Look at those morons. I paid my taxes over a year ago!— Homer
Look at those morons. I paid my taxes over a year ago!— Homer
Simpsons director David Silverman has won the TV animation award at the Reubens.
The National Cartoonists Society announced the winners of the 2006 Reuben Awards, including the selections for the Reuben Award for Cartoonist of the Year, at a black tie dinner on May 27, in Chicago. For the animation world, awarded Nick Park’s WALLACE & GROMIT: CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT the prize for feature animation.
Winners list:
CARTOONIST OF THE YEAR: Mike Luckovich
COMIC STRIP: Brooke McEldowney, 9 CHICKWEED LANE
NEWSPAPER PANEL: Jerry Van Amerongen, BALLARD STREET
FEATURE ANIMATION: WALLACE & GROMIT: THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT, Nick Park
MAGAZINE FEATURE/MAGAZINE ILLUSTRATION: C.F. Payne
EDITORIAL CARTOON: Jim Borgman
BOOK ILLUSTRATION: Ralph Steadman
NEWSPAPER ILLUSTRATION: Bob Rich
GAG CARTOONS: Glenn McCoy
ADVERTISING ILLUSTRATION: Roy Doty
GREETING CARDS: Gary McCoy
COMIC BOOKS: Paul Chadwick, CONCRETE: THE HUMAN DILEMMA (Dark Horse)
TELEVISION ANIMATION: David Silverman, THE SIMPSONS
MILT CANIFF LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: Ralph Steadman
SILVER T-SQUARE: Dick Locher, DICK TRACY
Two Simpsons deluxe boxed sets featuring multiple characters from the smash FOX television series will be making their way to store shelves late this fall.
THE ISLAND OF DR. HIBBERT (from "Treehouse of Horror XIII") -- Originally planned for release as multiple characters sold separately, will now be an all-inclusive boxed set. Re-creating a moment from a fan-favorite episode, the box set features Dr. Hibbert, Comic Book Guy, Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie in a side-splitting Simpsons-esque tableau -- the family has been turned into animals in this parody of The Island of Dr. Moreau.
LARD LAD -- Captures a hilarious moment from "Treehouse of Horror IV." In the episode, when Homer steals the enormous donut that Lard Lad holds over his head, the massive mascot comes to life and hunts Homer down, demanding justice. This all-inclusive boxed set includes articulated Homer, Lard Lad with removable donut and Springfield cityscape diorama.
Megastars Depeche Mode, who will perform in Bulgaria in two weeks, will be surprised to find the famous Simpson family in the audience.
The Simpsons have "arrived" in Bulgaria and will tour numerous cities, visiting concerts and starring in TV shows.
The visit of the messy but charming family was organized by the Bulgarian division of Fox Life, in cooperation with local mobile operator Vivatel.
Homer, Marge, Lisa, Bart and baby Maggie Simpson had their first meeting with Bulgarian reporters on Thursday, announcing plans to visit a number of cities in the country - including Pleven, Varna, Veliko Tarnovo, Plovdiv, Russe, and Stara Zagora.
Ricky Gervais' episode of The Simpsons, "Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife", was a ratings winner last night - claiming Sky One's highest-ever viewing figures for the cartoon.
Gervais, 44, voiced the part of an English office manager, Charles, who lives with Marge following a Wife Swap-style reality show. The episode marks the first time a British writer has been asked to write an episode of the long-running comedy.
Last night 2.18 million viewers watched the episode, giving Sky One its highest ever audience for the cartoon comedy. It also became Sky One`s second most-watched show following an episode of Friends that attracted 2.8 million in 2000.
We have put up an interview with Ricky Gervais from April's Sky Magazine.
We've got some confirmation of staff for the Simpsons Movie, due out July 27, 2007. The script is 120 pages long, which approximately translates to 120 minutes screentime (a very rough estimate).
Director
David Silverman
Producers
James L. Brooks, Matt Groening, Al Jean, Mike Scully, Richard Sakai
Writers
Matt Groening, James L. Brooks, Al Jean, Mike Scully, Ian Maxtone-Graham, George Meyer, David Mirkin, Mike Reiss, Matt Selman, John Swartzwelder, Jon Vitti
Cast
Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer, Pamela Hayden, Tress MacNeille
Guest stars
Albert Brooks
Minnie Driver
Erin Brockovich (unsure if this is supposed to be a voicing by the real Erin Brockovich or simply the character appearing in the film and voiced by someone else)
Original music
Hans Zimmer
David A. Stewart (songs)
Animation Studio
Film Roman
A teaser trailer for the film can be seen at Apple Trailers
Apparently Isaac Hayes isn't the only Scientologist that has done voiceover for comedy cartoon characters that can't take a joke and has no sense of humor when it comes to their controversial religion. Nancy Cartwright, the voice of Bart, seemingly suffers from the same malady as Hayes.
Perhaps inspired by the creators of South Park, who ridiculed Scientology so successfully, some of The Simpsons writers wanted to have a little fun too. The proposed line to be spoken by Bart went something like this, "Mormonism? That's the second freakiest religion in America!" One guess who must be the first "freakiest"?
Cartwright certainly got the joke, but she didn't like it, so the show dumped it according to insiders. So even a purported allusion to Scientology got the axe at the Fox show.
"That's ridiculous," her publicist said, "Scripts change all the time as shows are prepared, and what goes into a show and what doesn't go into a show is based on what's funny, and that is it."
Full Story
Elizabeth Taylor, Bette Midler, Johnny Cash and Meryl Streep have all lent their voices to The Simpsons.
But Aussie actor Nicole Kidman remains elusive to producers of the hit US animated show, refusing invitations to make a guest appearance.
"We approached Nicole (Kidman) when we were looking for a celebrity couple back when she was married to Tom Cruise," said executive producer Al Jean.
"Some way, sooner or later, we should be able to get her, though."
Just two Australians have appeared on the show, actor Mel Gibson and media mogul Rupert Murdoch, both based in the United States.
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Ever wonder what Bart Simpson would look like in human form? The longrunning animated Fox series "The Simpsons" is about to show you. The series will unveil a live-action opening sequence Sunday, 8 p.m. EST, a Fox spokeswoman announced Thursday.
In it, the dysfunctional cartoon family - Bart, Homer, Marge, Lisa and Maggie - will be seen as they would appear in real life, played by lookalike actors.
"I'm just amazed there are people who want to be known for looking like the Simpsons," said Al Jean, the show's executive producer, in a statement.
A team from British network Sky One created and commissioned the live sequence, which apes the long-running series' memorable opening shots: Bart writing on the chalkboard, Homer pulling the nuclear rod out of his shirt and Maggie and Marge at the supermarket, a Fox spokeswoman said.
"The Simpsons" was recently renewed for two more seasons, its 18th and 19th. - Link
It seems Simpsons movie news is coming thick and fast these days. Harry Shearer, voice of Ned Flanders, Mr. Burns, Smithers, Reverend Lovejoy and many others, has confirmed that work is being done on the feature film.
Shearer broke the news during an appearance on the Mancow radio show. He mentioned the two year contract extension for the TV series and then was asked if this would delay the movie project by two years. His response was that it would not delay it, because they were recording dialogue for it right now.
Shearer also stated that the language of the movie is going a little more edgy than what is run on TV, but not enough to receive a "restricted" rating. His own characters won't be any different on film.
Source: AICN
