Joseph Gordon-Levitt to Produce, Star in Big-Screen Version of ‘Fraggle Rock’
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, 34, is join New Regency and The Henson Co. in producing Fraggle Rock, a long-gestating movie adaptation project for the popular Jim Henson 1980s puppet TV show. The actor, last seen on the big screen as Johnny in Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, is also set to star.
Regarding his involvement in the upcoming Fraggle Rock movie, Gordon-Levitt [via Variety] said: "The first screen personas I ever loved were Henson creations, first on 'Sesame Street,' and then on 'Fraggle Rock. Jim Henson's characters make you laugh and sing, but they're also layered, surprising, and wise. From Oscar the Grouch, to Yoda, to the Fraggles. I've never stopped loving his work, even as a young frisky man, and on into adulthood. Collaborating with Lisa Henson makes me confident we can do something that Jim would have loved. I'm grateful and excited to be working with New Regency on this project."
Fraggle Rock was a American/British/Canadian live-action TV series that became a hit internationally following its debut in 1983. It followed the adventures of a group of cave-dwelling Muppet creatures called Fraggles that come in a variety of colors and have fur tuft tipped tails. In their world, there is also a race of small, industrious creatures named Doozers, who build elaborate edifices that Fraggles love to eat. There are also the Gorgs, fat furry giants who consider the Fraggles as pests because they steal radishes from the Gorg garden.
The Jim Henson Company, back in September 2005, began working on a film adaptation of Fraggle Rock, to be titled Fraggle Rock: The Movie. In October 2011 New Regency acquired the rights to the movie to be produced by The Jim Henson Company, then with Ivan Reitman's The Montecito Picture Co. But Gordon-Levitt's recent boarding, according to The Hollywood Reporter, indicates that the project is getting a fresh start, and a new director and writers will be hired.
Gordon-Levitt's production company HitRecord has notably produced such short films as Morgan M. Morgansen's Date with Destiny and its sequel Morgan and Destiny's Eleventeenth Date: The Zeppelin Zoo, both of which he directed and starred in. He is currently filming scenes for two upcoming movies: a still untitled Christmas Eve project being directed by Jonathan Levine and Oliver Stone's Edward Snowden film.