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theprawncracker
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Sorry Sarah, I didn't see your question until after I sent them to Jim. My sincerest apologies! So, Dwayne next time you send questions, don't for get Sarah's! 
And here's Jim's next round of answers...
Jim, my question is about fan-work. What are you and aren't you allowed to read through? I assume you're not supposed to even glance at fan-fiction, correct? But what about art work and the like? Are you allowed to look at that?"
As you surmised, I can’t really look at fiction or ideas, since, if something similar turned up in a forthcoming production, the writer-in-question might think their idea/fiction had been stolen. Same of artwork, since the artist could make the same contention. That said, remember that I, Jim Lewis, am merely another rower on the great ship of Muppets and have no hand on the wheel that steers this boat. So showing stuff to me is kinda silly to begin with.
"What if any difrences is Jim henson as a boss to Brian Henson?"
SORRY, I DON’T WANT TO DO PERSONALITY QUESTIONS. NOT BEING SLY, JUST DOESN’T SEEM FAIR, GERMANEÉOR EVEN TITO. (BAD “JACKSON 5” JOKE)
"Before Jim Henson died, it was often common for Sesame Street Muppets to make cameo or crossover appearances in Muppet Show-related productions (especially during Henson's last few years of life, though none of them appeared on The Jim Henson Hour), but after Henson's death, very few crossovers happened (the only ones I know of are The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson, Jim Henson's memorial service (which probably shouldn't count as a production), Muppetfest, and to a lesser extent the "We Are Family" video (that one featured characters from many childrens shows, so I question whether this one counts) and CNN Newstand: People Profiles: Sesame Street (characters from The Muppet Show and Sesame Street talked about Jim Henson during the documentary), and since Kermit was a regular on both shows I don't count any of his appearances on Sesame Street or related productions as crossovers). I know that now it would be difficult to have such crossovers, but The Jim Henson Company still owned the Sesame Street Muppets for ten whole years after Jim Henson's death, and The Muppets for four years longer. So is there any reason why there weren't as many crossovers after Jim Henson died? It would have been great if an episode or two of Muppets Tonight had a cameo by a Sesame Street character or two."
Very true about crossovers before and after. I think Jim’s presence made it easier to shortcut corporate/branding considerations, since he was (and always will be) the founder of the feast. I also like those “hey, they live in the same universe” moments and would like to see it again.
"Muppet Classic Theater only had six recognisable characters (Kermit, Piggy, Gonzo, Rizzo, Fozzie, and Robin), and everybody else was either newly-created, a previous puppet reused as a new character, or a generic animal character (like the penguins and sheep). I did notice that Yolanda from The Muppets Take Manhattan was also used (and I think she was mentioned by name... I'll have to watch the special again). Was there any reason for the big lack of older, known characters? I would have liked it if the orchestra featured the usual Muppet Show orchestra (featuring Floyd, Animal, Rowlf, Zoot, Lips, Nigel, and sometimes Janice) rather than the penguin orchestra, and many of the crowd scenes could have easily featured Bunsen, Beaker, Lew Zealand, Beauregard, Bean Bunny, Sam the Eagle, Link Hogthrob (though I imagine that he would have been silent), Dr. Strangepork (he could have also portrayed Miss Piggy's father), Pops, and various Muppet monsters (I did see two frackles in the audience) (and in a perfect world, Digit and Leon from The Jim Henson Hour would have been in the special). Heck, I'm suprised that Statler and Waldorf weren't in the special (they had already been recast at the time). It's also too bad that there weren't any big backstage scenes (these could have easily featured some older characters like Beauregard). I know that Jim Henson and Richard Hunt were dead, which would be an explanation for the lack of their characters, but Frank, Jerry, Dave, and Steve were all still active at the time. It was still a good special, but it was a bit sad to see so few old characters and so many new ones, especially in crowd scenes."
As I’ve said elsewhere, this was one of the very first productions we did after Jim and Richard’s passing. I think that was the main reason why we focused on the particular characters we did, and let some of the supporting roles go to new characters. If it had been done earlier or later, I suspect we’d have taken all of your suggestions above. This was, by the way, not a special, but a direct-to-video done for Disney. And I still hope it again sees the light of day, since it has (I think) aged well despite the above concerns.
And here's Jim's next round of answers...
Jim, my question is about fan-work. What are you and aren't you allowed to read through? I assume you're not supposed to even glance at fan-fiction, correct? But what about art work and the like? Are you allowed to look at that?"
As you surmised, I can’t really look at fiction or ideas, since, if something similar turned up in a forthcoming production, the writer-in-question might think their idea/fiction had been stolen. Same of artwork, since the artist could make the same contention. That said, remember that I, Jim Lewis, am merely another rower on the great ship of Muppets and have no hand on the wheel that steers this boat. So showing stuff to me is kinda silly to begin with.
"What if any difrences is Jim henson as a boss to Brian Henson?"
SORRY, I DON’T WANT TO DO PERSONALITY QUESTIONS. NOT BEING SLY, JUST DOESN’T SEEM FAIR, GERMANEÉOR EVEN TITO. (BAD “JACKSON 5” JOKE)
"Before Jim Henson died, it was often common for Sesame Street Muppets to make cameo or crossover appearances in Muppet Show-related productions (especially during Henson's last few years of life, though none of them appeared on The Jim Henson Hour), but after Henson's death, very few crossovers happened (the only ones I know of are The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson, Jim Henson's memorial service (which probably shouldn't count as a production), Muppetfest, and to a lesser extent the "We Are Family" video (that one featured characters from many childrens shows, so I question whether this one counts) and CNN Newstand: People Profiles: Sesame Street (characters from The Muppet Show and Sesame Street talked about Jim Henson during the documentary), and since Kermit was a regular on both shows I don't count any of his appearances on Sesame Street or related productions as crossovers). I know that now it would be difficult to have such crossovers, but The Jim Henson Company still owned the Sesame Street Muppets for ten whole years after Jim Henson's death, and The Muppets for four years longer. So is there any reason why there weren't as many crossovers after Jim Henson died? It would have been great if an episode or two of Muppets Tonight had a cameo by a Sesame Street character or two."
Very true about crossovers before and after. I think Jim’s presence made it easier to shortcut corporate/branding considerations, since he was (and always will be) the founder of the feast. I also like those “hey, they live in the same universe” moments and would like to see it again.
"Muppet Classic Theater only had six recognisable characters (Kermit, Piggy, Gonzo, Rizzo, Fozzie, and Robin), and everybody else was either newly-created, a previous puppet reused as a new character, or a generic animal character (like the penguins and sheep). I did notice that Yolanda from The Muppets Take Manhattan was also used (and I think she was mentioned by name... I'll have to watch the special again). Was there any reason for the big lack of older, known characters? I would have liked it if the orchestra featured the usual Muppet Show orchestra (featuring Floyd, Animal, Rowlf, Zoot, Lips, Nigel, and sometimes Janice) rather than the penguin orchestra, and many of the crowd scenes could have easily featured Bunsen, Beaker, Lew Zealand, Beauregard, Bean Bunny, Sam the Eagle, Link Hogthrob (though I imagine that he would have been silent), Dr. Strangepork (he could have also portrayed Miss Piggy's father), Pops, and various Muppet monsters (I did see two frackles in the audience) (and in a perfect world, Digit and Leon from The Jim Henson Hour would have been in the special). Heck, I'm suprised that Statler and Waldorf weren't in the special (they had already been recast at the time). It's also too bad that there weren't any big backstage scenes (these could have easily featured some older characters like Beauregard). I know that Jim Henson and Richard Hunt were dead, which would be an explanation for the lack of their characters, but Frank, Jerry, Dave, and Steve were all still active at the time. It was still a good special, but it was a bit sad to see so few old characters and so many new ones, especially in crowd scenes."
As I’ve said elsewhere, this was one of the very first productions we did after Jim and Richard’s passing. I think that was the main reason why we focused on the particular characters we did, and let some of the supporting roles go to new characters. If it had been done earlier or later, I suspect we’d have taken all of your suggestions above. This was, by the way, not a special, but a direct-to-video done for Disney. And I still hope it again sees the light of day, since it has (I think) aged well despite the above concerns.
