The Happytime Murders

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The Happytime Murders
File:The Happytime Murders.png
Teaser poster
Directed by Brian Henson
Produced by <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Screenplay by Todd Berger
Story by <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
  • Todd Berger
  • Dee Austin Robertson
Starring <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Music by Christopher Lennertz
Cinematography Mitchell Amundsen
Edited by Brian Scott Olds
Production
company
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Distributed by STX Entertainment
Release dates
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  • August 24, 2018 (2018-08-24)
Country United States
Language English

The Happytime Murders is an upcoming 2018 American puppet crime-comedy film directed by Brian Henson and written by Todd Berger. The film stars Melissa McCarthy, Bill Barretta, Maya Rudolph, Joel McHale, Leslie David Baker, and Elizabeth Banks. It is scheduled to be released by STXfilms on August 24, 2018.

Plot

In a world where puppets exist but are reviled by society and considered inferior to humans, puppet private investigator, Phil Phillips (Bill Barretta), reunites with his ex-partner Detective Connie Edwards (Melissa McCarthy) to find a serial killer who murdered Phil's brother and is now targeting the cast members of the 1980s television series The Happytime Gang, and Phil's former flame, Jenny (Elizabeth Banks) is next on the list. But as bad blood and old resentments resurface the clues start pointing to the only viable suspect, Phil himself. Now he's on the run with only his wits and hard headed determination, as he tries to solve, "The Happytime Murders."

Cast

Humans

  • Melissa McCarthy as Detective Connie Edwards, Phil’s ex-partner, who is a sugar addict and blames Phil for it.
  • Maya Rudolph as Bubbles, Phil’s secretary who feels more comfortable in the puppet world. They have a loving relationship, but it’s not a romantic one.
  • Joel McHale as Agent Campbell, a stern FBI agent who is working on the case.
  • Elizabeth Banks as Jenny, a burlesque dancer and Phil's "former flame." She was a cast member of The Happytime Gang.
  • Leslie David Baker as Lieutenant Banning, Edwards' superior.
  • Jimmy O. Yang as Officer Delancey
  • Ryan Gaul as Officer Milligan
  • Mitch Silpa as Tommy, a criminal
  • Cynthy Wu as Brittenie Marlowe

Puppeteers

  • Bill Barretta as Philip "Phil" Phillips, a disgraced ex-cop who is now a private investigator.
  • Victor Yerrid as Lawrence "Larry" Phillips, Phil’s older brother and an actor on The Happytime Gang.
  • Dorien Davies as Sandra, a puppet who asks Phil to investigate a case for her.
  • Julianne Buescher as Piddles
  • Drew Massey as Goofer, an actor on The Happytime Gang.
    • Massey also puppeteers as Vince
  • Ted Michaels as Ezra, an actor on The Happytime Gang.
  • Colleen Smith as Cara, an actress on The Happytime Gang.

Production

File:HappytimeMurdersConceptArt2.jpg
Concept art depicting Phil, the grizzled central puppet character

Announced in 2008 as being in development at The Jim Henson Company[1] the film was picked up two years later, by Lionsgate, with a targeted January 2011 start date.[2] At the time, Cameron Diaz had been offered a lead role in the film.[3] Diaz dropped out and Katherine Heigl entered into talks to replace her.[4]

In July 2015, it was announced that STX Entertainment had picked up the film rights to The Happytime Murders (Lionsgate having lost them) and put the film in active development with script revisions by Erich and Jon Hoeber.[5] In April 2016, Jamie Foxx entered negotiations to star in the film.[6] In May 2017, it was revealed that Melissa McCarthy had signed on to star in the film as well as contribute minor, uncredited rewrites of the film's screenplay.[7] This was followed by Maya Rudolph being added in August[7] and in September, Elizabeth Banks,[8] puppeteer Bill Barretta,[9] and Joel McHale[10] all officially joined the cast.

Principal photography on the film began in Los Angeles, California on September 11, 2017.[8]

There are a total of 125 puppets in the film, with 40 specifically created for it, one of which is the protagonist, Phil Phillips. There are 6 different Phil puppets that do different things, including one Phil that was made for an underwater scene, which is difficult because puppets soak up a lot of water. [11] To accommodate the puppeteers, all of the sets were built up, so that the puppeteers could stand on the floor because their optimum way to operate is if they’re standing with straight arms. Because the floor of the sets came up in pieces, the human actors had a two-foot margin to stay on their path.[11]

Release

The Happytime Murders is scheduled to be released by STX Entertainment on August 24, 2018.[12] The film was originally going to be released on August 17, 2018 but was pushed back a week from its original release date of August 17, 2018 to August 24, 2018.[13]

The first official red-band trailer was released on May 18, 2018, with select screenings of Deadpool 2.[14][15]

Box office projection

Early forecasts from Box Office Pro have projected a $18 million opening weekend and a final domestic total of $47M for The Happytime Murders.[16]

Lawsuit

In May 2018, Sesame Workshop, the organization behind the production of the television series Sesame Street, filed a lawsuit against STX Productions for using their trademark in a film they have no involvement with, including the tagline "No Sesame, all Street." They alleged that associating a children’s program with an adult comedy would smear the earlier’s reputation as well as confuse individuals. In response, STX issued a statement indicating their persistence to keep the marketing for the film unchanged.[17][18] On May 30, 2018, the lawsuit was rejected by the presiding judge for the case, with STX issuing a brief statement soon thereafter: <templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />

"We fluffing love Sesame Street and we're obviously very pleased that the ruling reinforced what STX's intention was from the very beginning — to honor the heritage of The Jim Henson Company's previous award-winning creations while drawing a clear distinction between any Muppets or Sesame Street characters and the new world Brian Henson and team created. We believe we accomplished that with the very straightforward NO SESAME, ALL STREET tagline. We look forward to continued happytimes as we prepare to release Happytime Murders this summer."[19]

References

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  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 ‘The Happytime Murders': 25 Things to Know about the Long-Developing R-Rated Puppet Movie
  12. ↑ STX Films Shifts ‘Mile 22’ and ‘The Happytime Murders’ Release Dates
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Happytime Murders Trailer: Melissa McCarthy's Filthy Puppet Noir
  15. ↑ Melissa McCarthy Snorts Ecstasy and Punches Puppets in NSFW ‘The Happytime Murders’ Trailer
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found./
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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