Despite having been called communists by Fox Business Network, "The Muppets" are officially back. Aft their movie took in over $56 million at the box office in just two weeks, they are back on top. But don’t call this a comeback around Kermit the Frog -- he tells me they never went anywhere.
If Hollywood made a Muppet movie with humans, who would play Miss Piggy, Animal and you?
Good question. For me, I'd want it to be Tom Hanks. If he was a little greener, we'd be brothers. For Miss Piggy, I think she'd insist on doing it like they did with Bob Dylan in that movie, "I'm Not There." Y’know, having a bunch of different actors play her -- Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Angelina Jolie, and Jackie Chan for the karate scenes. And for Animal, I don't see how it could be anyone [but] Keith Richards.
Who is your celebrity crush and why?
I'd have to say Miss Piggy. Why? 'Cause she might be reading this.
Why do you not wear pants?
It's a frog thing ... Plus, it makes it a lot easier to get through airport security.
Can we call this a comeback?
If you mean a comeback to the big screen ... Absolutely. We hadn't made a movie in almost a dozen years. And boy are we glad to be back. But it's not really a comeback in the where-did-they-go-and-what-were-they-doing sense. The Muppets have been very busy: writing books -- I wrote "Look Before You Leap," a biography/advice book, and Miss Piggy wrote "The Diva Code" -- doing Internet videos, plus all sorts of appearances, TV specials, and, in Miss Piggy’s case, highly publicized celebrity feuds with her fellow divas.
Why do you think after all this time you are back on top?
To put it in amphibian terms, The Muppets swim around in the Hollywood swamp just like everyone else. Sometimes you're riding the crocodile, and sometimes the croc is chasing you. That's showbiz.