The Simpsons Movie

[Pubrick]

picolas speaks true.

and "one good act" is pretty much the case of the current simpsons too. at their best.

[MacGuffin]

'Simpsons' Kwik-E-Marts Might Open In Your Hometown — Squishees And All
7-Elevens might transform into fictional stores in advance of summer flick, according to report.
Source: MTV

Over the course of 18 seasons on "The Simpsons," Apu Nahasapeemapetilon's Kwik-E-Mart has doubled as a purveyor of overpriced goods, a Gas 'N' Gulp, a makeshift cryogenic chamber, a clothing-optional boutique, a meditation center and an impromptu home to actor James Woods ... to name just a few.

It has not, however, ever existed in the corporeal form (though there is a chain of Kuik-E-Marts in Minnesota). That might be about to change.

According to an article published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, a handful of 7-Elevens across the country will become actual Kwik-E-Marts — Apu not included — later this summer, in a promotional tie-in with the much-anticipated "Simpsons Movie," due in theaters July 27.

According to the article, 7-Eleven unveiled the news during a company event held last week at the Greater Richmond Convention Center. Though details remained sketchy, the chain is reportedly planning to convert 11 stores nationwide into Kwik-E's, redoing storefronts to resemble the fictional shop's famous blue, green and white exterior and stocking the shelves with products inspired by the show, including Frosted Krusty O's cereal, Buzz Cola and Squishees.

But not so fast, super-fans ... because while the whole promotion does seem unbelievably cool, it's far from a done deal, according to 7-Eleven spokeswoman Margaret Chabris.

"We've been in talks with a number of studios about certain properties ... and nothing is set in cement just yet," she told MTV News on Wednesday (March 28). "The reporter in that piece saw informational material developed by 7-Eleven's marketing department for our franchises. It was prepared for an internal audience, and I don't have any specifics that I can share at this time."

And she's not kidding. Chabris wouldn't confirm where or when the Kwik-E promotion will take place but did add that 7-Eleven will make an announcement about "something" within the next week.

"From what I've read in the article, it's a very cool idea," she said. "But again, I don't have any information about it that I can share right now."

D'oh!

[picolas]

it would be so awesome if james woods worked in one random location for one day, unannounced.

[pumba]

IT WOULD BE SOOOO AWESOME IF THEY MANUFACTURED DUFF BEER AS A PROMOTION FOR THE MOVIE!

[modage]

WOW>

http://thesimpsonsmovie.com/



clearly someone is not impressed with the direction the series is taken, or the length of time it has taken to produce this film.

[grand theft sparrow]

Marquee please!

[Ravi]

IT WOULD BE SOOOO AWESOME IF THEY MANUFACTURED DUFF BEER AS A PROMOTION FOR THE MOVIE! THIS MOVIE DIDN'T SUCK.

Also, please don't yell.

http://thesimpsonsmovie.com/

How did Fox not reserve this domain?

[modage]

How did Fox not reserve this domain?

i have no idea.  especially since The Simpsons Movie is the title of the film, fox has www.simpsonsmovie.com but not this.  at first i thought the official site had been hacked or something but that is not the case. 

[MacGuffin]

Homer's Big-Screen Odyssey
'The Simpsons' is a sitcom legend. Now it's coming to a theater near you.
By Sean Smith; Newsweek

April 20, 2007 issue - To make it on the big screen, you have to give people something spectacular. Something extraordinary. Something like Bart Simpson—full frontal. It happens early in "The Simpsons Movie," when the animated 10-year-old takes a dare from his goofball father, Homer, to skateboard naked through the streets of Springfield. Hidden by plants and picket fences, he whizzes along, past kids, down hills, through traffic lights, until, in one shocking moment, little Bart flashes his little part to the entire world. Which may make this the first Hollywood film to show that kind of skin and to escape an R rating.

In a summer bursting with comedies—including major animated fare "Shrek the Third" and the new Pixar film, "Ratatouille"—"The Simpsons Movie," which opens July 27, is both the least hyped and the most anticipated. Since "The Simpsons" debuted in 1989, it has built a fanatical fan base, earned 23 Emmys and generated more than $2.5 billion in revenue, if you include the never-ending selection of T shirts. Now in its 18th season, "The Simpsons" is the longest-running sitcom in history, and it's broadcast in more than 70 countries. An online poll conducted in 2003 by the BBC declared Homer Simpson "The Greatest American." No. 2: Abraham Lincoln. "Homer is what other countries think America is like," says writer-producer Al Jean, who has been with the show since the beginning. "Voting for Homer was like saying, 'Screw you, America.' It's probably part of our success."

Entire books—and a few doctoral dissertations—have analyzed the significance of "The Simpsons": how the family became blue-collar antidotes to idealized "Ozzie & Harriet" Americana, how the show's swirling of stinging social satire and base physical humor helped it to cross all comedy boundaries. All that's true. But the reason people love these dysfunctional yellow characters—and Homer in particular—may be less academic. "Every time someone creates a Ralph Kramden or an Archie Bunker or a Homer Simpson, it's considered one of the greatest characters on TV," Jean says. "Because that's who people really are. We're a show about a family, a screwed-up family, and that's where most people come from." Amid all the absurdity of "The Simpsons" universe, the writers have made sure to keep the nuclear family at the show's center. Creator Matt Groening credits writer and executive producer James L. Brooks with that. "In the writers' room, Jim is the guy who pitches the heartfelt moment, which is very difficult for a comedy writer to do," Groening says. "Everybody is trying to be the most cynical, the most jaded, and Jim is willing to go for that sweet stuff."

That sweet stuff is at the core of the movie, too, but getting it made took almost as many years as Bart has been in the fourth grade. "This movie has been rewritten more heavily than any human document," Jean says. "The thing we fear most is making a bad movie. It's really daunting, because every fan has a vision of what this movie should be." Although animated shows "South Park" and "Rugrats" have successfully made the transition from TV to film, history is littered with sitcom-to-screen forays (e.g., "Bewitched," "The Brady Bunch Movie") that flopped. "Yeah, it's a risk," Groening says. "But look at all the lousy movies that make huge box office. And I think everyone who worked on this is pretty proud." That said, ratings for the sitcom have dropped recently. Did Groening wait too long to make the movie? Apparently not. " 'The Simpsons' has a loyal cult following, and they're always talking about a movie," says Robert Bucksbaum of Exhibitor Relations, a movie-industry analyst. His box-office estimate: up to $175 million. "You're going to be a little bit surprised by how well this film does."

The idea of making a movie first came up back in 1990, but it always got pushed down the to-do list. Finally, around 2003, Groening and gang got serious about it, but instituted a cone of silence around the project. Although the basic plot has been in place for years, the filmmakers have managed to prevent any details from slipping out. "That's the way it's supposed to be," Brooks says, laughing. "It's always more fun not knowing what's going to happen. That's why first dates are so great." Of course, that silence has been rich soil for rumors, most of them initiated by people working on the film, to throw nosy reporters off track. "One of my favorites was by one of the writers," Groening says. "He said the movie's about Bart losing his virginity." Despite that nude scene, it's not. "It's an epic story, but at the heart it's about the family staying together," Groening says. "And, as anyone could predict, Homer causes a great deal of havoc. We just raised the stakes. He can ruin the planet this time, not just Springfield."

Based on footage shown to NEWSWEEK, the film appears to start with a growing environmental crisis. Then Homer further messes things up—there have been (unsubstantiated) rumors about his storing tons of pig waste in the backyard, which seems about his speed—and a new villain appears, voiced by Albert Brooks. ("Well, I'm not sure I'd call him a 'villain'," says James Brooks. "He functions as someone who wants to bring an end to the world, yeah, but ... ") Also, Lisa may get a green-activist boyfriend. The filmmakers get bonus points for Zeitgeist reading—they did environmentally focused shows and dreamed up the movie's eco-angle years before half of Los Angeles was driving a Prius. "You'll never be out of date talking about the environment," says the film's director, David Silverman, who has been with "The Simpsons" since it was a series of skits on "The Tracey Ullman Show." (He also plays the flaming tuba. No joke.) "It's not, like, 'Wow, the environment's solved! No problems now!' "

And anyway, the movie (like the sitcom) is about something much, much deeper than saving some dumb old planet. It's about being a loser, and still winning—albeit in a consolation-prize kind of way. "It's fun to see a dad trying to hold his family together while indulging in every vice he can, and getting his comeuppance again and again," Groening says. "You can relate to him and feel superior!" Unless this whole movie-star thing goes to his head, of course.

[MacGuffin]

Inside 'The Simpsons Movie'
Nope, it's not a cruel joke -- we got producers Matt Groening and James L. Brooks to give us the scoop. Go ahead and have a cow, man.
Source: Entertainment Weekly

Forget the gentle creaking of a palm-tree-anchored hammock or the lilting music wafting from an ice cream truck on a 90-degree day. For the first summer in nearly two decades, fans of The Simpsons actually have something to look forward to: the sweet sound of d'oh! On July 27, The Simpsons Movie will be unveiled in theaters around the world, and millions of line-memorizing disciples of the legendary Fox series have been salivating over the prospect of TV's First Family of Animation yukking it up on the big screen. But what exactly are we strapping on drool bibs for? Aside from doling out a few enticing yet cryptic trailers (dogsleds? missiles?), the Simpsons producers have been as closemouthed as Homer in a vegan restaurant. That's why we decided to hit the Fox lot to butter up (mmm, butter) two of the franchise's founding fathers — revered cartoonist Matt Groening and Oscar-studded writer-director-producer James L. Brooks, who joined forces in the mid-'80s and featured the Groening-doodled Simpson clan on The Tracey Ullman Show. Now they have a slightly loftier dream for those mustard-colored misfits: Best. Movie. Ever.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How concerned were you with making a movie that satisfies die-hards but still appeals to the uninitiated?
MATT GROENING: We're trying to entertain ourselves. We figure that if we can surprise ourselves, we'll surprise the fans. There's certainly some attention paid to the idea of rewarding the die-hard fans for paying attention for all these years. At the same time, we want people who may not be die-hard fans to have a really enjoyable time.
JAMES L. BROOKS: There's nothing where we do really basic exposition on who Homer is. I mean, if you're gonna be surprised that he strangles his son a few minutes in, we're gonna have a rough go with you. [They laugh.]
GROENING: If you're offended by that —
BROOKS: — our work here is done.

Why all the secrecy? What are you hiding?
BROOKS: First of all, what we're calling secrecy is just keeping the work private until you're ready to show it. But it started out as people wanting to know what it was about, and then we were having fun with it, putting out false story lines. We've revealed more with each successive trailer. We'll continue to do that.
GROENING: Even though there are some very misleading things in the trailer.
BROOKS: We saw a trailer the other day, and somebody said 70 percent of the things in it — based on where we were eight weeks ago — are no longer in the movie, because we keep on fooling around.

Can you pretty please give us a plot tease?
GROENING: You'll see anatomy that you may not want to see.
BROOKS: It would ruin it if we said now who in the picture isn't really a woman.
GROENING: It's an epic story that takes advantage of the wide-screen format.
BROOKS: Worst screwup of Homer's life. And the competition was thick. [They laugh.]

Not only are fans used to getting their Simpsons for free in 22-minute installments, the show has more or less covered every story there is to cover in 400 episodes. What challenges did that pose?
BROOKS: Well, we didn't cover what we're covering in the movie. But yeah, much more challenging than we ever thought, harder than we ever imagined.
GROENING: The movie's been a real learning process, because I assumed ''Oh, this is just going to be an epic version of the TV show,'' and it turned out that we had to rethink almost all of our assumptions. It felt very similar to working on the first 13 episodes, when we didn't know exactly what we were doing.... Jim consistently held on to the idea of story and emotion, when the instinct in the room was to write as many jokes as possible.

What took so damn long?
GROENING: Well, there were no hiatuses during which we could say, ''Okay, now's the time we should do the movie.'' We've been working on the show year-round for the last, whatever it's been, 18 years?
BROOKS: We had that key decision where we had an episode, [the season 4 opener] ''Kamp Krusty,'' that we knew could be a movie. But then we said, ''It's a great first episode.'' We've been open to it for a while.
GROENING: It's like running a marathon. Once you start running, you don't want to be one of those people on the sidelines, lying there, gasping.

How intimidating are the massive expectations?
GROENING: It was hard coming up with a title. [Laughs]
BROOKS: In this long process, it took us a year and a half of the hardest work to begin to look like we didn't give a s---, which is what the movie needs. The movie needs a loose feel, and yet we have to have the discipline.

You assembled an all-star team of current and former Simpsons producers and writers, as well as longtime director David Silverman, to work on the movie. What was that like?
BROOKS: It was a romantic notion and a good one to begin with: Just gather together anybody who was here at the very beginning or who ran the show.
GROENING: We have a shared vision, but everybody adds different kinds of jokes. And it's not a chorus by any means.
BROOKS: No, we have arguments. And one of the good things about a table is that nothing gets in unless the table laughs.
GROENING: I'm just amazed that we were able to order from the same pizza place for so many weeks.
BROOKS: Occasionally, it was an angry discussion.
GROENING: You're in a room with some of the most creative guys in the world, and they're ordering from the same pizza place every night. Come on!

There are oodles of secondary Simpsons characters, and everyone has a different favorite. How many of them can we expect to see?
BROOKS: We did sit here, looking at that forever. [He points to the famous yellow poster featuring 320 Simpsons characters.] It's impossible to do a crowd scene well in the show, just because of what it takes in animation, and we have memorable crowd scenes in the movie, and that's sort of thrilling for us.
GROENING: We tried to squeeze every character we could into the movie.
BROOKS: There are 94 speaking parts [so far]. And our animals don't speak.

There will be new characters in the movie, right?
BROOKS: At least one. If you count nonhuman, two.
GROENING: There's going to be some payoff after the fact on the series, but it's not going to change the Simpsons universe forever.

You held a test screening in Portland, Ore. How did that go?
GROENING: Big thing is we get to live a little longer. It was a bunch of random people who didn't know they were going to see this movie.
BROOKS: We were all a little paranoid. I think I was hallucinating — everybody looked to me like they were there to beat me up. They looked angry. But then you say, ''Please let them have goodwill leaving,'' and they did. [But] we changed a lot of jokes. We physically changed one character, and we basically rewrote that character and another.
GROENING: We learned that the audience is looking forward to seeing their favorite characters, but we still have to surprise them. It's not just seeing your old favorites come out and wave to the audience.... And we changed some language in the movie, because some people were bugged.

What do you mean by ''bugged''?
GROENING: They said we were going to hell.

Any last advice for those psycho fans in the theater who are quivering as they wait for the lights to dim?
BROOKS: Our fans don't quiver.
GROENING: If you're wearing a Marge Simpson wig, take it off out of courtesy to the other members of the audience.

[MacGuffin]

'Simpsons Movie' Cast Discusses Green Day's Appearance In Film
... and they wouldn't tell us much of anything we didn't already know!
Source: MTV

Here's what we do know about Green Day's cameo in the upcoming "The Simpsons Movie": It's happening.

That was confirmed to MTV News by both the band's label, Reprise, and a spokesperson for 20th Century Fox studios way back in February, when a trailer for the film — which contained a split-second-long scene depicting Green Day performing on a capsizing stage — first hit the Net. However, just what they're performing and what role they play in the film (which is due July 27) was unknown.

Almost three months later, nothing has changed: Neither Reprise nor Fox would provide any further information.

Luckily for us, the cast and crew of "The Simpsons" TV show just happened to be throwing a huge party Tuesday night in Los Angeles, in celebration of seminal show's 400th episode. Surely, we figured, someone there would be able to shed some light on the whole Green Day issue ...

"Green Day is in the movie — I will publicly acknowledge that Green Day are in the movie," "Simpsons" creator Matt Groening laughed. "They're really good sports and I think we both honor them and 'Simpson'-ize them. You can take that however you want. They're really nice guys."

"I know that Moe yells out obnoxious stuff to Green Day while they're performing. That I remember," Hank Azaria — voice of "Simpsons" mixologist Moe Szyslak and about 46 other characters on the show — added. "He yells out stupid stuff to Green Day. [They don't play] at Moe's Tavern. They perform elsewhere in the movie; they're outside. And the whole crowd turns on them."

Thanks guys! And while the information provided by Groening and Azaria is spotty at best, it's positively encyclopedic compared to what we got from a couple of other "Simpson" regulars. Which means that — just like most Green Day fans — we're gonna have to wait until July to find out.

"No, [I wasn't there the day Green Day recorded]. We've had close to 400 celebrity guest stars on our show, and I've only worked with a handful of them because their schedules are really in demand," Nancy Cartwright, the voice of Bart, said. "It takes about four hours to do the record[ing] for our show, and they have to make it so they come in while we're there. If they can't, they [record] them separately."

"I didn't know [Green Day was in the movie] until you told me," Yeardley Smith, who voices Lisa, added. "So there you go. I will really be the last to know. I just hope I get to go to the premiere."

[MacGuffin]

Yep, another trailer here.

[diggler]

i'd love nothing more than to have the simpsons make me laugh again

here's hoping

[pumba]

that trailer was alot funnier than the others

[bonanzataz]

i'd love nothing more than to have the simpsons make me laugh again

here's hoping

did you see the season finale? if it's anywhere near as funny as that episode, it'll be great. i hadn't laughed that hard in a long time, simpsons or otherwise.