Costco Connection - April 2012

their warehouse in that scene. We really went through all of The Muppet Show episodes and found all of the strange acts that had been lost to time and tried to reintroduce them. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 25

CC: What is your hope for this film? JS: The Muppets had reached a period where they were relegated to sort of being a lost franchise. I never think of the Muppets as a franchise. It’s not where they are in my heart. So I wanted to just create a platform where they could do as many movies or TV shows as they wanted.

Miss Piggy
CC: Was it great to get back together with the
whole gang?

Miss Piggy (with puppeteer Eric Jacobson): I cannot stand those other Muppets, to tell the truth. They are Kermit’s friends, not mine. I just put up with them.

CC: The things you do for love, huh? MP: Absolutely, it is a great sacrifice that I make for my Kermie. But I’m happy to do it. I am.

CC: There’s not one of them, aside from
Kermit, that you like?

MP: [Looks around, thinking] Nope. They’re all a bunch of weirdos.

CC: How does a very vocal, high-power
female such as yourself stay out of scandals
in this day and age, when celebrity scandals
are a dime a dozen?

MP: I wish I were involved in more scandals,

26 ;e Costco Connection APRIL 2012 The Costco Connection The Muppets is available in most warehouses. DVD special features include bloopers, deleted scenes, hidden Easter eggs and a commentary by director James Bobin, actor and co-writer Jason Segel and co-writer Nicholas Stoller.

to tell the truth. And if they are a dime a dozen, I’m going to go empty my piggy bank.

CC: On The Muppet Show you often felt that female leads were encroaching on your territory by being a little too friendly with Kermit. Did you notice that with Rashida Jones or anyone on set?

MP: Naturally, my Kermie is very handsome. I understand if other women have crushes on him, but they know very well that they themselves would get crushed if they made any moves. And I’d be the one doing the crushing.

CC: Looking back over your career, have you
ever thought about what a positive influence
you are for young girls?

MP: All the time. You have to believe in yourself and believe in the beauty of yourself both inside and out. Because we’re all beautiful— maybe not as beautiful as moi, but we are all beautiful.

CC: Is there anything else you’d like to add
about the movie?

MP: Just that I’m wonderful in it.

d
Walter
CC: You’re the new guy. What would you like
people to know about you?

Walter (with puppeteer Peter Linz): My name in real life actually is Walter. And I’m not all that different from the Walter you see in the film. I’ve been a huge Muppets fan since I was a kid. And, as a high school senior, I was voted mostly likely to wear a suit to the grocery store.

Y

’h
r,

y

CC: Did you have a favorite Muppet as
a kid?

W: It’s got to be Kermit. He’s the eye of the storm. He’s got all this craziness around him—all of this controlled chaos—and he keeps it all together. He’s like a short, green Tom Hanks.

Plus, he’s on my watch. [Shows his wrist, g

In The Muppets, Miss Piggy puts aside her job as Vogue Paris’ plus- sized fashion editor to help the gang save the Muppet Theater.

with the watch he wears in the movie. Leaning over, he whispers, “I stole it from the production.”]

CC: Your story is true to the Muppet tradition. You have a dream, you believe in yourself, and great things happen. W: I think that when people watch the Muppets, it kind of puts you in touch with those childhood memories, and it reminds you of who you are really and the person you want to be. It was a childhood dream of mine to be with the Muppets on The Muppet Show. So this whole experience has literally been a dream come true.