SXSWorld
Issue link: https://sxsw.uberflip.com/i/842067
SXSW.COM | M A R C H 2 0 1 7 I N T E R ACT I V E / F I L M | SXS W O R L D 3 1 "It's not something you can do right away. It takes many, many years," says Oz. "You have to forget your body and think of only one thing, and that's what's on the screen, because you're on the TV screen. If you're doing it right, it becomes a Zen experience where you don't think about anything that's uncomfortable. But mostly it was a lot of fun and that made the work a lot more palatable." This element of fun is a recurring theme in the film's discussion, and Oz emphasizes that it was the cornerstone of Henson's cre- ative environment: "It all stems from Jim and the kind of singular human being he was. It's not normal for the head of a group to be supportive and collaborative and actually listen and care what everybody thinks. It's rare to have somebody keeping things fun on purpose because he wants to have fun. It all made the work better." Still, Oz also was well aware that Henson's motivation was more altruistic: "Jim always did things not just for themselves but for something above that. For instance, for Fraggle Rock, he wanted to have peace in the world. I know it sounds silly, but he truly believed that everything he did, in a non-didactic way, would hopefully help people around him, if not the entire world. He didn't just perform. We're really lucky ... we weren't just a group of entertainers, we were a group of entertainers who were part of Jim's noble intent." According to Oz, that noble intent continues through the film. "Jim always knew and appreciated the people who worked with him, not just the puppeteers but all the workshop people," says Oz. "So this movie we're doing is to express how Jim really affected us and to show that you can have a lot of fun and work really hard, as opposed to only having conflict. "You can work in a culture that is not based on fear, that is not based on only competition, but based on affection and on loving competition. It was a rare time, but we wanted to show that that can still happen now." The World Premiere of Muppet Guys Talking is today (Sunday, March 12) at the Paramount Theatre (713 Congress Ave) at 11:15am. See schedule.sxsw.com for details, as well as information for additional screenings. Frank Oz will also sit down for a conversation with film critic Leon- ard Maltin on Tuesday, March 14 at 2pm in Room 18ABCD at the Austin Convention Center. Frank Oz, photo by Victoria Labalme