Lionsgate Snags Puppet Noir Happytime Murders

For those of us out there who loved the short lived series Greg the Bunny, there seems to be movement on what can only be described as a “puppet noir” film, Happytime Murders. According to The Hollywood Reporter’s Heat Vision blog, the project, which has been at the Jim Henson Company since October 2008, has just landed at Lionsgate.

The spec script written by Todd Berger and was bought by the Jim Henson Co. way back in 2008. Brain Henson, son of the late Jim Henson, is attached to direct.  The Happytime Murders takes place in “a world where humans and puppets co-exist, with the puppets viewed as second-class citizens. When the puppet cast of an ’80s children’s TV show called “The Happytime Gang” begins to get murdered one by one, a disgraced LAPD detective-turned-private eye puppet — with a drinking problem, no less — takes on the case with his former human partner.”

The film surely sounds interesting. Billed as an adult comedy-thriller, it sounds like a cross between the Tony Award-winning Avenue Q, Greg the Bunny, Who Framed Roger Rabbit  and L.A. Confidential all rolled up into one sick twisted barrel of fun.  At this point, there is talk of a January start date on production. Stay tuned as more news comes in.