LOS ANGELES ― Kermit the Frog is cooling his cloth-and-cotton heels in the Beverly Hilton hotel room.

“Miss Piggy apologizes. She’s delayed. Actually she’s standing right outside the door. She wants to make a special entrance,” Kermit says.

As if on cue, the door flies open and Miss Piggy enters like a beauty queen making her first trip down the runway. She stops and asks how long we’ve been waiting. Upon hearing it’s been only 30 seconds, Piggy turns and leaves.

The move doesn’t surprise Kermit. This has been the modus operandi of the swine diva for almost the entire 36 years that they have worked together. They’ve remained a Hollywood power couple by not letting a little thing like ego get in their way. They know it’s all about the people who work closely behind them.

The pair are promoting their return to the big screen, “The Muppets.” It’s the story of getting The Muppets back together after more than a dozen years. Kermit says the film is loosely based on the facts.

“It’s not exactly a documentary. It’s not reality. It was just a story. We’ve done lots of stuff. We did some other TV shows, some TV movies, work for the Internet. So we’ve been together but it made for a better story if we have been separated.”

Kermit hasn’t changed over the years. He’s still the same frog who doesn’t ask for script approval. Even though the script said “Kermit the Frog,” he knows they could have cast someone like Justin Bieber to play the part.

The door to the hotel room flies open again and Miss Piggy enters.

“OK, OK, OK. I wanted to be fashionably late but listening to you from outside, I could tell you needed some help,” Miss Piggy says. “There was no audition process for moi. Are you kidding?

“OK. Let’s talk about moi.”

Miss Piggy once ruled magazine covers and worked with everyone from Bob Hope to Steve Martin. That she’s been out of the spotlight in recent years has not tamed her diva nature. She boasts that she has 738 costume changes in the movie, including five costume changes in one shot.

That may explain why Kermit, as always, remains his usual near-naked self.

Miss Piggy has no idea who Jason Segel is, even after Kermit points out as the writer of the movie his name is on the script. Miss Piggy didn’t read the script. That proved no problem, except for the scene where she has to play the editor of a French fashion magazine.

“I had to be this boss and to be a boss you have to be bossy and that’s not like me at all in real life,” Miss Piggy says.

Kermit responds with a very sarcastic, “Nooooo! No typecasting there.”

Early reports that Kermit would direct the movie proved false. The job went to James Bobin. Kermit doesn’t want the responsibility of directing because, although he’s a relatively sentient being, he’s not convinced he has the brain power to direct.

He was smart enough to add “Rainbow Connection” to the movie’s soundtrack. He’s never tired of singing the tune.

“I think it was kind of nice to sing it again. The last time I did it in the movie was 32 years ago. I hope that ‘Rainbow Connection’ has some relevance. I think it is a pretty song,” Kermit says.

Miss Piggy adds, “Especially with my voice added to it.”

The Muppets have been away from the big screen since 1999, but they continue to hear from adults who grew up with their mid-70s TV series, “The Muppet Show,” who now have children of their own. Kermit’s happy those adults will get to introduce the Muppets to their children.

Miss Piggy’s also happy to work in films again.

“I am so excited, but I am not nearly excited as the rest of the world is obviously that moi is gracing the silver screen once again. This is really a love story to moi’s existing fans and all my new ones,” she says.

Kermit says, “I thought you were going to say to my existing fans and ones that don’t exist.”

Miss Piggy adds, “And those too.”

By Rick Bentley

(MCT Information Services)