Photo: STX Entertainment
The creators ofSesame Streetdon’t want to have a hand inMelissa McCarthy’snew movieThe Happytime Murders.
In their complaint, theSesame Streetcreators claim that the film’s tagline, “No Sesame, All Street,” leads audiences to believe there is a connection to the show.
The film’s trailer, the say, “deliberately confuses consumers into mistakenly believing that Sesame is associated with, has allowed, or has even endorsed or produced the movie and tarnishes Sesame’s brand.”
In response, STX Entertainment, the production company behindThe Happytime Murders, issued a statement from lawyer puppet Fred Esq. “STX loved the idea of working closely with Brian Henson and the Jim Henson Company to tell the untold story of the active lives of Henson puppets when they’re not performing in front of children,” Fred said, on behalf of STX.
STX Productions
In their complaint, theSesame Streetcreators say their show has spent 50 years building its “reputation for wholesome educational programming,” while the trailer for the new film depicts “explicit, profane, drug-using, misogynistic, violent, copulating, and even ejaculating puppets.”
According to the complaint, the film’s explicit content “diluted and defiled Sesame’s belovedSesame Streetchildren’s television show.”
WARNING: TRAILER CONTAINS EXPLICIT CONTENT
The movie has earned substantial buzz, with the R-rated trailer wracking up nearly 1.7 million views on YouTube.
The show’s creators are asking that the filmpull its advertising, in addition to unspecified damages.
The Happytime Murders,also starring Joel McHale and Elizabeth Banks, is set to hit theaters Aug. 17.
source: people.com
