Emotion Pictures, the newly launched English-language commercial film banner from Vendôme Group, Pathé and Merit France, will produce the feature film “Muppets in Moscow” in partnership with Riley Keough and Gina Gammell’s Felix Culpa. Charles Randolph, the Oscar-winning screenwriter of “The Big Short,” will write the script.
The film is based on Natasha Lance Rogoff’s acclaimed memoir “Muppets in Moscow: The Unexpected Crazy True Story of Making Sesame Street in Russia,” which recounts her real-life journey bringing the beloved children’s series to Russia. Sesame Workshop produced the Russian version titled “Ulitsa Sezam” in the country. Felix Culpa and CAA brought the project to Emotion Pictures.
Philippe Rousselet and Fabrice Gianfermi are producing under the Emotion Pictures banner alongside Felix Culpa’s Keough, Gammell and Sacha Ben Harroche. Executive producers include Sesame Workshop, Rogoff and Randolph. Kathryn Thal is overseeing development for Emotion Pictures.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the moment seemed ideal to bring Sesame Street to millions of children across the former Soviet bloc, with the Muppets envisioned as ambassadors of hope and Western values — but the reality proved far more complicated. In her book, Rogoff chronicles the true story behind launching the Russian edition of the iconic series amid bombings, political violence, assassinations — even a military takeover of the production office.
