs, twisted versions of themselves, being brought down a peg or two by a crowd of normal people who didn't care that they were celebrities. That's what I did in Extras, but clearly, they did it first, 30 years before. But the thing I love about the Muppets – and this is genuine – is that they're optimistic. As much as people think that I'm some sort of shock jock or a cynic, I'm really not. I love people who fail and get back up and brush themselves off and start again. I love that quality. I loved it from Laurel and Hardy. Everything I've done has had that – they failed, but they were trying their best. That's these guys really – not (Miss Piggy) so much really, but this guy (points to Kermit the Frog), this man is the heart and soul of humanity. Miss Piggy: I like to see people pick themselves back up. And I like to help them do that by cutting them down to start with. Piggy, you've long been a role model for pigs and women. Is that something that you take very seriously? MP: Absolutely, yes, of course. I have to always bring my A-game, so to speak, because people look up to moi. Everyone looks up to moi. All of Hollywood turns to me for inspiration. I'm sort of like every actor's Stanislavski in this day and age. They watch and learn from the master. It's a lot of pressure, but I am a professional. I just focus on the work. RG: The strange thing is, she actually is a bit intimidating. I think it's because I do think of her as a woman as opposed to a pig. Ricky, what was your reaction when you were approached to play Dominic? RG: "Yes." I was worried that I couldn't do it because I was doing other things, but everyone said, "You're crazy. Of course you've got to do it." ... Then when I saw the movie a couple of weeks ago, a little chill went down my spine thinking I nearly didn't do it. I would never have forgiven myself. I can't tell you how proud I am to be part of this. I've loved them for ages. I do watch The Muppet Christmas Carol at least twice a year. That's why I was jealous of Michael Caine, not all the other stuff he did. He was the lead human in a Muppet movie. How do you prepare for the role? Did you go back and look at great Muppet villains of the past? RG: I think I said, "I assume you want me to do the smarmy English git act?" And James went, "Exactly." That was it ... I loved turning up and saying the lines that I remembered and making the other ones up. Honestly, it was a breeze for me. Kermit, you shared many scenes with Tina Fey. Did you enjoying working with her? KTF: It was very nice. I was a prisoner, she was a guard, like two ships passing in the night, only in a cell. I was in a jail cell, but we did a lot of rehearsing together. We shot this film in England and every night we'd sort of go back to the hotel, just sit around and order in some coffee, rehearse our lines together. MP: You and Tina? Where was Piggy when that was happening? KTF: Gee, I'm not sure. MP: I was rehearsing with Constantine. That's what I was doing. So ... looking ahead, I assume there are plans for another Muppets film? Any ideas what shape that might take? MP: I'd like to do a disaster movie. A disaster movie that has a happy ending where we get married. KTF: I'd like to do a movie that's not a disaster. That would be my goal. The Muppets are beloved by so many people. Why do you suppose your work has such resonance? KTF: I think it's because people see themselves in us. It's like Ricky said, we do get up again. We're kind of the underdogs. RG: They're people. They may look like animals, but they're every aspect of humanity, the good bits, and they allow guest stars to come in and show the bad bits. That's what's great about it. I think with any sort of fiction, you create your own heroes and villains as role play for the soul. You want bad people to get their comeuppance and good people to win. That's what Muppets do. – Los Angeles Times/McClatchy-Tribune Information Services > Muppets Most Wanted opens in cinemas nationwide on April 24. |
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