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Jim Henson

Film

Watch Jennifer Connelly’s ‘Labyrinth’ Audition

By Judy Berman on

David Bowie tends to get all the attention for Labyrinth, but he was roughly two decades into his career by the time it was released. His co-star Jennifer Connelly, however, had only appeared in a few films, and the role of Sarah Williams was her breakthrough. So, how’d she get the part? See for yourself in this audition tape, shot when the actress was only 14 and recently unearthed from the Jim Henson Company archives. Connelly’s character is already recognizable as the wholesome, naïve daydreamer we remember from the film, and she does an excellent job pantomiming in a scene that requires a lot of props. Make sure to watch until the end to see her exchange some friendly shop talk with none other than Jim Henson himself. … Read More

Film

Video Essay: “How to Pull the Perfect Movie Heist”

By Jason Bailey on

Tower Heist, Brett Ratner’s late-fall heist picture, is out this week on DVD, so our latest video essay takes a look at this durable genre via a step-by-step examination of how to put a big heist together — according to the movies, anyway. We grabbed pieces from over two dozen heist movies, from here and abroad, from the 1950s to the present, and put them together to show, in seven easy steps, how to pull that one big score. (Bonus points if it’s your last big one before retiring somewhere warm.)

We’ll show you how it’s done with the help of some of our favorite directors, including Martin Scorsese, Steven Soderbergh, Stanley Kubrick, Quentin Tarantino, Wes Anderson, Michael Mann, John Frankenheimer, Bryan Singer, John Huston, David Mamet, Peter Yates, Jean-Pierre Melville, Jules Dassin, Sidney Lumet, John McTiernan, Jim Henson, and Frank Oz. And check out our all-star cast: Robert DeNiro, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Gene Hackman, Robert Redford, Marlon Brando, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Edward Norton, Julia Roberts, Michael Caine, Charlize Theron, Pierce Brosnan, Harvey Keitel, Val Kilmer, Don Cheadle, Matt Damon, Steve Buscemi, Mark Wahlberg, Kevin Spacey, Samuel L. Jackson, Ray Liotta, Danny DeVito, Michael Madsen, Stellan Skarsgård, Tom Sizemore, Vincent Cassel, Owen Wilson, Joe Pesci, Luke Wilson, Sean Connery, Guy Pearce, George Segal, Sam Rockwell, Delroy Lindo, Seth Green, Sterling Hayden, Chris Penn, Mos Def, Lawrence Tierney, Jason Statham, Jean Reno, the Muppets, and many, many more. Find out “How to Pull the Perfect Movie Heist” after the jump. … Read More

Tech

Watch “Robot,” a Recently Unearthed Jim Henson Short from 1963

By Caroline Stanley on

As we’ve previously pointed out, there are plenty of lesser-known gems by Jim Henson floating around the Internet. The latest one to come across our desk? A short educational film that the Muppets master created for The Bell System back in ’60s to illustrate the growing (and often complicated) relationship between man and machine to a group of suits. “While mere mortals wallow in a sea of emotionalism,” intones the robot narrator, “the machine is busy digesting vast oceans of information in a single, all encompassing gulp.” Yikes! Watching this weird little film, we can’t help but wonder what Henson would have made of our unhealthy reliance on Siri. … Read More

Film

Watch Jim Henson’s Lost Cut-Paper Animation

By Alison Nastasi on

We recently revisited some of Muppets‘ creator Jim Henson’s early video works, and now a new animation has surfaced online. Alexander the Grape is a 1965 cut-paper short that was discovered in 2009 and lovingly reconstructed by The Jim Henson Company Archives. The project hails from Henson’s Red Book, an extensive, hand-written journal of the artist’s ideas that he kept daily from 1965 to 1988. In the video, a young grape named Alexander follows his dreams of becoming a watermelon, dodging a sour bully in the bunch named Freddy. The story was missing several scenes when the Archives got their hands on it, which is why storyboard stills have been inserted. The drawings provide a glimpse of Henson’s creative process, and of course it’s always great to see more work from the much-missed artist. Check out the four-minute video short past the break. … Read More

Art

Art Inspired by Jim Henson and the Muppets

By Judy Berman on

Muppet-mania has been in full swing for the past several weeks, in anticipation of The Muppets‘ Thanksgiving premiere. But the hype has hardly died down now that the hit movie is in theaters. Gallery Nucleus in Alhambra, CA is preparing to host The Lovers, The Dreamers, and Me, an group show of works inspired by the Muppets, along with such other Jim Henson favorites as Sesame Street, Fraggle Rock, Labyrinth, and The Dark Crystal. Contributions by over 30 artists range from Graham Annable’s philosophical portraits of Muppets alongside their unevolved animal counterparts to MaricorMaricar’s stylish typographic tribute to Bert and Ernie. Click through below for a preview of the show, and if you’re in the Los Angeles area, plan to visit it in person between December 10th and January 2nd. … Read More

Film

10 Surreal and Experimental Works by ‘Muppets’ Maestro Jim Henson

By Alison Nastasi on

With a recent fan campaign asking The Academy to let The Muppets host the Oscars after that whole messy Brett Ratner debacle, and a new film on the way next week (the first one in twelve years!), we’d like to think that Jim Henson is watching and smiling. Before the puppeteer created his Muppets universe and the iconic characters of Sesame Street, the beloved artist was tripping everyone out with his experimental films and surreal commercials. Henson’s lesser-known works are tiny avant-garde masterpieces that are infused with the same humor, character, and vision as his enduring legacy. Past the break, dig into Henson’s mind-bending movies. Feel free to share your favorites below. … Read More

Film

The Creepiest “Family Movies” of All Time

By Jason Bailey on

The fine folks at Warner Brothers are taking the opportunity today to release their umpteenth home video version of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory — this time in an elaborately packaged “40th Anniversary Ultimate Collector’s Edition” deluxe Blu-ray set. Included in the $65 box, according to Blu-ray.com, are “a 144-page book featuring color photos and notes, a Wonka Bar pencil tin with scented pencils and eraser and a Wonka Bar box with archival production letters.” What, no chicken and butcher knife?

Yes, Willy Wonka may be going on 40 years as a beloved family classic, but it also contains tiny indentured servants, a kid transmogrifying into a giant blueberry, and an out-of-left-field sequence of sheer terror that has haunted the nightmares of generations of kids. We’ll take a look at that scene, and nine more family classics that are similarly creepy, after the jump. … Read More

Film

Watch a Behind-the-Scenes Doc on ‘The Dark Crystal’

By Caroline Stanley on

If you spent the majority of your childhood totally terrifying yourself with repeated screenings of the Frank Oz and Jim Henson-directed puppet film, The Dark Crystal, then you’ll find plenty to appreciate in this 1982 behind-the-scenes documentary about the production. While we’re not sure if we’ll ever fully outgrow our fear of the planet Thra, we do find it a little less scary now that we know how the Skeksis sausage was made. … Read More

Pop Culture

Gallery: Preview 'Jim Henson's Fantastic World'

By Caroline Stanley on

If Sesame Street was your primary baby-sitter back when you were a kid, and you considered Kermit and Miss Piggy some of your closest friends (cough, cough), then you’ll want to be sure to check out Jim Henson’s Fantastic World, a traveling, 130-plus piece exhibition of the famed puppeteer’s original artwork, which opens at New York’s Museum of Moving Image this weekend. On display, you’ll find a mix of rough sketches and drawings, puppets, original storyboards, experimental video, and of course, tons of amazing photographs that document the rise of the Muppet franchise and give viewers an unparalleled glimpse inside of Henson’s brilliant mind. Click through now for a quick preview. … Read More

Art

Flavorpill’s 10 Most Anticipated Summer Art Exhibits

By Marina Galperina on

With summer just around the corner, it’s time to take a trip. This season promises take you to heaven and hell with epic video projections by Marco Brambilla and back into your childhood with a Jim Henson retrospective. Geographical proximity providing, it’s going to be a hot one. From Magritte’s dirty little secrets to the curatorial efforts of John Waters, here are some of the exhibits we’re most looking forward to later this summer and a few freshly opened shows to hold us over. … Read More