More from Matt Groening on the demise of Futurama — In an extended online version of his Enterainment Weekly interview, the ”Simpsons” creator reflects on his ill-fated sci-fi cartoon. “Matt Groening’s ”Futurama” was like a shooting star: It was very bright, but you had to really look for it. Fox hid the cartoon sci-fi comedy on Sunday nights at 7 p.m., rarely promoted it, and so often pre-empted it that fans didn’t know where to find it. But now, with its final episodes just released on DVD (”Futurama: Volume Four”), we asked Groening to reflect on his creation, the funniest show of the 31st century.” Read Interview >>>
Tag: matt groening
News
Matt Groening Hay Bound
“The creator of the most famous cartoon family in the world is set to be one of the main attractions at next year’s Hay Festival of literature. Matt Groening, the visionary responsible for bringing The Simpsons to life, if the first star attraction to be booked for the 18th book festival in the Welsh boarder town. Groening, the man behind Bart, Homer, Marge, Lisa and the folk of Springfield, is only the second guest speaker to be named so far. The festival’s director, Peter Florence, said, “I can reveal that Matt has agreed to come next year. “I am just thrilled that he’s going to be at Hay. I know it might sound awfully self-indulgent but when I think about programming I first look to people I admire, people who have enhanced or enriched my life by what they do in some significant way.” Read More >>>
News
Matt Groening Gets Animated
After 15 seasons of The Simpsons, creator Matt Groening finally gets a guest spot in the episode ‘My Big Fat Geek Wedding’ airing next Sunday, April 4. “The writers wrote it in as a goof. I thought, ‘I’ll show them. I’ll do it,'” he says. He has supplied a couple of sounds; Maggie’s pacifier, a Ned Flanders scream — but this time Groening plays himself. He’s identified as the creator of Futurama. (He couldn’t be the creator of The Simpsons on The Simpsons or “the whole universe would implode.”) Though Groening didn’t draw his picture, it’s closer to real life than one earlier depiction as “an eyepatch-wearing, head-shaved, right-wing gun nut.” In the episode, Edna Krabappel runs off with Comic Book Guy to a comic convention, where Groening is autographing robot dolls of Futurama’s Bender. Read More >>>
News
Happy Birthday Matt Groening!
The staff of The Simpsons Channel would like to wish Simpsons creator Matt Groening a happy birthday. The cartoonist who first brought our favorite family to life in a series of Tracey Ullman Shorts in 1987 celebrates his 50th birthday today. On behalf our visitors, we wish him all the best for today and in the future. Way to go, Matt!
News
Comic Con And Guest Stars
The International Comic Convention was held in San Diego this weekend, and many fans were there to check out all the Simpsons goodies alone. “A writing team from The Simpsons screened one of the past season’s episodes with three minutes of footage cut from the television broadcast. When asked by one fan if there will ever be a film feature for the dysfunctional Springfield family, creator Matt Groening said the television series is nowhere near played out. “We hope to have a Simpsons movie ready for your children when you grow up,” he said.
Many sources are printing information about the upcoming season’s guest stars, and while much of it may not be news to you, you can read New York’s Daily News article about the guest stars here.
News
Groening Visits The Archive
An Argentinian newspaper has spoken to Matt Groening on the wake of 300 episodes. The article reveals that when stuck for ideas or when needing to refresh their memories, the creators of the show turn to Simpsons fan sites. Groening mentions The Simpsons Archive by name in this following excerpt, translated by none other than the snpp.com staff. “Sometimes we have to look at fan sites to remember [what we have done before]: one of the best is www.snpp.com. I have no idea what those initials mean, but it has a lot of stuff. Though for them, every episode is the worst ever.” Maybe a quote to show the people at Fox, huh? Congratulations to The Simpsons Archive, and hello to Matt Groening.. because you just never know who is visiting your website!
News
Groening Wins Cartoon Award
“Matt Groening, the creator of “The Simpsons,” received the top award from the National Cartoonists Society this weekend. Groening won the Reuben award for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year Saturday (May 24) at the society’s annual awards ceremony, the AP reports. The award is named after Rube Goldberg, the first president of the society. Also nominated for cartoonist of the year were comic-strip artists Pat Brady (“Rose Is Rose” ), Greg Evans (“Luann” ) and Dan Piraro (“Bizarro” ). Among the other awards, Darby Conley won in the newspaper comic-strip division for his “Get Fuzzy.” Groening created the comic “Life in Hell,” which appears in alternative newspapers across the country, before going on to “The Simpsons.” The cartoon started as a series of shorts on “The Tracey Ullman Show” before becoming its own series.”
News
“D’oh!” Is My Epitaph
The Simpsons creator Matt Groening has picked a suitable epitaph for his gravestone – his cult cartoon character Homer’s catchphrase “D’oh!” Groening has accepted that the saying, which has become a world-wide catchphrase following its repeated use on the massively popular TV series, will follow him after his death – whether he likes it or not. He jokes, “Even if I don’t put it on my grave, some fan will spray it on.”
News
Groening Praises South Park
Recently Simpsons creator Matt Groening spoke out about the hilarious South Park, which last week celebrated its 100th episode. “Matt (Stone) and Trey (Parker) are demented geniuses — that’s the highest compliment I can give them,” Groening says. “Their show makes me laugh out loud. I love comedy with a strong point of view, and the satirical shocks that ‘South Park’ goes for are consistently hilarious. They make their cheapness a virtue, and they continue to surprise me.”
News
Where The Futurama Is Now
“Matt Groening hearkens back to his days a rock music critic, his day job before creating The Simpsons, in describing another one of his creations. “I feel about Futurama the way Paul McCartney must feel about Wings,” Groening says with a characteristic laugh. “It’s tough to compare anything to The Simpsons, but I’m incredibly proud of Futurama. The show is still alive, even though it’s no longer supported by its original network.” In many ways, Futurama was a more difficult program to create than The Simpsons. Groening and some of the other artists involved in the series discussed the challenges recently. The Simpsons centers on a family of more or less human characters in a suburban setting. Futurama demanded much more extensive design work. The artists had to create a world that spoofed the clichés of the sci-fi genre and preserved the look of Groening’s original drawings, but in which things were still recognizable.” Read More >>>
News
Groening Lashes Out At Fox
It was enough to make Matt Groening yelp “D’oh”! Last year, after an interviewer asked The Simpsons creator how long his animated juggernaut could go on, it was reported around the world that Homer was about to scarf down his last donut. “But it looks like we’re going to be on forever. That’s my new line.” Groening tells the Sun. The same isn’t true for his other cartoon comedy, the space-age Futurama. For that, Groening squarely blames Fox. “The people at Fox didn’t ever support the show and it wasn’t to their taste and, in my opinion, they’re out of their minds. But they don’t like The Simpsons either. The idea of a TV show that they haven’t gotten their greasy fingers all over creatively drives them nuts. That’s why almost everything else is so lousy.” And as any Simpsons fan knows, Groening and his writers relish the chance to mock the once-fledgling fourth network. “I love the strength of The Simpsons — that we can get away with so much. They don’t like it. We took jabs at Fox News and we were told not to, so we decided to do it more.” Read More >>>
News
Commercials Hurt Writers
In an article relating to a celebration of Classic TV, a number of points were raised, including the addition of sex gags and cutting the runtime for more commercials in today’s television shows. The article features quotes of Matt Groening having his say.