After being put to pasture a few years ago following a string of disappointing films and a ho-hum return to TV, the Muppets are a pop culture phenomenon once again.
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And they’re doing it by popping up all over the Disney corporate matrix, including appearances on ABC and ESPN programs, top billing on the Walt Disney Company’s homepage and, soon, in a network special and feature film written by “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” star Jason Segel.
They’ve adapted to the era of social networking with two videos that have become viral sensations.
Coming up — a Halloween special scheduled for fall 2010. Can’t wait!
Lots of great stuff to look forward to in 2010. Audiences may be most excited about sequels like “Iron Man 2,” “Toy Story 3,” “Twilight: Eclipse,” and the second-to-last Harry Potter because we already know and love the characters and want to know what happens next (or even if we do know it because we read the book, we want to see how it looks on screen). There are some intriguing remakes on the schedule for 2010, too, and we look forward to seeing how “Tron” will be updated with new technology for special effects and how Robin Hood will be played by Russell Crowe. Wait, it gets better — it is directed by Ridley Scott, has Cate Blanchett as Maid Marian, and features two of my favorites, Mark Strong and Oscar Isaac.
We’re also looking forward to some big action movie releases like “Prince of Persia,” starring a very buff Jake Gyllenhaal and “The Last Airbender,” with “Slumdog Millionaire’s” Dev Patel.
Some other 2010 releases I have high hopes for include “Fair Game” with Naomi Watts as Valerie Plame and Sean Penn as her husband in this real-life spy story directed by Doug Liman of the first “Bourne” movie, Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams in “Blue Valentine,” which sounds a bit like one of my favorites, “Two for the Road,” because it traces a couple’s relationship over time, and “The Company Men,” with Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones, Kevin Costner, and the wonderful Maria Bello in a story about coping with downsizing in difficult economic times. I am also looking forward to “The Runaways,” about the all-girl rock band of the 1970’s, with a great cast that includes Dakota Fanning and “Twilight’s” Kristen Stewart.
Coming this spring is “Letters to God,” inspired by a true story, about a young boy with cancer whose daily letters to God change the life of the man entrusted with making sure they are delivered.
Take a look at the trailer for the upcoming movie “Babies,” which follows four babies from different parts of the world through their first year of life. I dare you not to say “Aw…”
