HOT SEAT - FRANK OZ
By SARA STEWART
August 12, 2007 (New York Post) -- The white-bearded gentleman sitting opposite me looks fairly unassuming, but he is nothing less than the pre-eminent voice of my childhood. And millions of other childhoods. In fact, you'd be hard-pressed to find someone you know who isn't familiar with at least one Frank Oz creation: Grover, Cookie Monster and Bert of "Sesame Street." Fozzie Bear, Miss Piggy, Animal and Sam the Eagle from "The Muppet Show." And, of course, the fuzzy Jedi who needs no introduction: Yoda.
When not busy establishing himself as an indelible Muppet icon, Oz found time to direct some top-notch comedies: 1988's "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels," 1991's "What About Bob?" and 1999's "Bowfinger." Not to mention "The Muppets Take Manhattan" (1984) and "Little Shop of Horrors" (1986).
His new movie, "Death at a Funeral," is a comedy about what happens when you mix uptight British mourners, potent hallucinogens and blackmail. The film happily marks a return to form for Oz, who flew under the radar for a couple of years after his ill-fated 2004 remake of "The Stepford Wives."
Q: OK. CGI Yoda: pro or con?
A: It had to happen. Because, first of all, it's a different time. But also George [Lucas] had to do action sequences, and there's no other way. I was totally supportive of it. If he didn't do that, he couldn't be true to his story. The actual character, in the first three movies, was very tough to do, very hellish. He can't go out and jump and fight.
Q: So how do you feel about those first three old movies, when you go back and watch them now? Do they feel hokey?
A: What people don't understand is that George fashioned those movies on an old series called "Flash Gordon." And I used to see those, and the acting was not great, the effects were not great. But people always talk about the acting not being great in "Star Wars." If you had fabulous actors, you wouldn't have the fun. That's not what it's about. You can't have a blast, a fun big movie, if you're bogged down with the deep emotion of acting.
Q: Do the actors in your movies always bug you to do Muppet voices for them?
A: Yeah. But if people ask me to do voices on set, I say no - I won't do them until the very last day. I'm not an easy lay! I'm not a cheap date. If I do the voices, they'll take it easy. I want them to work hard. And so they know they're not gonna hear the voices until the very last day.
Q: How do you feel about the direction "Sesame Street" has gone in, from the early days when you and Jim Henson worked on it?
A: It's just become a kids show, instead of a hip show. I've told them that, so many times - there's nothing I can do. I've given a master class in that stuff, but they don't get it. They're very nice people, and there are some really gifted people there. But the show was begun by people who were actually performers and actors.
The business now, it's mainly about people who are more executive, and people who come from television, and there's a difference, I think. I don't often watch the show, but I did a little bit, to see how it's going, and it's become a little kiddie show, and it's very sad. It was never like that with Jim and I, and everyone else back then. We always f - - - ed around, and did it for ourselves, and that's changed. I probably should be politic and diplomatic - but I'm not.
Q: I'm going to guess you're not a fan of their decision to make Snuffleupagus non-imaginary, so he'd be less confusing for children.
A: That's bulls - - t, if that's true. When that happens, the curriculum and the teaching aspect have taken over the imagination aspect, and it's a shame. Everyone's so f - - - ing politically correct, it's ridiculous. People are much more discerning than other people think.
Q: Even kids.
A: More so!
Q: Do you think there's some kind of unifying comedy principle that links fairly disparate movies like "What About Bob," "Bowfinger" and "Death at a Funeral"?
A: I know this sounds reeeeeeally hifalutin, and really didactic, and come on, Frank, get off your f - - - ing high horse - but: honesty. And I don't mean honesty in this world, I mean honesty in the world in which the characters live. I mean, "Airplane," which is hysterical, I think is honest within its world. I try to be honest within the world I create.
Q: You sometimes go years without making a movie. Why?
A: Why do something I don't believe in? I'm very blessed. If I had a mortgage and had to put my kids through college, I'd be the first one to prostitute myself. I'm very blessed, and I don't have to.
Q: "Death at a Funeral" was a relatively short, and low-budget, shoot. Was there a lot of pressure involved there?
A: I love pressure. The shoot itself was a frigging delight. But there are other shoots that were not a delight. "What About Bob?" was tremendous tension. I like pressure, I don't like tension. There were problems between the producer and me, and also Bill [Murray] and Richard [Dreyfuss] didn't get along. But for me, as a director, that worked well for the characters. Behind the scenes, it was tough, but I was thrilled it worked on-screen.
Q: "Death at a Funeral" is kind of a new genre for you - the British comedy of manners. Are you going to explore some other niches now?
A: I'm looking forward to doing some tough action stuff, or horror stuff. I've been successful in comedy, so people give me the best comedy scripts, but they don't give me the best thriller scripts, because they think I can't do that, or God knows what. I did "The Score" just to show I'm not a one-trick pony. I love horror. I'm trying to get a script, but it's so hard.
Q: This might be a touchy subject, but - what happened with "The Stepford Wives"?
A: I f - - - ed up. It was the first time I said yes to a movie that had no script. I saw the movie as a smaller relationship movie. And as it got more and more expensive, I thought, "Geez, maybe I should listen to [the producers] more." And I didn't do what I wanted, for the first time in all my movies. That's where I screwed up.
Q: What did you do to recover after that?
A: I had lost my confidence, and I wanted to do something really small. I went back to my acting coach and audited three classes, to get back to the purity of what I was doing. And then I found this script [for "Death at a Funeral"] and I said, "Absolutely." So I went back to what I love doing.
The score
Age: 63
Born: Hereford, England
Unsung role: He played the Swedish Chef's human hands on "The Muppet Show"
Misconception: He's not Fozzie Bear's namesake. Fozzie was named for Faz Fazakis, who invented a device enabling Fozzie to wiggle his ears
Cameo: Appears as a corrections officer in "The Blues Brothers"
On-set clash: While directing 2001's "The Score," Oz tangled with Marlon Brando, who reportedly told him, "I bet you wish I was a puppet so you could stick your hand up my a - - and make me do what you want."
Peter Jackson Wanted For The Hobbit?
New Line Cinema has apparently done an about face and is now courting Peter Jackson to direct the film, the way they should have been. The strange thing is that the news comes from Bob Shaye, New Line’s studio head who not long ago famously screamed the equivalent of you’ll never work for New Line again at Jackson, burning all the bridges between them and then blowing them up again with a stick of dynamite, just for good measure.
Now Shaye has suddenly come to his senses and when the LA Times re-asked him the is there any hope of getting Peter Jackson directing The Hobbit he said, “Notwithstanding our personal quarrels, I really respect and admire Peter and would love for him to be creatively involved in some way in The Hobbit.” The Times claims that New Line is quietly trying to repair their relationship with Jackson, the question is whether or not he's interested in forgiving them.
If you’re wondering what could turn Shaye from a raving, Peter Jackson hating loon into a guy who seems to really want to work with him again, look no further than job stability. It’s been widely reported that New Line is in a slump, and that could mean that Shaye, as company head, is headed for the guillotine.
Peter Jackson and Lord of the Rings made New Line a powerhouse, the best way for Shaye to save his own ass is probably to get Peter Jackson back. If you’re Jackson though, why the hell would you want to do it? Maybe he’s passionate about the material, but to me Peter Jackson has begun to sound like a guy who has moved on to ‘Entourage’ cameos and other more personal projects. He can write his own ticket, and doesn’t need the hassle of working with backstabbers like New Line Cinema. New Line may suddenly want him back, but there’s a good chance they’re too late. Shaye should have used his head before they publicly pissed on their biggest director and threw their biggest moneymaker out with the trash.
Rush Hour 3 beats Bourne to box office title
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hapless martial arts hero Jackie Chan knocked amnesiac assassin Jason Bourne out of the top spot at the box office this weekend.
"Rush Hour 3," the buddy film starring Chan and Chris Tucker that comes six years after the duo's last romp, grossed $50.2 million in its first weekend at U.S. and Canadian theaters.
"The Bourne Ultimatum," the third installment of the espionage action series starring Matt Damon as a one-time CIA hit man searching for his past, took in $33.7 million in its second weekend playing in North American theaters, a 51 percent drop, according to studio estimates on Sunday.
Animated feature "The Simpsons Movie" dropped 56 percent in its third weekend to $11.1 million, but pot-bellied anti-hero Homer Simpson still came out on top of two newcomers.
In their first weekends, "Stardust," a fantasy film starring Claire Danes, grossed $9.0 million at number four on the charts, and "Daddy Day Camp" took in $3.6 million and debuted at number 10.
The long delay since the last "Rush Hour," was seen as a challenge for Tucker and Chan. "Rush Hour 2" set a record August opening of $67.4 million in 2001, which held until last week, when "The Bourne Ultimatum" took in $69.3 million.
"Rush Hour 3" was released by New Line Cinema, a unit of Time Warner Inc. "The Bourne Ultimatum" was released by Universal Pictures, a unit of General Electric Co.'s NBC Universal Inc.
"The Simpsons Movie" was released by 20th Century Fox, a unit of News Corp., "Daddy Day Camp" was released by TriStar Pictures, a unit of Sony Corp., while "Stardust" was released by Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom Inc.
Merv Griffin dies at age 82
LOS ANGELES - Merv Griffin, the entertainer turned impresario who parlayed his "Jeopardy" and "Wheel of Fortune" game shows into a multimillion-dollar empire, has died. He was 82.
Griffin died of prostate cancer, according to a statement from his the family that was released by Marcia Newberger, spokeswoman for The Griffin Group/Merv Griffin Entertainment.
From his beginning as a $100-a-week San Francisco radio singer, Griffin moved on as vocalist for Freddy Martin's band, sometime film actor in films and TV game and talk show host. His "The Merv Griffin Show" lasted more than 20 years, and Griffin's said his capacity to listen contributed to his success.
"If the host is sitting there thinking about his next joke, he isn't listening," Griffin reasoned in a recent interview.
But his biggest break financially came from inventing and producing "Jeopardy" in the 1960s and "Wheel of Fortune" in the 1970s. After they had become the hottest game shows in television, Griffin sold the rights to Coca-Cola for $250 million in 1986, retaining a share of the profits.
After they became the hottest game shows in television, Griffin sold the rights to them to the Columbia Pictures Television Unit for $250 million, retaining a share of the profits. He started spreading the sale money around in treasury bonds, stocks and other investments.
He made Forbes' list of richest Americans several times and started putting money in treasury bonds, stocks and other investments. But he went into real estate and other ventures because "I was never so bored in my life."
"I said, `I'm not going to sit around and clip coupons for the rest of my life,' " he recalled in 1989. "That's when Barron Hilton said, `Merv, do you want to buy the Beverly Hilton?' I couldn't believe it."
Griffin bought the slightly passe hotel for $100.2 million and completely refurbished it for $25 million. Then he made a move for control of Resorts International, which operated hotels and casinos from Atlantic City to the Caribbean.
That touched off a feud with real estate tycoon Donald Trump. Griffin eventually acquired Resorts for $240 million, netting a reported paper profit of $100 million.
"I love the gamesmanship," he told Life magazine in 1988. "This may sound strange, but it parallels the game shows I've been involved in."
It was in 1948 that Martin hired Griffin to join his band at Los Angeles' Coconut Grove at $150 a week. With Griffin doing the singing, the band had a smash hit with "I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Cocoanuts," a 1949 novelty song sung in a cockney accent.
The band was playing in Las Vegas when Doris Day and her producer husband, Marty Melcher, were in the audience. They recommended him to Warner Bros., which offered a contract. After a bit in "By the Light of the Silvery Moon," starring Day and Gordon MacRae, he had a bigger role with Kathryn Grayson in "So This Is Love." A few more trivial roles followed, then he asked out of his contract.
In 1954, Griffin went to New York where he appeared in a summer replacement musical show on CBS-TV, a revival of "Finian's Rainbow," and a music show on CBS radio. He followed with a few game show hosting jobs on TV, notably "Play Your Hunch," which premiered in 1958 and ran through the early 1960s. His glibness led to stints as substitute for Jack Paar on "Tonight."
When Paar retired in 1962, Griffin was considered a prime candidate to replace him. Johnny Carson was chosen instead. NBC gave Griffin a daytime version of "Tonight," but he was canceled for being "too sophisticated" for the housewife audience.
In 1965, the Westinghouse Broadcasting introduced "The Merv Griffin Show" in syndicated TV. At last Griffin had found the forum for his talents. He never underestimated the intelligence of his audience, offering such figures as philosopher Bertrand Russell, Pablo Casals and Will and Ariel Durant as well as movie stars and entertainers.
With Carson ruling the late-night roost on NBC in the late 1960s, the two other networks challenged him with competing shows, Griffin on CBS, Joey Bishop (later Dick Cavett) on ABC. Nothing stopped Carson, and Griffin returned to Westinghouse.
Meanwhile, Griffin sought new enterprises for his production company. A lifelong crossword puzzle fan, he devised a game show "Word for Word," in 1963. It faded after one season, then his wife, Julann, suggested another show.
"Julann's idea was a twist on the usual question-answer format of the quiz shows of the Fifties," he wrote in his autobiography "Merv." "Her idea was to give the contestants the answer, and they had to come up with the appropriate question."
"Jeopardy," begun in 1964, became a huge moneymaker for Griffin, as did a more conventional game show, "Wheel of Fortune," starting in 1975.
Mervyn Edward Griffin Jr. was born in San Mateo, south of San Francisco on July 6, 1925, the son of a stockbroker. His aunt, Claudia Robinson, taught him to play piano at age 4, and soon the boy was staging shows on the back porch of the family home.
"Every Saturday I had a show, recruiting all the kids in the block as either stagehands, actors and audience, or sometimes all three," he wrote in his 1980 autobiography. "I was the producer, always the producer."
After studying at San Mateo Junior College and the University of San Francisco, Griffin quit school to apply for a job as pianist at radio station KFRC in San Francisco. The station needed a vocalist instead. He auditioned and was hired.
Griffin was billed as "the young romantic voice of radio." He attracted the interest of RKO studio boss William Dozier, who was visiting San Francisco with his wife, Joan Fontaine.
"As soon as I walked in their hotel room, I could see their faces fall," the singer recalled. He weighed 235 pounds. Shortly afterward, singer Joan Edwards told him: "Your voice is terrific, but the blubber has got to go." Griffin slimmed down, and he would spend the rest of his life adding and taking off weight.
Griffin and Julann Elizabeth Wright were married in 1958, and a son, Anthony, was born the following year. The couple divorced in 1973 because of "irreconcilable differences."
"It was a pivotal time in my career, one of uncertainty and constant doubt," he wrote in the autobiography. "So much attention was being focused on me that my marriage felt the strain." He never remarried.