“Phil Collins,” he answered without hesitation. “Better drum sound.”

While clearly a talented comedian, it was McKenzie’s love of all things music that made him the perfect choice for The Muppets, a fact that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences seems to recognize. His Oscar nomination for Best Original Song stems not from his ability to write entertaining lyrics, but rather his ability to do so in a way that also pays tribute to the source material.

“I just really wanted to make something that felt like it belonged to that world.”

McKenzie stresses that as with Flight of the Conchords, writing for The Muppets wasn’t about simply parodying the work of Jim Henson, but rather paying homage.

“A lot of the Choncords’ music comes from a similar place. There’s a lot of respect in it, and a lot of love goes in it. And I think that really comes through in the final product.”

But in order to give a proper tribute, McKenzie had to learn the rules of the the Muppet franchise, a task that proved daunting despite his years of being a fan.

“I had to learn the rules about the Muppets‘ world,” McKenzie said, still impressed by the level of detail involved. “Sam the Eagle refused to sing one of the lines in the song because it didn’t fit his character. So I rewrote the lyric in the studio for the character.”

But having to rewrite lyrics for a felt-based prima donna didn’t seem to diminish his enthusiasm. If anything, McKenzie came away with a renewed appreciation of the characters.

“Going into it, I loved Animal. Going out of it, I just loved Statler and Waldorf, the two old guys. Because now that I’ve made a TV show, seeing how they … criticize their own show within the show, it’s just such a great idea. It means that if an idea or a sketch isn’t working, they can point it out to the audience. It’s so self aware.”

This awareness of the audience was inspiring yet intimidating to McKenzie. While he felt honored to be part of the project, he knew that expectations were ridiculously high, a fact that he and the film’s creators took very seriously.

“Sometimes it felt like I cared more about it than the studio,” he said. “They’ll do whatever, it’s more of a business model. So we were really the guardians of this magical world. And there was a lot of pressure. So there was that responsibility.”

But at the end of the day, the overwhelmingly positive reception by fans and critics alike seems to have validated McKenzie’s commitment.

“My favorite comment was people saying ‘It felt like a Muppet Movie,’ cause that was my aim, and I think we all achieved that. And that’s why I’m really proud of it.”

Bret McKenzie has announced a film is in the works. “We’re going to try and do a movie. We just need a story.”

No, you don’t. The Transformers franchise is HUGE.

Given the success on The Muppets (on which McKenzie served as music supervisor), this is likely to become a priority project. All they need is the story, which should totally involve puppets. (via Vulture)

Now director Peter Jackson has asked McKenzie to return to Middle Earth, this time as the Elf of Rivendell himself, Lindir, in The Hobbit. Hopefully this will give McKenzie a chance to strap on an accoustic guitar and sing a comedy song that inspires you to faintly smile and nod your head a tiny bit in amusement.

Based on the classic J.R.R. Tolkien novel, The Hobbit also stars Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen and Cate Blanchett. The two parts will venture into theaters late 2012 and late 2013. (Variety)

Flight Of The Conchords“ star Bret McKenzie had a brief cameo in Lord Of The Rings before finding success by dressing up as a rapping robot. During the council meeting in Fellowship Of The Ring, the camera pans to a random elf played by McKenzie. His character never factors into the plot nor was he given an official name. He actually became known as Figwit once fans nicknamed him that.

As he’s doing with most of the original cast, Jackson wants McKenzie to reprise his role in The Hobbit. There’s no word on whether his role will be expanded, but I kind of hope that he’s once again only featured when the camera pans to reveal him listening in. Maybe this time he can be eating a sandwich or something. (Stuff)

_{The Muppet Gang leisurely rushes Kermit to the hospital.}

Flight of the Conchords co-creator James Bobin has been given the go-ahead to direct Disney’s New Muppet Movie, he just has to decide if he wants to play with dolls all day. The choice could prove to be a difficult one considering Judd Apatow is also tugging on Bobin’s sleave to direct his new movie Bridemaids, written by awkward-character-playing SNL cast member Kristen Wiig. "What to do, what to do?!" screams Bobin’s conscience. 

One would think Bobin would like to dive head first in to Apatow’s bouncy castle of go-to guys, but taking the reins of a Muppet Movie written by Jason Segel and Forgetting Sarah Marshall director Nicholas Stoller could give his feature career the soft, furry kick in the pants it needs. With Bobin et al manning The Muppets, we’re sure to get something more edgy than pies in the face and spinning bowties on bears. But I’m not expecting hot pig-on-frog action either. (Vulture)

Bad news, nerdy guys. You won’t have any new Flight of the Conchords songs to sing-along to in a failed effort to impress girls anytime soon. The New Zealand folk duo have announced that this past season of their HBO show will not be followed by a third. The show had grown too difficult to produce with the pressures of writing multiple original songs per episode. Though they are still expected to record albums, there is no word on when those may be released. So, sorry fellas. Looks like you’re going to have to rely on Lonely Island to get you almost laid for the foreseeable future. (via Reuters)