He keeps the Oscar on his piano. But then, wouldn’t you?
I had the recent pleasure of sitting down briefly with Academy Award winner McKenzie at a swanky Beverly Hills hotel to discuss his work on Muppets Most Wanted, currently in theaters. McKenzie was affable, relaxed, and completely at ease. I have spoken to many musicians in my day, and McKenzie possesses the same sort of shy humility that many of them seem to behold. I proceeded to grill him on his credits, his Oscars, and what record he listened to the most as a boy.
For one, McKenzie is credited as the music supervisor on Muppets Most Wanted as well as the songwriter. He explained that the title was largely decorative, pertaining more to a general sense of what the music in the film will sound like; he did not construct a separate soundtrack record or choose extra songs the way so many music supervisors typically do. He was just so deeply involved in the film’s music production, it was appropriate to give him a credit.
I asked McKenzie if he knew Celine Dion was going to be singing one of his songs (Dion sings a killer duet with Miss Piggy). He had no idea. He wrote a power ballad, and was thrilled when Celine stepped in to sing. He says that he’s always been fond of the power ballad form, and he quickly rattled off several of the power balladeers he’s always been fond of.
The first record Bret McKenzie bought with his own money was the Footloose soundtrack, acquired at an early age. He was particularly enamored of Denise Williams’ “Let’s Hear It for the Boys,” because, well, he was a boy. McKenzie says that he played the record at birthday parties when he was a kid and played a game called Chairs, which we Yanks call Musical Chairs. The thought of a young McKenzie playing Musical Chairs to the Footloose soundtrack is one of the most adorable things imaginable.
Kermit, a frog’s frog, was just as gregarious, projecting a wizened and friendly air. He was far more approachable than your average movie star, and easy to open up to. One thing I had always wondered about is the level of the “real” Kermit as seen in the movies. Kermit often plays a character named Kermit the Frog, but it’s not always necessarily himself. Kermit explained that the screen version of himself is pretty close to who he is in real life. The real Kermit is a nice, relaxed kind of guy. The screen version is just as relaxed, but has a tendency to overreact. But that’s all part of the magic of acting.
While Kermit has been the star of all of the Muppet movies to date, he has never been given a screenwriting credit. I asked him how much input he has on his screenplays. He says that the idea to make a movie is generally a group decision by the Muppet troupe, and screenwriters (professionals, mind you) hammer out the stories with him, handing the actual plots and dialogue themselves. He’s an actor, not a writer.
Kermit’s perfectly content playing himself, but surely the man (frog) has a dream role. When I asked him, he announced that he always wanted to play a part akin to the ones played by George Clooney, Harrison Ford, and other famous Hollywood leading men. He’s always kind of wanted to be the charmer. And if he could work with any director? His answer was immediate: Kermit wants to work with Martin Scorsese. I suggested The Frog of Wall Street, and he seemed enthused about the idea.
Walter is a new addition to the Muppet troupe, and I was curious as to how he was acclimatizing to his life with the Muppets. Evidently, Walter is still a lower man amongst the ranks, as Kermit has employed him to help with computers and to generally do basic office work. But he’s a crackerjack at those things, and is still a nice kid.
The first record Kermit bought with his own money was the soundtrack record to The Wizard of Oz. Naturally. The frog loves rainbows, so it makes sense that he was exposed to “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” at an early age.
What a nice man. And a nice frog.
Witney Seibold is the head film critic for Nerdist, and a contributor on the CraveOnline Film Channel, and co-host of The B-Movies Podcast. You can read his weekly articles Trolling, and The Series Project, and follow him on “Twitter” at @WitneySeibold, where he is slowly losing his mind.
