Jason Segel and Kermit the Frog Pictures at Australian Premiere of The Muppets in Sydney

Jason Segel and Kermit the Frog Bring Their Joyful Muppets Magic to Sydney

December 23, 2011

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Jason Segel and his Muppets co-star Kermit the Frog flew into Sydney earlier this week to give Australian fans a taste of their upcoming film. While Kermit wasn’t able to meet and mingle with fans at Westfield Bondi Junction on Wednesday, Jason was super-friendly with the crowd and took plenty of time to take photos and chat with media. The staff of Max Brenner even made him a chocolate pizza with the words ‘Merry Slapsmas’ written in white chocolate buttons! We spoke Jason about bringing The Muppets back to the big screen.

On whether working with the Muppets was what he expected it to be: “Yeah, and more. You’ve very nervous to meet your idols, and Kermit turns out to be just the dude you pictured he was as a kid. It was just a dream come true, honestly. I had a lot of responsibility on this one, in that I wrote it and was producing it and all that — I had a lot of hats on — but every day I would pinch myself. I had a list of childhood dreams that I wanted, and working with the Muppets was one of them. I never dreamed it would be in this capacity.”
On how hands-on he was with the development of new Muppet Walter: “Well he’s a puppet, so I was literally hands-in [laughs].”
On the pressure he put on himself: “The pressure is to honour a legacy created by Mr. Henson and Mr. Oz that means so much to so many people. That’s all I was nervous about: making sure I did justice to a thing that influenced pretty much every person on this planet.”
On what could top The Muppets, career-wise: “I would actually like to be president of the United States.”

The Muppets is released in Australia on Jan. 12.

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by Jessica Chandra 0

On whether working with the Muppets was what he expected it to be: “Yeah, and more. You’ve very nervous to meet your idols, and Kermit turns out to be just the dude you pictured he was as a kid. It was just a dream come true, honestly. I had a lot of responsibility on this one, in that I wrote it and was producing it and all that — I had a lot of hats on — but every day I would pinch myself. I had a list of childhood dreams that I wanted, and working with the Muppets was one of them. I never dreamed it would be in this capacity.”
On how hands-on he was with the development of new Muppet Walter: “Well he’s a puppet, so I was literally hands-in [laughs].”
On the pressure he put on himself: “The pressure is to honour a legacy created by Mr. Henson and Mr. Oz that means so much to so many people. That’s all I was nervous about: making sure I did justice to a thing that influenced pretty much every person on this planet.”
On what could top The Muppets, career-wise: “I would actually like to be president of the United States.”

The Muppets is released in Australia on Jan. 12.

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