<P> In addition, Henson makes an on - screen cameo in a photograph in Connie's apartment . </P> <P> Announced in 2008 as being in development at The Jim Henson Company, the film was picked up two years later by Lionsgate with a targeted January 2011 start date . At the time, Cameron Diaz had been offered a lead role in the film . Diaz dropped out and Katherine Heigl entered into talks to replace her . </P> <P> In July 2015, it was announced that STX Entertainment had picked up the film rights to The Happytime Murders (Lionsgate having lost them) and put the film in active development, with script revisions by Erich and Jon Hoeber . In April 2016, Jamie Foxx entered negotiations to star in the film . In May 2017, it was revealed that Melissa McCarthy had signed on to star in the film instead, as well as to contribute minor, uncredited rewrites to the film's screenplay . This was followed by Maya Rudolph being added in August, and in September, Elizabeth Banks, puppeteer Bill Barretta, and Joel McHale all officially joined the cast . </P> <P> Principal photography on the film began in Los Angeles, California on September 11, 2017 . The film had a production budget in the range of $40--47 million, with McCarthy getting paid between $10--17.5 million . </P>

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