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OPUS • Issue 6 • Spring 2012
Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk
“It’s time to play the music. It’s time to light the lights!” Last year, James’s company, The Honourable Company of Gentleman FilmMakers, based in West Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles cemented its association with HBO with the commissioning and development of two half-hour pilots: Marbury vs. Madison, a comedy set in the world of academic rivalry written by Bobin, and Permanently Temporary, a female intergenerational comedy written by Bobin’s sister, actress Joanna Bobin.
James Bobin OP (1983-1990) was four when The Muppet Show became a television hit in the 1970s and became a kermitted fan, tuning in to watch the show at his grandmother’s house in Sunningwell, Oxfordshire. Now, over 35 years later, he has directed the eagerly anticipated new Muppet movie, which was released on 10 February and is enjoying life across the Pond with his wife, the comedienne, historian and television presenter Fran Beauman and their daughter Madelaine. James, who directed Da Ali G Show and co-created Flight of the Conchords, joined PGS in 1983 and, after a very successful academic career at the school, left to read Modern History at Oxford (Brasenose). In between his studies, he took a full part in school life, including playing Mr Sowerbury with Claire Jepson, (nee Sawyer OP), PGS Head of English, as his wife in the David Hampshire-directed school production of Oliver! at the King’s Theatre.
If a television award were issued for the most inventive comedy writer and series developer of the 2000s, Bobin would almost certainly top the list. Being chosen to direct the new Muppet movie was “like being handed the crown jewels”, said James, who was very excited about introducing a new generation to Miss Piggy, Kermit, Gonzo, Animal and the rest of the lovable Jim Henson-created characters. The enduring appeal of the Muppets, according to James, is that “it’s friendly, warm-hearted, good natured. It’s not mean or cynical. It’s very honest and open. I love that sort of humour. That’s what I like to do.”
Best known as the man who helped devise the characterisations of Ali G, Borat Sagdiyev and Bruno (all played by the inimitable Sacha Baron Cohen), Bobin kickstarted his career as scripter and helmer of The 11 O’Clock Show in the UK, then moved into collaborations with Cohen. In that capacity, he co-scripted each of the 12 episodes of Da Ali G Show for the Home Box Office Channel in 2003 and 2004. Bobin foresaw his next comic achievement in the form of a nutty pair of satirical musicians from New Zealand who called themselves Flight of the Conchords - Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement (McKenzie coincidentally wrote the lyrics for Man or Muppet, one of the two songs from the new Muppet movie nominated for Best Original Song at the 84th annual Academy Awards). As created and executive produced by Bobin and others, the group’s eponymous programme cut back and forth between absurdly stylised music videos in which the artists sang original compositions, and comedic sketches that depicted the boys trying to adjust to life in the Big Apple and achieve fame in America. It debuted on HBO in June 2007 and the first season went on to receive a coveted Emmy nomination.
But it is James’s new film The Muppets, the seventh feature film starring Jim Henson’s loveable creations, which has put him firmly in the spotlight. The film is being lauded by critics and audiences alike, appearing to tap into a return to cinematic nostalgia and family-friendly film-making typified by recent blockbusters and re-releases such as Super 8 and Stand by Me. continued...
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