Get ready to pay homage to Jim Henson on the big screen, because his story is coming soon:

Empire Film Group, Inc. (PINKSHEETS: EFGU) (”Empire Film”) (http://www.empirefilmgroup.com) has acquired the motion picture production and distribution rights to “Henson,” an original screenplay by Robert D. Slane that chronicles the life and achievements of Muppets creator, Jim Henson. Empire has pegged the film for production in late summer with a $30 million budget to be funded through a consortium of international presales and co-production partners.

“This is a major project about an entertainer of legendary stature and worldwide acclaim,” said Dean Hamilton-Bornstein, CEO of Empire Film Group. “The script is superb and should provide a terrific roadmap for a completed film that will satisfy both mainstream audiences and critics. We’re very excited about this acquisition and the commercial caliber of this project.”

“Henson” covers the life of puppeteer, filmmaker and entertainment mogul Jim Henson, from his early fascination with television as a teenager, through his spectacular career and life achievements. Empire anticipates hiring a major director, such as Penny Marshall, and hopes to attract notable star cast in key roles. Bornstein will act as Executive Producer, with Empire Home Entertainment President Eric Parkinson producing the film along with Xavier Mitchell.

“Jim Henson is one of the best known and most beloved entertainers of all time,” said Parkinson. “His story is inspiring, tragic, heartwarming and epic, and will make for an important and entertaining motion picture. This is the sort of movie that Empire will be pursuing as we build the company into a leading independent studio.”

On the one hand, I’m thrilled, because Jim Henson is one of my idols. If you don’t love the man who brought us Sesame Street—not to mention Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog—you are dead to me. On the other hand, “his story is inspiring, tragic, heartwarming and epic?” That… sort of sounds like a soap opera. That sounds less like the backstory on the muppets and more like Gone With the Wind.

I sort of think Henson would’ve appreciated a biopic with a hearty dose of comedy, but I guess I could be wrong. (Really, I think Henson would’ve appreciated an all-muppet cast, too, but I don’t see that happening.) (It’s possible there’s a reason I wasn’t hired to produce this thing.)

I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 6th, 2008 at 6:34 am and is filed under Random acts of television, Movies, Retro. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.