Per Variety, Natasha Lance Rogoff’s memoir “Muppets in Moscow: The Unexpected Crazy True Story of Making Sesame Street in Russia,” is being turned into a feature film.
Emotion Pictures will produce the film in partnership with Riley Keough and Gina Gammell’s Felix Culpa.
Charles Randolph, who won an Oscar-winning for writing The Big Short will write the script.
"Muppets in Moscow: The Unexpected Crazy True Story of Making Sesame Street in Russia,” recounts Rogoff’s real-life journey bringing Ulitsa Sezam the Russian version of Sesame Street to the country.
If you're not familiar with the book's official description is below:
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, the timing appeared perfect to bring Sesame Street to millions of children living in the former Soviet Union. With the Muppets envisioned as ideal ambassadors of Western values, no one anticipated just how challenging and dangerous this would prove to be.
In "Muppets in Moscow: The Unexpected Crazy True Story of Making Sesame Street" in Russia, Natasha Lance Rogoff brings this gripping tale to life. Amidst bombings, assassinations, and a military takeover of the production office, Lance Rogoff and the talented Moscow team of artists, writers, musicians, filmmakers, and puppeteers remained determined to bring laughter, learning, and a new way of seeing the world to children in Russia, Ukraine and across the former Soviet empire. With a sharp wit and compassion for her colleagues, Lance Rogoff observes how cultural clashes colored nearly every aspect of the production―from the show’s educational framework to writing comedy to the new Russian Muppets themselves―despite the team’s common goal.
Brimming with insight and nuance, Muppets in Moscow skillfully explores the post-Soviet societal tensions that continue to thwart the Russian people’s efforts to create a better future for their country. More than just a story of a children’s show, this book provides a valuable perspective of Russia’s people, their culture, and their complicated relationship with the West that remains relevant even today.
What should be noted as this is not a documentary nor is Sesame Workshop specifically involved so this will be a fictionalized account of actual events that hopefully Sesame Workshop will allow the Sesame Muppet characters/ names to be used.
We'll keep you posted as more info about this project is released.
