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The Simpsons Movie: 2006?

Started by Bill Oddie, February 11, 2004, 07:03:54 PM

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Bill Oddie

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QuoteDVDFanatic.com: How involved with ?The Simpsons? are you nowadays? Have you started working on "The Simpsons" movie yet?

Mike: My partner, Al Jean is running the show. He?s the boss and I just come in a day a week as a consultant. I come in every Tuesday and just help and put in my two cents. Al and I and five other veteran writers of the show are currently writing ?The Simpsons? movie.

DVDFanatic.com: What can you tell us about the movie? We?ve heard that there was supposed to be a "Simpsons" movie for the past several years but you don?t want to just simply put three episodes together, so how are you creating something new that?s not been done before?

Mike: That?s been the biggest challenge. They?ve wanted to do this since season two. It?s been 13 years of wanting to do ?The Simpsons? Movie. Finally FOX said, ?Let?s just do it!? We never had the greatest idea that was compelling but FOX said, ?Maybe if we start paying you, you?ll get inspired.? And sure enough it worked! We?ve got a very good and interesting idea and it?s different from the show. You know, it?s like the ?South Park? movie where it?s just a bigger, longer, amplified version of the show. I can?t tell you anything specific about it. My wife doesn?t even know the secret.

DVDFanatic.com: When do you think ?The Simpsons? movie will come out?

Mike: I will say two years from this summer. I think it?s going to be Summer 2006 or maybe Christmas 2006. It?s a reality after being just sort of this phantom idea. I think it is really gonna happen.

Not sure what to make of this, If they get all of the old writers together and they care enough about it, it'll be fantastic. My gut instinct though is that it will be dire, a feeble cash in guaranteed to make squillions whatever the content.
The main precedent ere would be South Park: The Movie which was o.k. but not great.

I'm trying to think of a non-animated sitcom that went on to be a good film... any suggestions?

imitationleather

Lots of questions in that interview...

Lt Plonker

They're not very sure of themselves are they? *snigger*


Sitcoms into movies, eh? Erm. I always enjoy the Please, Sir! film. That's good fun and got a superb soundtrack from Cilla Black.

[Ah sod it. imitationleather, you cad! Got there before me.]

Rev

QuoteWe never had the greatest idea that was compelling but FOX said,Maybe if we start paying you, you'll get inspired.

Sounds fucking brilliant already.

I almost feel in a minority what with not bittorrent-ing Simpsons episodes before they're transmitted on TV here so that explains why
I've seen the episode "I, D'Oh-Bot" last Sunday on Sky One. Wow! It was a very funny episode (from the latest series 15). I actually laughed aloud 1 or 2 times during the 22 minutes. I'm surprised, because I had almost given up on The Simpsons because of the widely-noticed dip in episode quality during the last 3 or 4 seasons of the show.

Anyone else see this episode?

GeeTee

Yep Season 15's been a big improvement....still a little patchy in places but its had its moments...not as many tangent induced plot turns and inplausable situations...

As for the film....as long as they dont do some 3-D CGI eyecandy moron-a-flick things might be OK...but how much longer are FOX gonna keep it going as a series anyway? Is this the start of the retirement package...

Doctor Stamen

Quote from: "Bill Oddie"
I'm trying to think of a non-animated sitcom that went on to be a good film... any suggestions?

On The Buses?

Darrell

One Foot in the Algarve, despite it being blown up from 16:9 to 4:3, having a laughter track dubbed on and broadcast on telly.

Oh, and Stella Street. Though that never ended up at the cinema either.

Utter Shit

I thought the South Park movie was great...too many songs, but the gags came thick and fast and were mostly very funny.

I reckon they'll pull out all the stops and make The Simpsons a success as a movie, the characters have never really been expanded on in great detail, which leaves a lot that can be done in the film that hasn't been done before.

Darrell

Quote from: "Utter Shit"too many songs

You can't have too many comedy songs.

Rev

Quote from: "Darrell"
Quote from: "Utter Shit"too many songs

You can't have too many comedy songs.

Yes you can.  I refer you to the South Park film.

And thus, I create infinity.

I don't think I've seen any of the 15th series, but I did catch 'C-E-Doh' a couple of weeks back (14th series), and Homer me edgeways, it was actually funny.  Maybe it's slowly waking up from the slump.

Utter Shit

Quote from: "Darrell"
Quote from: "Utter Shit"too many songs

You can't have too many comedy songs.
You can't have too many 'Blame Canada' or 'What Would Brian Boitano Do?' songs...but you can have too many 'La Resistance' songs. In fact, the South Park movie itself has too many 'La Resistance' songs, in that one is more than necessary. Fucking Frenchies.

Godzilla Bankrolls

Actually, I hope the Simpsons movie has lots of great, well-produced comedy songs. The series has lots of great ones (I'm Checking In, Stop The Planet Of The Apes! I Want To Get Off, Krusty singing Send In The Clowns etc).

Don't forget Big Gay Al's fantastic song in the SP film.

Darrell

If anyone hasn't got the two Simpsons compilations (Songs in the Key of Springfield and Go Simpsonic With The Simpsons), I suggest you go out and get them, they're terrific comedy albums.

They were available together from HMV in a discount slipcase the last time I looked.

Some nice rarities on them too - longer takes, alternates, tracks at their original speed where they were sped up for the episodes, and a really strange scratch mix of 'The Garbageman' with session singers badly impersonating the characters (oh, trivia fact, it's not mentioned on the sleeve, but on the LP version of the proper version of that song, U2 have been mixed out and replaced with the sessioners lifted out of the aforementioned scratch mix).

Utter Shit

I have 'Simpsons Sing The Blues', that's pretty good. Homer has so much soul in his voice, you can really FEEL what he's singi...oh Christ, I'm analysing a 10-year old children's comedy tape. Shoot me, right in my head.

Darrell

Quote from: "Utter Shit"I have 'Simpsons Sing The Blues', that's pretty good. Homer has so much soul in his voice, you can really FEEL what he's singi...oh Christ, I'm analysing a 10-year old children's comedy tape. Shoot me, right in my head.

Sing the Blues and The Yellow Album aren't without worth as such, but only the TV compilations are the real deal.

Utter Shit

I never really like the musical bits in The Simpsons, but then again I'm not a fan of musicals in general. Except Cannibal!, that was cool. Ish.

Darrell

Nowhere will you hear more lavishly-produced, full-on-orchestra, mega-budget comedy songs than in The Simpsons. And they're great.

DuncanC

I'd love to see some cinematic SImpsons. Despite the series going to shit I still have high hopes for this.

I wouldn't hold your breath for this just yet.  I wouldn't hold your breath for the new series either...

The new series of The Simpsons is under threat because of a pay revolt among the actors who give voices to the classic TV cartoon's stars.

Quote from: "[url=http://www.ananova.com/entertainment/story/sm_909637.html?menu=Ananova[/url]"]The six actors, who between them play Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and the rest of the cast, have reportedly asked for about £4.25 million a year - a leap from the £1.5 million they get now.

According to Hollywood trade magazine Variety, the actors have refused to turn up for the last two recording sessions.

The walkout came when Dan Castellaneta (Homer), Hank Azaria (Moe, Apu and others), Harry Shearer (Mr Burns and others), Yeardley Smith (Lisa), Julie Kavner (Marge) and Nancy Cartwright (Bart) reached an impasse with Fox network bosses.

[...]

A single episode takes about six to seven hours to voice. The actors' new pay demands would mean they get about £194,000 for a day's work - more than even the highest-paid American sitcom stars.

But the six actors argue they are simply demanding what they deserve - the global success of The Simpsons means it is worth well over a billion dollars.

The dispute mirrors a similar row in 1998 when each of the actors, except Kavner, pressed for higher salaries. Back then, each made just over £16,000 per episode. As the row intensified, Fox began seeking replacement voiceover actors, but a deal was struck and the original team returned to work.

Darrell

Only £1.5 million a year? Poor ducks.

Rev

This could seriously backfire.  The last strike only ended because it became clear that re-casting wouldn't really work, so more money was slapped on the table.  The show is nowhere near as popular or respected as it was back then, so this could well result in the plug being pulled.

And for fuck's sake, they're voice actors.  They can record their parts sitting around in their pants with five days worth of stubble...  it doesn't matter how successful the show is, if you don't appear on-screen, three-quarters of the job of acting has been removed and, appropriately, you'll never be a 'top tier' earner.  Uppity pricks.

Brixton-Slag

Yeah but don't you think that considering the Simpsons is arguably the most successful sitcom of all time (if not comedy, if not TV program...) they deserve to be paid in line with that success? Maybe what they're asking is too much, but still.....

Rev

No, frankly.  The voices are a major part of the show but the actors are just that...  they don't write it, they have no involvement in it other than recording their lines, and they're paid pretty handsomely as it is.  If we were talking about struggling actors without two pennies to rub together it would be a different story, but they've had income from the Simpsons for over a decade.  The only thing they deserve is a slap around the head for their cupidity.

I can fully understand how you could accuse them of greed here, as I'm tempted to do myself.  But the fact is that this is a phenomenally successful enterprise and if the actors aren't getting a fair cut of it then someone else is.  It makes no difference if your company earns ten pounds or ten thousand million billion trillion, you should get your percentage share.