It’s not easy being green… or one of the most beloved directors in Hollywood.
“It’s Kermit, which is kind of an easy answer,” he tellsEntertainment Weekly.
He’s trying to be the reasonable one in a world that could sometimes seem kind of mad.
Kermit and Jim Henson.Frank Edwards/Fotos International/Archive Photos/Getty
Jim got that, and I do, too."
“He became playful and more buoyant, and he could say more outrageous things.
For me, being on the set and directing is when I become an extrovert.
It’s when I open up and feel freer to express myself.”
EW can also exclusively debut a clip, above, showcasing the origins ofKermit the Frog.
“This is the origin story of all of these characters,” Howard says of the film.
“Kermit started as his mother’s coat, the fabric from some old coat she was throwing away.
They didn’t even know he was a frog for a long time.
They didn’t know what he was.
And then, slowly but surely, they decided he was Kermit the Frog.”
Frank Edwards/Fotos International/Archive Photos/Getty
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY:Youve made docs about the Beatles, Pavarotti, and Jose Andres.
What led to Jim Henson being your next subject?
And we’re the beneficiaries of that.
So, I thought, “Well, this is an interesting celebrity profile to think about.”
Instead, it was this journey that I could so relate to.
Not at that time.
We didn’t get to interact with any of theSesame Streetcharacters.
We were,Henry Winklerand I, in character, and did a quick learning piece.
It was filmed on our set on the Paramount lot.
What was your relationship with Jim Henson and the Muppets throughout your life?
Did you get to meet him at some point?
We were both going to be guests, not together, but we crossed paths.
We briefly met, and that was it.
Mostly, [my relationship] was just as a fan.
I always had a lot of respect for him.
He didn’t just contribute the Muppets to Sesame Street.
It was this entire aesthetic and approach to making learning fun.
My admiration for Jim just kept deepening.
And I second that, having worked on the film and learned what I’ve learned.
None of this would’ve happened without her.
In terms of Jane Henson, you really do foreground her.
Was that something you saw paralleled and part of why you wanted to make Jane central in the storytelling?
You’re right about the discovery that I made as a son, but this is quite different.
I didn’t know any of that about her, and I felt it was important.
But what was left was this great family and this remarkable creative legacy.
Your company, Imagine, has worked with Frank Oz before.
Was that relationship crucial to all of this coming together?
Frank knew exactly what I was talking about.
Jim was so experimental, and that’s the stuff that we don’t really know about.
He had this TV show that they allowed him to make very inexpensively in the mid-’60s calledThe Cube.
Our cinematographer jumped on that idea.
It was his world when you entered the Cube.
It’s about his creative life and his family life and the legacy of his children.
Do you think there’s something unique to Hollywood families having come from one yourself?
Look, it’s a small business.
There aren’t that many people who are engaged in it.
And for a percentage of those people, it’s very high profile.
Their family experienced that.
It’s unusual to have two parents who are so creatively engaged.
There’s something unique and bohemian about that.
His experimental film,Time Piece.
His kids said, “If you really want to know our dad, look atTime Piece.”
It’s funny, but it’s also desperate.
And the clock is a central character.
You realize that, somehow, he was running against time always.
For whatever reason, he was in a race.
Did he know he was only going to live 53 years?
But did he know time was precious and life was fragile?
Yeah, he did.
He lived that way.
You realize that this was a complicated guy on a very interesting journey.
Was there anything his kids said that really surprised you?
He was about freedom of expression and experimentation and all of that.
But when it came to his family, he was traditional.
That paradox did surprise me.
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This definitely shows his creative genius.
His ability to be satirical but not cynical.
He was able to, with great affection, say, “Look how silly we can all be.
Look how crazy the world can be.”
And yet not turn that into something bleak, but to recognize joy amid the chaos.
