"I was so stunned, because this was such a shock. There was no advance warning of this whatsoever for me. I had every reason to believe I was going to be working with them forever."
"It felt.. just.. almost exactly the way it felt the day that Jim died. So much hope was gone."
On ABC's failed Muppets show "We were getting a lot of script material and story ideas that were far enough out of character that it made it difficult for us to portray them well, so I started sending notes as we've always done and I think they felt that I had been disrespectful but I don't think so. I think that I was being honest."
Lisa Henson's reaction in that same video saying "He had it a long time coming" was downright cold.
This entire situation with all three remaining Henson kids attacking Steve and Disney's "reasons" for firing him is just upsetting and disappointing, I doubt this is what Jim had in mind for the future of his characters, his company and his kids.
Whitmire, who was asked to take over Kermit by Henson's family after the creator's untimely death in 1990, said that an instance of a note was over a script for the new ABC series, canceled last year, in which Kermit lied to his nephew, Robin, about his breakup with Miss Piggy.
>"I don't think Kermit would lie to him," Whitmire explained. "I think that as Robin came to Kermit, he would say 'things happen, people go their separate ways, but that doesn't mean we don't care about you.' Kermit is too compassionate to lie to him to spare his feelings."
>He continued, "We have been doing these characters for a long, long time and we know them better than anybody. I thought I was aiding to keep it on track, and I think a big reason why the show was canceled (after one season last fall) was because that didn't happen. I am not saying my notes would have saved it, but I think had they listened more to all of the performers, it would have made a really big difference."
The second issue Whitmire says he was given concerning his termination was a union issue.
>"The second issue was framed as 'refusing to work on a particular project’ some 15 months earlier," Whitmire explained. "I happened to get caught in the middle of a dispute on a contract classification between SAG-AFTRA and Disney Labor Relations, which occurred while I was in-flight to work on the project and the associated commercial. I did in fact shoot the commercial, but was unable to shoot the material for the project in order to comply with my obligations to the guild. Ironically, in that situation, my rep had negotiated a special deal with the guild so that we could do the work within the budget parameters for the project."
>“He played brinkmanship very aggressively in contract negotiations,” said Lisa Henson, president of the Jim Henson Company, and Jim Henson’s daughter, in a telephone interview.
>Ms. Henson said Mr. Whitmire was adamantly opposed to having an understudy for his role, which presented problems when it came to what she called “B-level performances, such as a ribbon-cutting.” She said he was unwilling to appear on some of these occasions but also refused to develop an understudy and that he “blackballed young performers” by refusing to appear on the show with them.
>Brian Henson, the company’s chairman and Jim Henson’s son, said that while Mr. Whitmire’s Kermit was “sometimes excellent, and always pretty good,” things changed when he was off set.
>“He’d send emails and letters attacking everyone, attacking the writing and attacking the director,” he said. .”
>In a reflection of Disney’s determination to undercut Mr. Whitmire, executives there also arranged an interview for a Times reporter with a producer on a Muppets-related project who expressed the same criticisms as the Henson family. The producer declined to speak for attribution, however.
For Mr. Whitmire, who didn’t respond to the criticisms leveled by the Hensons or Disney, this is the end of a professional journey that has occupied his entire adult life. His bond with the Muppets began when, at age 10, he wrote a letter to Mr. Henson asking questions about puppetry around the same time “Sesame Street” had its premiere.
Grayson Peterson
>Tried to do right by staying true to Jim's vision and the characters he created >See the show is taking things in the wrong direction, send out notes with suggestions >Is sacked for it by Disney and stabbed in the back by the Henson family, even Brian who you've worked closely with for years
Such a saddening situation, I'm not sure what Jim would make of it.
Brandon Brown
He was fired to make way for a female voice actor, as Obama's chemtrails have caused Kermit to transition.
Brandon Morris
>Disney knows he needs to be fired >The Hensons know he needs to be fired >Disney does the right thing and fires him >Actor gives a performance on camera >OH THAT POOR MAN DISNEY AND THE HENSONS ARE HORRIBLE AND I HATE THEM UNTIL THEIR NEXT MOVIE/TV SHOW COMES OUT You people are pathetic
Isaiah Gutierrez
Man, fuck Disney and fuck Jim's kids.
Jackson Jones
>Thanks for being a internet mouseketeer, here's your complimentary hat.
Justin Adams
I just want you to know that regardless of Disney's treatment of steve, they are one of the most evil entities in existence and are directly related to many of the world's woes.
Lincoln Morales
I understand your frustrations with what has happened, but can you guys just stick to one thread about this? The only thing you're doing is splintering the conversation.
Seriously, do you need three threads?
Andrew Flores
So literally "He criticized us too much and didn't want to be phased out, so we're just replacing him all at once!"
Jayden Butler
This is just pathetic now Stop crying like a bitch and get over it
Anthony Richardson
Pointed this out in another thread but watching the documentary about Jim Henson that was shown on PBS really reveals some contexts that could make it clearer on behalf of the kids. Henson was always working and even Frank Oz speculated that all the work he put into the Disney deal is what killed him. To his kids Jim was almost always working and left little time with his family. Jim likely saw and spent more time with his coworkers than his real kids. Then he dies and Disney is there without the creative figurehead to exert creative control over what he made, but the kids are left with a handsome paycheck for everything their dad worked for.
On Whitmire's side he spent his whole life all about the Muppets. Entirely about them even! He joined in with the gang and was there working with Jim until he died, and was given a powerful role set on him by carrying on Jim's legacy as Kermit.
So you have a guy who absolutely worships and cares about Jin's characters and creation immensely, and worked with him exclusively when he was still alive. Great. But he's made himself unreplacable by (wisely) refusing to train an understudy that would make him easier to fire down the road. Disney isn't above that. Just ask their IT departments.
They pin him in an impossible union dispute and take his own opinions about a show that was FAILING on tv and use that as grounds to fire him.
And the kids double down on Disney. Why? Well Whitmire isn't giving them fat stacks of cash or promises to fund projects if they do a solid and back then up on firing and mudslinging Whitmire in justification. And, add that, his statements of Jim's legacy and reverence must sting knowing this man had spent more time with their father and likely DOES know more about the character than they do makes firing him sweeter. He stops being a guy who can stir the Muppets fans pots about the shit direction Disney sent them in and Disney rewards their collaborators.
Watch the old guard follow suit.
Gabriel Allen
>Seriously, do you need three threads?
Dude, this is Sup Forums. They need three threads at a time for whatever in the fuck is happening.
Jack Diaz
This is the most Sup Forums has ever talked about the Muppets in years, let them have their threads.
>4 threads about star vs >3 threads about how lewd French animation is >3 SU threads >not to mention the amount of MCU threads
Either all of it is okay or non of it.
Isaiah Russell
This is Sup Forums actually
Aaron Diaz
>This is Sup Forums actually
Aw shit.
Noah Perry
THIS Disney may be a shit company but this time they were right
Gabriel Bennett
Puppetry is a form of animation
Josiah Gutierrez
This guy knows exactly what's up.
Ryan Sullivan
Nice samefagging
Logan Nguyen
>So you have a guy who absolutely worships and cares about Jin's characters and creation immensely, and worked with him exclusively when he was still alive. Great. But he's made himself unreplacable by (wisely) refusing to train an understudy that would make him easier to fire down the road. Disney isn't above that. Just ask their IT departments.
Bingo bingo
American cartoons reboot periodically so there isn't one voice actor who everyone knows as teh character and that one voice actor can ask for more money.
Jeremiah Brown
Example? Aside from copyright, everyone knows that.
Daniel White
I honestly doubt it's ANYTHING to do about the money for Steve, especially when he was sacked in October 2016 and kept quiet about it for so long in hopes of getting the job back.
>I want all of you who love the Muppets to know that I would never consider abandoning Kermit or any of the others because to do so would be to forsake the assignment entrusted to me by Jim Henson, my friend and mentor, but even more, my hero.
>As I am sure you can imagine, I have experienced every possible emotion since October 2016, when I received a phone call from The Muppets Studio’s executives to say they were recasting. Through a new business representative, I have offered multiple remedies to their two stated issues which had never been mentioned to me prior to that phone call. I wish that we could have sat down, looked each other in the eye, and discussed what was on their minds before they took such a drastic action.
>I have remained silent the last nine months in hopes that the Disney company might reverse their course. Doing what is best for the Muppets is the lens through which all my interactions have been filtered. Given the opportunity I remain willing to do whatever is required to remedy their concerns because I feel my continued involvement with the characters is in the best interest of the Muppets.
>For decades, you have been an invaluable partner in co-creating the existence of the Muppets, and I am humbled by your devotion to them. There is so much more for us to talk about so I have created this site as a place to connect and share on all things Muppet, past, present and future.
>Please forgive any faux pas as I have not been active in social media previously and have a serious learning curve. I just want you all to know that I am sorry if I have disappointed any of you at any point throughout our journey, and to let everyone know that I am devastated to have failed in my duty to my hero.
Easton Fisher
There aren't any
That user's just a pathetic hipster that can't stand the fact that everyone loves Disney because it's an amazing company and the only one putting out good movies
Blake Richardson
That doesn't make sense when Disney and Cartoon Network voice actors usually stay consistent for decades. Only Marvel is the major exception and even then you have Black Panther and Hulk.
Cameron Carter
...
Jason Rogers
>it's been a long time coming >steve was a massive pain to work with and molested the puppets >according to the hensen kids this has been going on for decades
even in the entertainment industry people like this get sacked within the first month, not year 27
Charles Cook
I love you, don't ever change.
Jeremiah Miller
>molested the puppets If they mean he stuck his hand up their ass I'd hate to point out that their dad was guilty of that too
Austin James
ok I'll bite how's that?
Brayden Johnson
And gave the Henson some cash to turn on Steve and fund their coke habi- I mean a Fraggle Rock movie they failed to get off the ground for the 50th time
Wyatt Perez
He sounds like a prick. I'm far more inclined to trust Brian on this.
Christian Mitchell
Did you even watch the video interview with Steve? If anything with the Henson family come across as pricks.
Yeah, he seems like a self-absorbed prick covering his own ass in an attempt to spin the narrative to his favor. Crocodile tears don't work on me, darlin.
Lincoln Thompson
>all these strong opinions on both sides of the issue >be casual muppet fan with no real frame of reference for either side, and thus no dog in the fight
Man, this is going to make for one hell of a tell-all book in a few years. I feel for the guy, from the "tenured employee gets shafted by his company" perspective, but I'd be super interested in learning what went on behind the scenes to get him marked for death by the Mickey Cops.
Jose Young
There's two sides to every story.
I'd like to see what his messages were, not what he says his messages were.
Warner Bros constantly changes the VAs for various Looney Tunes characters as a response to Jeff Bergman campaigning in the early 90s as Mel Blanc's "successor". By acclimating audiences to constantly fluctuating performances for the characters, if any one actor ever asks for a raise, they can be replaced with one of the alternates with no fuss (at one point, Daffy Duck had 4 rotating actors playing him in various media).
It also keeps shit like The Simpsons and Family Guy casts from ever happening again, where they get paid around $250-300k per episode because they're irreplaceable.
While Disney keeps most of their legacy VAs in contract, they aren't above hiring alternates. Tony Anselmo and Brett Iwan are already being given alternates for Donald and Mickey (Daniel Ross and Chris Diamatopolous) to chip away at their standing with the characters.
Caleb Foster
...
Eli Cook
>Implying Brian hasn't been entirely about the money
I've always felt like he was the reason the Muppets became soulless.
The last project that hit the right note was The Muppets, and that was mostly because of Segal.
Ian Jenkins
For how bad ERB has gotten, this was the most accurate thing they could've possibly done. I'm amazed it took this long for it to be posted.
Isaac Flores
>Segal Did he snatch every muppets birthday?
Oliver Brown
Go back to Sup Forums and complain about shills Pajeet
Mason Smith
We need more threads about Disney being where creativity goes to die.
Noah Thomas
Someone in the last thread was saying Brian Henson was the only one trying to keep his dad's legacy alive and would undoubtedly be pissed at his family taking the Mouse's side.
I really don't think anyone in these threads has enough inside information to make a judgment worth listening to.
It definitely wasn't about money for him. I think he felt uncomfortable training a replacement, and Disney saw it as him making himself irreplaceable, so they replaced him.
Aiden Gomez
Disney shills deserve to have their throats cut
Adam Sanders
Say that he does get his job back. How much bad blood would flow during any Muppet production with him?
Ayden Rivera
History has shown that he doesn't give a shit about the quality of the Muppets. >Made some speech about legacy >Muppet Wizard of Oz happens
Jackson Gray
They would actively look for another reason to sack him within three years or so.
Brayden Gomez
Man, that woman comes off as a stone cold bitch.
Jace Howard
This is legitimately the saddest shit I've ever seen. People always bring up the Big Bird performance but this one just hits so much closer to home
Gabriel Nguyen
They were Jim's favourite songs after all.
Lincoln Myers
I have a friend who's pretty well connected to the Henson Company, and there's supposedly a lot more going on in the background that is being reported. I'm assuming that's no surprise.
He won't tell me details, but it seems like Whitmire somehow forced this, and he says he's playing the victim but was causing some kind of problems behind the scenes.
He's friends with Whitmire -- or at least was -- but comes off sounded pretty disgusted when he talks about him right now.
A text he showed me from October made it sound kind of the other way around, though.
Robert Nelson
>understudy
So he didn't want to train the next Kermit?
Elijah Diaz
This is basically a he-said she-said soap opera and Sup Forums is eating it up like the low-T doughy hipped womenboys they are.
Fuck this guy and fuck all of you for worshiping him just because he played with toys for living.
Aaron Hall
>I have a friend--
Christopher Reed
You tend to take up the for the people you work for depending on how well they treated you. What did the text he showed you say though?
Josiah Green
Does your friend know my dad? He works at Nintendo.
Jaxon White
Don't cut yourself on that edge bro
Angel Thomas
Maybe your dad knows my uncle, he's Mr. Nintendo himself.
Oliver Ward
>I have a friend
Sure thing....
Isaac Wilson
What's a friend? Errr, just asking... for a friend.
Joseph Brown
If he was causing problems they would just air it unless it makes them look bad jim henson's legacy is squandered on shitty greedy people.
Julian Kelly
The best they got is a union disagreement and he was protective of characterization, sure is grounds for contract termination right there.
Zachary Sullivan
When the Mouse says "jump", you say "how high?"
Anything less is grounds for complete destruction.
Isaiah Jackson
I believe the anons in the last thread said it best when they relied the following to you Fagketeer.
Can I just get an actual fucking straight answer about WHY he was fired?
I'm just gonna assume: "Union bullshit" until otherwise correct because all anyone ever says is several paragraphs of mumbling.
Oliver Smith
Union bullshit and apparent hostility towards writers who didn't "get" the muppets
Jaxon Perry
That's all there is to it.
Christian Ward
Brian "puts on le edgy adult puppet shows because he's above the legacy of family-friendly puppet entertainment his father left him" Henson? Nah.
Chase Hernandez
Checkmate, atheists.
Luis Wood
>I have a friend... Suuuuuuure you do.
Connor Foster
I met Steve in person. Nicest fucking man I met. Sad that Disney's just locking them in the vault and not doing anything with them.
Evan Reyes
HE'S IN ON THE CONSPIRACY! MARIO GOT KERMIT FIRED
Julian Long
I wonder how Eric Jacobs feels. He played Fozzie and Piggy to Steve's Kermit.
Carter Garcia
>no one goes to ask Bill Baretta, Peter Lintz, Matt Vogel, David Rudman and Dave Goelz about these rumors Steve was an asshole when not on set.
Ian Gonzalez
>Brian Henson on the subject >about a company he fucking abandoned when they needed a leader most. >To make le edgy Avenue Q's line is it anyways
Logan Martinez
As someone who hates disney and is indifference to the Muppets why should I care?
Ryan Bennett
It's clear that the henson kids pulled an Ike Perlmutter here. They are part of the board of directors - they get honorary creative control over some things like Ike did when he sold Marvel, albeit at a lesset degree for the Hensons.
In truth Disney has no benefit from recasting or replacing Whitman - His response and sheer love for the role he has means that he would have accepted way shittier contracts if Disney treathened with recast. He practically begged them to not fire him.
Apparently they've been hardboring resentment for Whitman for years, and as soon as Disney put a shadow of doubt on him with the ABC & union problems the Hensens took the opportunity to pull some strings and get him fired.
Parker Mitchell
I'm willing to bet they're staying silent on the situation for now unless they either:
a) get bribed by Disney and the Hensons to talk shit about their long-time partner. Which, given how long Steve's worked with them, is unlikely. b) risk their jobs at the hands of those two parties like Steve.
Angel Young
I'd like to sit in the middle. There may be a hint of truth on both sides, but it feels like the Hensons are skewing it a bit harder. "Not training an understudy?" Well gee, I wonder why not.
Henry Hughes
I dunno the reaction like that, Lisa probably honestly felt that. I mean cmon this guy is just a voice, it's not like they can't replace voice actors. The fact that they held on to this one guy so long is a little suspect. Plus they all felt that way? Dude was probably a creep.
David Miller
>I mean cmon this guy is just a voice, it's not like they can't replace voice actors. You don't know the first thing about puppeteering, do you, much less Muppeteering? This guy was trained by the absolute best. You can't get talent like him and Dave Goelz anymore. People who understand The Muppets like they do are a dying breed.
Aiden Walker
Gentrification of hawaii
Gabriel Cox
Saw it live once, what a terribly unfunyy show that was
Andrew Long
>3 threads about how lewd French animation is what kind of sick disgusting world do you live in where that's a problem
Zachary Howard
I don't care but it's just pointing out this guys double standards
