1 The Muppet Mindset: Zoe
Showing posts with label Zoe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Zoe. Show all posts

Oct 27, 2012

Muppetology 101: Intro to Muppet Monster Cryptozoology, Pt. 2

Ryan Dosier - Welcome back to class, class! No quiz again this week, because my cousin's hamster took the papers... he didn't eat them, but instead started his own Muppetology course next door. Don't fall for it. He isn't licensed! ...And obviously I am, if anyone asks. Anyway, let's continue our lecture on Muppet Monster Cryptozoology, this week focusing on the magnificent monsters of Sesame Street!
  • GROVER 
    • Performed by FRANK OZ (1969-present) and ERIC JACOBSON (1998-present)
  • Grover is one of Sesame Street's numerous furry blue monsters. He debuted in the first season of Sesame Street and has been a consistently popular presence ever since. Grover is best known for the countless professions he has worked in over the years, most notably as a waiter and his superhero alter-ego, Super Grover. As far as monsters go, Grover is about as far away from scary as one can get. He is a self-proclaimed cute, adorable little monster and has no interest in scaring anyone. In fact, he scared himself at the prospect of a monster in the classic book, The Monster at the End of This Book. He even sang the song "I Whistle a Happy Tune" with Cookie Monster when they were afraid of the woods. Grover can currently be seen nearly everyday on Sesame Street in his recurring segment "Super Grover 2.0."
  • COOKIE MONSTER 
    • Performed by FRANK OZ (1969-present) and DAVID RUDMAN (2001-present)
  • Yet another of the furry blue monsters of Sesame Street, Cookie Monster is one of the most popular characters on the show, and one of the most popular and beloved television characters of all time. Cookie Monster, of course, ravenously devours cookies (and most everything else) anytime that he gets the opportunity. Of all the Sesame Street monsters, Cookie Monster has the most monster-like speech saying "me" instead of "I," as in "Me want cookies!" Again, however, Cookie Monster does not exhibit many scary traits. Yes, his penchant for eating anything and everything makes him rather over the top, he is never purposefully scary. Just hold on to your hat if it's near a plate of cookies. Cookie Monster recently made a big splash with his parody video of the song "Call Me Maybe" and can be seen in numerous episodes of Sesame Street Season 43.
  • ELMO 
    • Primarily performed by KEVIN CLASH (1985-present) 
  • Perhaps the most popular children's television character of the past decade, Elmo is the giggling, ticklish, imaginative furry red monster on Sesame Street--as if anyone doesn't know that already. Elmo is the least scary Muppet monster, right alongside Grover, and would never dream of trying to scare someone. Elmo himself has been scared many times, however. At age three-and-a-half, Elmo is one of the youngest denizens of Sesame Street and has gotten scared many times, especially when he had a close call with a fire in Hooper's Store. Mostly, though, Elmo is just happy and carefree. He inhabited "Elmo's World" on the show for many years until the segment was replaced in Season 43 by the entertaining new segment "Elmo: The Musical." Elmo can be seen consistently on every episode of Sesame Street.
  • TELLY MONSTER 
    • Primarily performed by MARTIN P. ROBINSON (1984-present)
  • Telly Monster is one of the main characters on modern day Sesame Street and appears in numerous street stories every season. Telly is best friends with Baby Bear but loves to play with everyone else on Sesame Street too. Telly used to be highly neurotic and worried all the time, but has since mellowed out. In his first appearance, Telly had spinning eyes and antennae sticking out of his head, making it the only time Telly was legitimately scary. Since then, Telly has been the one getting scared, not doing the scaring. In his worrying state, Telly would scare incredibly easily, and sometimes that still shows through even though he has matured quite a bit over the years. Telly can be seen in most episodes of Sesame Street Season 43.
  • ROSITA 
    • Performed by CARMEN OSBAHR
  • Another member of Sesame Street's furry blue monster family, Rosita is a smart, Spanish speaking female monster who loves to play her guitar and sing. She first appeared on Sesame Street in 1991 in Season 23. For quite awhile, Rosita appeared with wings, explaining her full name Rosita la Monstrua de las Cuevas, which translates to Rosita the Monster of the Caves, implying that she was conceived as fruit bat of some sort. Rosita lost her wings in Season 35. Although her full name sounds frightening, Rosita is anything but, as she is one of the sweetest characters on Sesame Street. Rosita remains a popular main character on Sesame Street to this day and can be seen in numerous Season 43 episodes.
  • ZOE 
    • Performed by FRAN BRILL
  • Zoe, who debuted in Season 25 in 1994, was conceived and developed to match Elmo in both appearance and popularity. It succeeded, as Zoe continues to delight children on Sesame Street to this day nearly 20 years later. Zoe has gone through many phases on the show, loving her Zoemobile, her bracelets, her tutu, her dancing, and her pet rock Rocco. Zoe is always seen wearing her pink ballet tutu these days and is usually seen with her friends Elmo, Rosita, and Abby Cadabby. Zoe has a delightful laugh that sets her apart from the other characters and a favorite of Muppet fans and children alike.
  • HERRY MONSTER 
    • Performed by JERRY NELSON
  • Herry Monster is a classic Sesame Street character who debuted in Season 2 of the show and became a favorite character of the audience as well as his performer Jerry Nelson. Herry is perhaps best known for counting to 20 with John John early in the show's run and for being a part of a sort of trio with Cookie Monster and Grover. Herry is larger than most and much stronger as well. It seems that he is always accidentally breaking something, but he always feels terrible about it. Herry loves to play with his doll, Hercules, and remained popular on Sesame Street into the 1990s and early 2000s. He has since been phased into the background, but not before starring in his own recurring segment "Monster Day Care," performing alongside Garth Brooks and Maya Angelou, and becoming best friends with both Prairie Dawn and Rosita.
  • MURRAY MONSTER 
    • Performed by JOEY MAZZARRINO
  • Murray is the newest monster on this list, appearing first in Season 36 in 2005. Since then, Murray has grown into one of the most-used characters on Sesame Street, appearing daily in "tune-in" segments throughout the run of the episodes since Season 40 as well as introducing the daily "Word on the Street." Murray is also the first main character performed by veteran Sesame Street performer and writer Joey Mazzarrino. Murray is often seen with his Spanish-speaking little lamb friend Ovejita, and the two of them had their own segment called "Murray Has a Little Lamb." Currently, Murray and Ovejita co-host the interstitial moments in every episode of the show. Murray can be seen in every episode of Sesame Street Season 43.
  • FRAZZLE 
    • Performed by JERRY NELSON
  • Frazzle is the only Sesame Street monster who could be considered legitimately scary. His appearance is frightening, with his large white teeth and angry eyes, and he speaks entirely in growls. However, Frazzle is really lovable and just wants to be loved back, he can't help it if he accidentally scares people. Frazzle has been around since Season 4 of Sesame Street and has performed now-classic songs like "Fuzzy and Blue (and Orange)" and "Frazzle," the latter performed with his band The Frazzletones. Frazzle rarely appears on the show these days, and if he does it's only in the background, but he has a consistent presence in Sesame Street books to this day.
    Well, that's all the material I have for class today. I hope you learned something. No scat, cats! Don't make me bring in the monsters to scare you away.









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

    Mar 8, 2011

    An Ode to Rocco

    A colleague of mine wrote me a lovely note this afternoon appealing for more press coverage for his colleague, Rocco the Rock of Sesame Street. Rocco being one of my favorite characters, I of course agreed. What follows is the culmination of these events.
      
    Ryan Dosier - Rocco. Wouldst a rock by any other name sound as sweet? I think not. For what other name speaks such monumental achievement as that of Rocco? For a staggering 12 years, Rocco has been firmly established as a rock-solid character on Sesame Street. Making his first appearance in the show's third decade of entertainment, Rocco has been a part of Sesame Street ever since, becoming someone that we all too often take for granite--er... granted.

    As Zoe's pet rock, Rocco the basalt rock has displayed his versatile acting skills by dressing as a ballerina, a doctor, and he even got to play the bass in the Rock Rock Band. Rocco also has an extended family who visit him on his birthday including Rocky, Rockmoninov, Uncle Rock, Aunt Rock, and Little Rock; all of whom are exceptionally proud of the great work Rocco is doing in the show business.

    But Rocco's greatest achievement is perhaps his ability to bring out a more three-dimensional side of Elmo. Whenever Rocco is present, Elmo displays jealousy, anger, resentment, and disbelief. Zoe often uses this to her advantage, claiming that Rocco would prefer going to the park as opposed to saying the alphabet. (However, true fans of Rocco know that he is a rock who appreciates his letters.)

    Rocco has amassed quite a following in his tenure on the Street. The praise for the talented young rock actor seeps through interviews with the likes of Fran Brill and Kevin Clash. Fran Brill loves Rocco so much that she has even started a Facebook fan page that Rocco has since used as his own outreach to his many fans.

    The page is riddled with wonderful tidbits about Rocco and his work, including his many personal interests:
    "[Rocco] Enjoys skipping, splelunking, rappelling, '40s swing music, and decent masonry. Rocco can often be found dressed up in embarrassing costumes (not his choice). He is a great raconteur and tells side-splitting jokes."

    Truly Rocco's vast filmography, versatility, and wonderful sense of humor have set in stone the career path of this shining young star. His talent is seemingly limitless and the peak of his career can't be far off. Recently, Rocco could be seen in the background of the Academy Award nominated film 127 Hours. He was up for the part of the rock that crushed James Franco's arm, but the producers decided to go with a boulder actor.

    What does the future hold for Rocco? One can only speculate... and become a fan of him on Facebook to follow the career of this stalwart performer. A rolling stone may gather no moss... but there's nothing saying it can't gather a few Facebook fans along the way.
















    The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier

    Nov 24, 2010

    Weekly Muppet Wednesdays: Zoe


    ZOE

    Performed by...
    Fran Brill

    First appearance...
    Sesame Street Season 25, Episode 3136, "Around the Corner" (1994)

    Most recent appearance...

    Sesame Street Season 41, "What I Am" song

    Best known role...
    Sesame Street's resident tutu-wearing, dance-loving, pet-rock-having orange little girl monster.

    Best friend(s)...

    Elmo, Big Bird, Rocco, Rosita, Abby Cadabby

    Famous quote...
    "Don't joke me!"

    WHO IS ZOE?

    Zoe is a rambunctious, fun-loving three year-old monster who lives on Sesame Street. First developed along with a whole crop of new characters as part of Season 25's "Around the Corner" initiative, Zoe is one of the few remaining characters from that period to still remain prominently on the show (others include Rosita and Baby Natasha). Zoe was one of the few Muppets to be made into a prominent character without having first appeared as an Anything Muppet or a background character (e.g., Elmo, The Count). Zoe was developed with a character in mind and was put on screen because she was a girl character who complimented Elmo in every way--including appearance.

    In her early years, Zoe did not wear any clothes other than her prized barrettes, bracelets, and necklace. Because she was introduced in to the show to counteract the predominantly male-Muppet cast, Zoe exhibited many characteristics of a little girl including her love of her doll, Mimi, and her desire to play princess with Elmo or other characters. Eventually, however, Zoe grew out of the stereotype and quickly began to possess goals and desires, including a desire to become an astronaut. Zoe also grew to develop new friendships with Big Bird (whom she once called her favorite person), Telly, Rosita, and more.

    In Season 33, Zoe began to wear her tutu everywhere she went. The tutu soon became a permanent costume for her and you would be quite hard-pressed to find a time in the past eight years when she has been seen without it. Zoe's love of ballet was added as another facet of her developing character, even garnering a special home video release called Zoe's Dance Moves in which Zoe showcased her love of dance for all to see.

    Recently, Zoe has become one of the girls again, creating something of a trio with Rosita and Abby Cadabby. The three girls are very prominent characters on Sesame Street, and at least one of them now appears in almost every new episode's Street Story. Zoe, Rosita, and Abby have sang "Because We're Friends" and "Guess the Seasons" together.

    In Season 40, a new, smaller Zoe puppet was used because producers thought it made her look cuter. Unfortunately, all it did was make her look hideously scary--a fact that even Zoe's performer, Fran Brill, will admit. The puppet was, thankfully, disposed of after Season 40, and the regular, much more gorgeous Zoe puppet was brought back in Season 41. However, the dwarf Zoe puppet is still seen before every episode of Sesame Street in the theme song.

    Zoe's catchphrase on the show started out as "Don't joke me!" and is a favorite thing for her to say. She also has a Zoe-Mobile, a soapbox style car that she drives around the street occasionally. A few years ago, writer Joey Mazzarino developed Zoe a pet rock, Rocco. Rocco was established as an imaginary friend for Zoe to bring around to play time with Elmo and she proceeded to use Rocco to get Elmo to play the games or do the things she wanted to do. For instance, if Elmo wanted to play tag, Zoe would say, "Oh, but Rocco doesn't want to play tag. Rocco wants to play hopscotch!" This caused Elmo an extreme amount of annoyance... and added another brilliant aspect to both Zoe and Elmo's character.

    Zoe continues to be a major character on the show and remains one of the characters most produced on merchandise.

    ZOE AND FRAN BRILL
    Zoe has been performed by legendary Sesame Street performer Fran Brill since her development in 1993. Initially, Fran was unsure of how long Zoe would last as a character, but 17 years later, not only is Zoe still around, but she is more popular than ever. Fran eventually grew quite attached to the character and now makes countless public appearances with Zoe at screenings, book signings, and discussions.

    WHY DOES SESAME STREET NEED ZOE?
    After 17 years of Zoe's prominence on the Street, this section seems rather redundant--but darn it if it doesn't deserve repeating. Sesame Street needs Zoe for a number of reasons... the greatest of which is probably that she represents a wonderful, confident, uninhibited female lead character for little girl viewers to model themselves after. In a world of Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez... it's nice for girls to have someone like Zoe to look to as a strong character who can still be a girly-girl when she wants to.

    Zoe is also one of the friendliest characters on Sesame Street (and that's saying something). When I got the chance to ask Zoe a question when I saw her live in Chicago, I asked her who her favorite friends to play with on Sesame Street are. Zoe had trouble coming up with a quality answer, since she had so many friends to get through. She mentioned Elmo, Big Bird, Maria, Baby Bear, Grover, and had to stop because she was afraid she would forget someone! Zoe is adorable and obviously loves her friends--which is yet another lesson she can teach the kids watching.

    Zoe is a wonderful character who doesn't get enough credit from hardcore, adult Muppet fans. Most of us seem to think of her as just a female Elmo, hogging screen time from the likes of Bert, Ernie, and Grover... But Zoe is so much more than that. She is a confident, determined, incredible character who loves, laughs, and learns just like everyone else on Sesame Street. You say Zoe isn't a valuable part of Sesame Street? Don't joke me!










    The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier

    Nov 20, 2010

    Coverage of Fran Brill and Zoe in Chicago, Part 1

    Danny Beckwith - The weekend of November 13-14th (Note – The Programs for Saturday and Sunday were switched.) was a very memorable one in Chicago. The Gene Siskel Film Center began its Jim Henson retrospective with two great programs and one (or should I say two?) very special guest.

    Here is how the Gene Siskel Film Center billed the first event:

    Fran Brill and Zoe in person!


    Jim Henson & Friends:
    Inside the Sesame Street Vault
    Various dates, Various directors, USA, 83 min.

    This super-entertaining program highlights the contributions of Jim Henson and his early Sesame Street collaborators, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Fran Brill, and Caroll Spinney. In addition to old favorites, there are some extremely rare clips from specials and guest appearances on other television programs. Beta SP video.
    --description courtesy of the Jim Henson Legacy

    Emmy Award-winning puppeteer, actress, and voice-over performer Fran Brill will host the program on Sunday, November 14, accompanied by Zoe, her signature Muppet character.

    Barbara Scharres, the Director of Programming at the Gene Siskel Film Center, took to the podium at 7:30pm. She began by introducing Fran Brill and listing her credentials from her amazing body of work. It was a wonderful introduction for a wonderful lady.

    Fran Brill was simply glowing as she approached the podium to introduce herself and what the audience was about to see. She briefly gave some context to Sesame Street and setting up the first clip that would allow fans to get a glimpse of Sesame’s humble beginnings.

    1969 – “The Ed Sullivan Show”
    Clip was in color at screening.
    Kermit and Grover appeared six months after the first season off Sesame Street aired. Kermit is playing a piano and singing, “What kind of Fool Am I?” Grover enters and does his classic, “Hey, froggy!” and slap. Kermit will not let Grover sing, so instead Grover pulls out a banjo. Finally, after an exasperated frog has had enough of Grover’s antics and calling Grover a “furry dumb dumb,” Kermit lets him sing. Grover calls in more Muppet monsters to help.

    Fran came back up to the podium while the audience laughed. Commenting on how we were laughing at the odd amount of time Ed Sullivan shook Jim’s hand. She explained that Jim and Frank were probably the funniest duo of puppeteers, with Frank being the catalyst. She mentioned that Jim and Frank were great on set, but they didn’t really socialize outside of it.


    “The Dick Cavett Show”
    Ernie and Bert start off trying to look and act cool for the show. Ernie has convinced Bert that in Hollywood, everyone talks and looks a certain way, much to Bert’s reluctance. Dick Cavett enters and Bert begins talk in a very ridiculous fashion, using the same words that Kermit did as an agent in The Muppets Take Manhattan. Ernie, meanwhile, is quiet and slowly taking off the silly clothes. Dick wonders what is going on, and Ernie, much to Bert’s chagrin, looks quite normal.

    Grover gets to help Dick with the lead in to the commercial. Grover, who can’t seem to see to cue cards, has the cue card man bring them closer. Even though they are close, Dick wonders why Grover can’t read them. Grover admits he can’t read. Dick helps him successfully make the lead in. Oscar the Grouch also gets to help with a lead in. Oscar just wanted to get to the trash on the show and wonders where the commercials are.

    Dick then has a conversation with Carroll Spinney, still in his Big Bird legs, Jim Henson, Frank Oz, and Jerry Nelson. Dick wonders if Carroll only got the job as Big Bird because of his legs. Jim then explains about Anything Muppets and Jim, Frank, and Jerry perform the song, “My Favorite Letter P.” (Available on SesameStreet.org.) This clip actually had a side-by-side comparison of the recorded segment and the live performance.

    1970 – “The Flip Wilson Show”
    Big Bird makes an appearance as a guest star and performs the song “ABC-DEF-GHI” with Flip Wilson.


    1970 – Bob Hope Christmas Special
    Big Bird makes an appearance and of course makes a crack at Bob’s nose. Bob wonders what kind of birds are Big Bird’s parents and what that makes Big Bird. Big responds with, “A chicken with a gland problem.”


    1985 – Night of 100 Stars
    Big Bird sings a song with Carol Channing.

    1973 – “Julie on Sesame Street”
    Julie Andrews did special with the Sesame Street characters. It was filmed in London and you could tell that a replica set because of the raised curbs. The real set did not have real curbs, they were painted on. Highlights include Kermit and Julie singing “Bein’ Green” and Biff, Ernie, Bert, and Julie performing hilarious versions of “Fugue for Tinhorns” from Guys and Dolls, with a great ending, and “Big Spender” from Sweet Charity with Cookie Monster almost devouring Julie.

    Hollywood Squares
    Big Bird and Oscar both appear as the secret square, though at different times. Someone asks what kind of bird he is and Big responds with, “I’m a Lark!”

    “What’s My Line”
    Big Bird appears as a guest.


    “Family Food” with Richard Dawson
    The Hungry family from Twin Forks, South Dakota appears on the show. (Available on YouTube.)


    1984 – “Out to Lunch”
    The Electric Company and Sesame Street take over ABC while the news anchors are out to lunch. The special included Rita Moreno, Morgan Freeman, and Carol Burnett (who also happened to be on lunch break). This contained a great Grover and Kermit sketch. Grover unwittingly is supposed to jump the Grand Canyon, as Grover Knover, on a motorcycle and turns it around on Kermit, who ends up plummeting to the bottom. It also included The Nighty Night Show where Cookie Monster plays Johnny Carson and Guy Smiley plays Ed McMahon.

    1975 – “Johnny Carson”
    Kermit and Jim Henson as guests.


    1976 – “The Dinah Shore Show”
    Jim and Frank are guests. Dinah asks if Frank is funny and Jim responds with, “As a man, he’s not that funny.” Jim recognizes though that Frank is a hilarious puppeteer. Jim then brings out Kermit and they chat. Frank brings out Grover and they discuss the Grover and Kermit relationship with the classic, “Hey froggy!” and slap to Kermit’s back. Kermit also says it's his 21st birthday and Grover did not get him anything. Grover asks Kermit what he wants and it can be anything. Kermit asks for Grover not to slap him on the back anymore. Grover responds with that is a very big request!

    Fran then took to the podium again and explained the idea of Muppet inserts on Sesame Street. She said that they would try to film four inserts in one day, which was not a lot. Especially with Frank being somewhat of a perfectionist, they could do many takes, taking up a lot of time. And when Frank said it was the “Do or Die” take, that meant the absolutely last one. What followed was a series of classic inserts.

    Episode #0279 – “Fish in the Cowboy Hat” Ernie and Bert
    Episode #0494 – “Beat the Time” Cookie Monster, Guy Smiley
    Episode #3594 – “Oklahoma!” Kermit, Forgetful Jones
    The Sesame Street Special – Robert MacNeil, Kermit as an attorney, and Cookie Monster
    Episode #2538 – “Captain Vegetable” Eddie, Andy, Captain Vegetable
    Episode #2797 – “Exercise” – Betty Lou, Grover, four Anything Muppets
    This clip showed behind the scenes footage of Fran Brill and Richard Hunt puppeteering. Richard was doing Grover.
    Exercise #2773 – “The Honker-Duckie-Dinger Jamboree” Ernie, Honkers, Dingers
    The clip also featured behind the scenes footage of the puppeteers.

    1976 – “Mike Douglas Show”
    Kermit sings a “new” song for the time, “A Song From Kermit.” Dom DeLuise also appeared on the show. After Kermit’s song, Dom promptly wipes Kermit’s mouth clean with a handkerchief and then tickles him. He also tries to give Kermit some water while the end credits are scrolling.

    After the compilation of videos finished, Fran came back up for a Q&A session. She explained how she got started with Jim Henson while he was looking for puppeteers for the Ed Sullivan Show Christmas Special and how she and Richard Hunt went through training together. She answered a question about the difference between Sesame Street and The Muppet Show, and how the characters –with the exception of Kermit – did not cross over shows. She explained Zoe’s origins and then much to everyone’s excitement, took out Zoe!

    Zoe answered some questions as well, with the help of Fran. After some more Q&A, Barbara Scharres informed the audience that Fran would be out in the lobby to take pictures and cut the cake!

    Yes, there was a reception with cake afterwards hosted by the Chicago Reader! But not just any cake. A three-tiered cake adorned with Sesame Street characters including Grover, Ernie, Bert, Oscar, Big Bird, Count von Count, Elmo, and Cookie Monster. It was delicious. Oh yes, and there was sparkling wine.

    Fran and Zoe cut the cake, with a little help. Zoe mentioned her favorite flavor of cake was chocolate and hoped the first layer was chocolate (which was actually the last layer!). After cutting the cake, Fran and Zoe took pictures and chatted with anyone who was still around, including Ryan and myself.

    It was a great night lasting an impressive four hours. Fran Brill was an extraordinary speaker with an astonishing story and talent. But that was not the end of the wonderful world of Fran Brill – the fun would continue the next day!







    The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier

    Nov 18, 2010

    Interview with Legendary Sesame Street Muppeteer Fran Brill

    Ryan Dosier - Greetings, Muppet fans! We have an extremely exciting post for you today! This past weekend I was in Chicago, Illinois at the Gene Siskel Film Center for the kick-off weekend of their third annual "Muppet Magic" series of film screenings, this year entitled "More Muppet Magic." I arrived in the city on Saturday for the screening of "Jim Henson & Friends," a collection of a bunch of extremely rare clips that highlighted the Sesame Street career of Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, and more. On Sunday I got to see "Sesame Street at 40" (even though it's 41), an awesome retrospective of the cast, both human and Muppet, and some great, rarely seen moments from the show. My friend Danny Beckwith (whom I had the pleasure of meeting and spending some time with at both screenings) will have a few articles discussing these screenings for The Muppet Mindset sometime soon!

    But the real highlight of both days was the fact that both screenings were being hosted by legendary Sesame Street Muppeteer Fran Brill, performer of both Zoe and Prairie Dawn, and the first female puppeteer hired by Jim Henson to work on Sesame Street--and Fran also brought Zoe!! This alone would have been hugely exciting, but I have been in touch with Fran since October last year and we've been trying to do an interview together but it has just never panned out... until now! Yes, Fran, being the unbelievably nice lady she is, agreed to do a live interview with me right then and there before Sunday's screening! I could sit here for an hour or more and tell you how incredible Fran is... but instead, you should just listen to it in both parts of our amazing audio interview with the legendary, the amazing, the awesome Fran Brill!!






    I'd just like to thank Fran from the bottom of my heart for doing taking the time to do this incredible interview with me and for being so incredibly friendly and wonderful this weekend. Fran, if you read this, tell Zoe I say hello--and I'll have to say hello to who you told me to say hello to a little later than I thought... but it'll still happen soon enough!

    Thanks again to Fran Brill for the wonderful interview!








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