Nathaniel already looked at his favourite George Michael songs in tribute to the man's passing at age 53, and today a 1985 tour documentary featuring the finest male vocalist of his generation.
Three decades ago when China figuratively opened their doors to western culture, the first to arrive were… Big Bird and Wham! Two fey, energetic, hyper-coloured performers who sought a mutual exchange through music and film. The yellow Sesame Street character had Big Bird in China, while George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley got Wham! In China: Foreign Skies.
It’s a peculiar film, and not an especially good one. Half Chinese travelogue for the western audiences fascinated by the newly open China with their bustling food markets, seas of grey fashion, and their Great Wall; half concert film focusing, rightly, on the energetic and handsome George Michael sashaying around on stage like nobody had ever seen before.
Three decades ago when China figuratively opened their doors to western culture, the first to arrive were… Big Bird and Wham! Two fey, energetic, hyper-coloured performers who sought a mutual exchange through music and film. The yellow Sesame Street character had Big Bird in China, while George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley got Wham! In China: Foreign Skies.
It’s a peculiar film, and not an especially good one. Half Chinese travelogue for the western audiences fascinated by the newly open China with their bustling food markets, seas of grey fashion, and their Great Wall; half concert film focusing, rightly, on the energetic and handsome George Michael sashaying around on stage like nobody had ever seen before.
- 12/27/2016
- by Glenn Dunks
- FilmExperience
The documentary I Am Big Bird: The Caroll Spinney Story is exactly what you'd expect it to be, if you're a Muppet fan ... and also exactly what you'd hope it would be. Tonight's Violet Crown screening is sold out, but you can watch the film via online streaming outlets such as Amazon, iTunes and Vudu.
The film is a pleasant and sometimes touching profile of Caroll Spinney, who has spent decades portraying both Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch on Sesame Street and elsewhere. It's traditionally structured, primarily by time sequence -- beginning with his childhood and early puppet and acting gigs, and heading for the present. Interviews with Spinney help form the backbone of the film -- he tells us his own history, supported by other interview from his family to Sesame Street colleagues such as Frank Oz, Joan Ganz Cooney and Norman Stiles.
Naturally I Am Big Bird...
The film is a pleasant and sometimes touching profile of Caroll Spinney, who has spent decades portraying both Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch on Sesame Street and elsewhere. It's traditionally structured, primarily by time sequence -- beginning with his childhood and early puppet and acting gigs, and heading for the present. Interviews with Spinney help form the backbone of the film -- he tells us his own history, supported by other interview from his family to Sesame Street colleagues such as Frank Oz, Joan Ganz Cooney and Norman Stiles.
Naturally I Am Big Bird...
- 5/13/2015
- by Jette Kernion
- Slackerwood
8 Feet Tall and Light as a Feather: Walker and Lamattina Chronicle the Life and Love of a Puppeteering Legend
You’d be hard pressed to find someone who doesn’t know Big Bird. Of the many beloved creatures that sprang from the genius of Jim Henson, Sesame Street’s Big Bird may well be the most universally recognizable. Bearing the spirit of a child within the body of an 8-foot canary yellow behemoth, Big Bird became a larger than life icon of children’s television. Yet, despite Caroll Spinney’s famed collaborators and lengthy list of accolades that include Emmys, Grammys, and even a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, you may not recognize the lanky, mop-headed man who has brought the bird, as well as Oscar the Grouch, to life for the last 45 years. Following the success of Constance Marks’s Kevin Clash bio-doc Being Elmo, directors Chad Walker...
You’d be hard pressed to find someone who doesn’t know Big Bird. Of the many beloved creatures that sprang from the genius of Jim Henson, Sesame Street’s Big Bird may well be the most universally recognizable. Bearing the spirit of a child within the body of an 8-foot canary yellow behemoth, Big Bird became a larger than life icon of children’s television. Yet, despite Caroll Spinney’s famed collaborators and lengthy list of accolades that include Emmys, Grammys, and even a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, you may not recognize the lanky, mop-headed man who has brought the bird, as well as Oscar the Grouch, to life for the last 45 years. Following the success of Constance Marks’s Kevin Clash bio-doc Being Elmo, directors Chad Walker...
- 5/4/2015
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
Caroll Spinney has given life to Oscar the Grouch and Big Bird, and now a Kickstarter documentary hopes to tell his story
After portraying Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch since Sesame Street began more than 40 years ago, puppeteer Caroll Spinney is now set to have the spotlight turned on himself thanks to a successful online fundraising campaign.
I Am Big Bird, a proposed documentary about Spinney's life, has received over $100,000 from nearly 2,000 backers on Kickstarter, allowing a New York based production company to begin work.
Using interviews with Spinney and other Sesame Street regulars, the documentary will also feature footage from the 78-year-old's personal archive, including video of Spinney with Muppets creator Jim Henson and puppet luminary (and voice of Star Wars' Yoda) Frank Oz.
"You haven't outgrown Sesame Street," said the pitch from Copper Pot Pictures on Kickstarter, which had earned a total of $124,115 when it ended last week.
After portraying Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch since Sesame Street began more than 40 years ago, puppeteer Caroll Spinney is now set to have the spotlight turned on himself thanks to a successful online fundraising campaign.
I Am Big Bird, a proposed documentary about Spinney's life, has received over $100,000 from nearly 2,000 backers on Kickstarter, allowing a New York based production company to begin work.
Using interviews with Spinney and other Sesame Street regulars, the documentary will also feature footage from the 78-year-old's personal archive, including video of Spinney with Muppets creator Jim Henson and puppet luminary (and voice of Star Wars' Yoda) Frank Oz.
"You haven't outgrown Sesame Street," said the pitch from Copper Pot Pictures on Kickstarter, which had earned a total of $124,115 when it ended last week.
- 8/21/2012
- by Adam Gabbatt
- The Guardian - Film News
Filed under: TV Previews, TV News
Welcome to the Family TV Round-Up, a recap of all kid-friendly programming across the television universe. We'll sum up all the news related to children's programming, as well as profile the people and shows that your kids, tweens and teens are talking about.
Back in 1983, the Children's Television Workshop (now Sesame Workshop) and China Central Television worked in conjunction to produce 'Big Bird in China,' a primetime special that aired on NBC.
In the special, Big Bird and the big dog known as Barkley travel through the country to find the Phoenix bird. Highlights of the show featured Big Bird walking across the Great Wall of China as well as strolling around the city of Beijing.
Twenty-seven years later, Big Bird is making a return to the country and bringing some new friends to boot.
Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments...
Welcome to the Family TV Round-Up, a recap of all kid-friendly programming across the television universe. We'll sum up all the news related to children's programming, as well as profile the people and shows that your kids, tweens and teens are talking about.
Back in 1983, the Children's Television Workshop (now Sesame Workshop) and China Central Television worked in conjunction to produce 'Big Bird in China,' a primetime special that aired on NBC.
In the special, Big Bird and the big dog known as Barkley travel through the country to find the Phoenix bird. Highlights of the show featured Big Bird walking across the Great Wall of China as well as strolling around the city of Beijing.
Twenty-seven years later, Big Bird is making a return to the country and bringing some new friends to boot.
Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments...
- 12/17/2010
- by Rich Keller
- Aol TV.
For you, sirs? It's free. No, take it. Someone please take the hideous butler dog. Last night's episode of Modern Family, "Not in My Home," revolved around household anomalies treasured by one party and reviled by others: Barkley the Dog Butler at Jay and Gloria's, a nudie pic promoting agribusiness at Phil and Claire's, and a troubled gardener at Mitchell and Cam's. As usual, hilarious dialogue abounded but my favorite parts were the sweet bonding moments among the family -- you know, when they bitch and moan (to our delight) for nearly half the scene before realizing how alike they...
- 1/14/2010
- by Annie Barrett
- EW.com - PopWatch
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