News Update: August 16, 2012

NEWS UPDATE: August 16, 2012

One of our favorite actors, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, (of 500 Days of Summer and The Dark Knight Rises) fame appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live Tuesday night to discuss things that shouldn't really connect to Muppets... but somehow they did, and JGL's love for our fuzzy friends was revealed! Check out the fantastic clip from the show below to hear Joseph Gordon Levitt and Jimmy Kimmel discussing Murray Monster, The Muppets, and amazing footage from Emily Blunt!



The fine folks responsible for the amazing documentary Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey have alerted us to the fact that the film is up for a PBS Independent Lens Audience Award! Up against many other PBS documentaries, Being Elmo has some stiff competition, but as Muppet fans, I think we've proven time and again that we're capable of rocking the vote in our favor! All you have to do is click the link above, scroll down to Being Elmo, and vote it 5 Stars and your vote is in! It's that simple! So get out there and help our this fantastic, moving film!

Muppet fan Davide Maugeri contacted me recently with information on a non-profit project he and a team are working on as a tribute to the classic Jim Henson/Disney television sitcom Dinosaurs. Check out the work Davide has already done with a little snippet of information about the project: "Recently I've teamed up with some workmates to make a CG tribute to Jim Henson. A one and a half minute animated short featuring two characters from one of our favorite Jim Henson shows, Baby and Earl Sinclair from Dinosaurs. We'd like to stress that it is only meant as a homage and tribute to the genius of Jim Henson which made the series possible. Since this was a big hit in the early 90's and it ended up forgotten, our main goal is to bring these characters back to life and remind people they still exist, and they still can make us laugh like they used to. Here is a sneak-peek picture that shows both the characters as they appear in their new CG look. The short should be complete by the holiday season (December)."

Last week marked the end of the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, but I was in Walt Disney World so I missed some exciting news from the games: Grover, Elmo, and Abby Cadabby were present in London for a few days mingling with Olympic athletes and just having fun! Our friends at ToughPigs.com have a fantastic round-up of the video appearances the trio made across the pond, and be sure to check out the official Sesame Street Olympic Photo Album on Facebook!

Speaking of Sesame Street... they are currently in the process of an open casting call for a new human cast member on the show! Live in the New York area? Free on August 20th? Are you an actor fluent in Spanish and English? Then this audition is for you! Check out all the official information from Sesame Workshop below...
Male or female actor, 18-25, fluent in Spanish and English, comfortable with multiple Spanish dialects and accents. Good sense of humor. Must sing well. Actor should be comfortable with both physical and improvisational comedy. Actor should be warm, likable and engaging. Must be prepared to sing a cappella in Spanish and English.
DATE: Monday, August 20th
TIME: 10am – 2pm
LOCATION: Roseland Ballroom, 239 West 52nd Street, New York
Please bring a headshot and resume if you have one.
If you have any further questions, please contact Joe Lopick of McCorkle Casting at joe@mccorklecasting.com.

In "no one could have seen this coming" news, Legendary Entertainment Alliance announced early last week that they would be releasing the hilariously weird television special A Special Sesame Street Christmas on DVD on November 6 of this year. You can pre-order the DVD for only $12.98 right now on the L.E.A. website. Never heard of this infamous special? Check out the trailer for the special/DVD below (or just look at the awful DVD cover art at right) and you'll see what makes this piece so fantastically strange. I know I'll be owning it!









The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, muppetmindset@gmail.com