In a top ten list of the top ten environmental films (#9: FernGully), Ken Eisner rounds off his appraisal of Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth with a solicitation to “look for some of these themes to emerge in The Simpsons Movie, from Al’s pal Matt Groening.” [straight.com]
Matt Groening
Groening Talks Simpsons Finale
iF: For everyone who worked on [Futurama], it’s been off the air much longer, since Fox had a whole season left in the can to air once production had stopped.
GROENING: That’s the nature of animation. When the SIMPSONS finally ends, there will probably be another season and we’ll do a long farewell tour and wave to people.
Tidbits From The Paley Television Festival
- Jon Bon Jovi was going to guest star, but he backed out because “the writers had his character covered with melted cheese at one point and insult Richie Sambora at another point in the script.”
- The Beatles don’t like talking about The Beatles.
- Matt Groening authorized a Bart Simpson asthma inhaler.
- Executive Producer Tim Long: “America doesn’t love Gil.” So why would you base an entire episode around him?
[Zap2it]
Chicago Sun-Times Wants To Know: Is Family Guy Stupid?
Matt Groening doesn’t think so:
“At the beginning, there was probably some competition going on” between “The Simpsons” and “Family Guy,” he says. “But certainly not from me.
“I know how hard it is to do an animated TV show. [‘Family Guy’ creator] Seth MacFarlane is a good friend. And ‘Family Guy’ is funny. It’s got its own style. The more the merrier. I want more cartoons on TV,” Groening says.
MacFarlane had some nice things to say about The Simpsons, too:
“You could almost say ‘The Honeymooners’ or subsequently ‘All in the Family’ laid down the ground rules — everything structurally — for a live-action sitcom.
“And I think it’s the same thing for ‘The Simpsons’ regarding subsequent animated shows. They reinvented the process. A lot of things worked. So of course you’re gonna use that as a springboard.”
Homer At The Bat
The [minor league baseball team] Portland Beavers will honor America’s goofiest dad later this summer. The Pacific Coast League Beavers, in announcing their 2007 promotional schedule, said they’ll hold Homer Simpson Night on July 21. The homage will honor the cartoon character whose creator, Matt Groening, grew up in Portland.
Homage, or should it be…. Homerage??? [Portland Business Journal]
Groening On Post-“Golden Age”
TW: Fans talk of the golden age, seasons three through eight or nine. Now that you’re into season 18, haven’t there been other phases, maybe a new renaissance?
MG: I don’t feel like I want to defend the show to people who don’t like it, but I would say that the animation is better, that we’re doing shows that I defy anybody to say that we’ve already done. We’re coming up with, I think, ideas that are certainly surprising to us. And the show still makes me laugh. That’s all I care about. I hope that it makes other people laugh, too.
For comparison to other executive producers:
Al Jean: “I think the last couple years have been among our best”
James L. Brooks: Season 17 is “a classic”
Matt Groening: Animation is better, surprising new ideas, still makes him laugh [The Wave]
Groening To Shoot Minnie Driver
It can be hard to get noticed amid the hustle and bustle of a red carpet — just ask Minnie Driver. “I’m in ‘The Simpsons Movie’!” the Oscar-nominated acress piped up… Reluctant to let plot points slip because, she said, “I could tell you about it, and then I’d literally get shot by [‘Simpsons’ creator] Matt Groening,” Driver nevertheless revealed she’ll be playing “a patronizing grievance counselor in one hilarious scene.”
Ruh-roh! We’ll be keeping a close eye on this one… [MTV]
Dana Gould Wants You To Throw Out Your Simpsons DVDs
Gould: I don’t want to be standing at the Pearly Gates explaining why I spent my life watching DVDs of sitcoms I’d already seen. I mean, really … do something else. Fold up old paper bags. Make a puppet. Dress like an angel and convince a wino that he’s died. Something constructive.
Does his boss Matt Groening know about this??? [City Paper]
Gabor Csupo: The Unsung Co-Creator
Sure, Matt Groening might have his name emblazoned on every piece of Simpsons art and merchandise, but what about the other creators, such as Gabor Csupo, former supervising animation director?
Christy Lemire sets the record straight in her review of Bridge to Terabithia:
Killer birds and giant squirrels and menacing trees come out of nowhere and dart about in this live-action feature debut from Hungarian animation artist Gabor Csupo, who helped create “The Simpsons.”
Csupo is a pretty accomplished guy in his own right – he’s one of the two founders of successful animation company Klasky-Csupo, which produced the mega-popular Rugrats. So why is his Simpsons connection still being emphasized? [The Brunswick News]
LESTER AND ELIZA IN SIMPSONS MOVIE???
Yes, according to some random guy on the internet. Here’s a made-up quote purportedly from Matt Groening:
Die hard fans may get a long overdue recurring gag. Remember the episode where Lester and Eliza saved the day instead of Bart and Lisa? That was disturbing, and I personally expected them to come back and wreak more havoc. A decade later, we may finally get closure. “I think we put them in The Simpsons movie. They were in one draft. I’m not sure if they survive.”
3/8/2007 UPDATE: I guess the quote wasn’t made up! You can see it here in this interview with Crave Online.