MattGroening Tagged Articles at Cinematical

With two of four Futurama movies now behind me, I think I have the formula figured out. If the first flick -- the very amusing Bender's Big Score! -- was a patchwork and episodic affair, then at least it was a choppy good time. It was great seeing the old Planet Express crew in their resurrected form, but since the film was made with perforations ... it was a little bit of a mess. (Basically, each of the four new Futurama flicks were made to be split into four television episodes apiece. And it really shows.)

So there's my biggest and most basic complaint about Bender's Big Score! and doubly so for Movie #2: The Beast With a Billion Backs. That the writers and producers were asked to create four modular-style movies when the fans were pretty much expecting "normal" movies. The kind with three cohesive acts and what-not. Such is definitely not the case with the first two Futurama flicks -- and I expect that it's a slight malady that will continue across Bender's Game and Into the Wild Green Yonder.

So with that obvious complaint out of the way, I can also say that Futurama Movie #2 is really funny, chock-full of unexpected surprises, stunningly animated, and an absolute treat for the old-school fans. If the movie feels more like four inter-connected mini-stories than one big "movie movie," then oh well. It's still great to see the Futurama gang back in action. Especially because they're still so damn funny.

Good things sometimes happen when you behave in a geeky and enthusiastic fashion. For example, from the minute I heard that four brand-new Futurama movies were going into production, I wet myself a little and then went insane. (Examples of the aforementioned insanity can be found here, here and here.) So not too long ago, I got an email asking if I'd like to express my Futurama obsession in the form of an interview piece, I said "Yes!" Which is how I got to ask a bunch of questions to:

• Claudia Katz -- Partner at Rough Draft Studios and producer of the Futurama movies and TV series.
• Dwayne Carey-Hill -- Director of Futurama movies one (Bender's Big Score!) and three (Bender's Game) and season four of the TV series.
• Peter Avanzino – director of Futurama movies two (The Beast with a Billion Backs) and four (Into the Wild Green Yonder) and seasons one through four of the TV series.

Not bad, eh? So knowing that I was about to chit-chat with three of the more "hands-on" creators, I set out to create some questions that were as interesting as they were amusing. So here's how the conversation(s) went down!

Futurama freaking rocks. Everyone in the universe knows this -- except for the small handful of people who used to work at Fox who canceled it. How painful was it when the final news came down? Did anyone make a beeline for the prototype suicide booth? At that point, did anyone hold out any (REALISTIC) hope that the series would be re-born in some fashion?

Claudia Katz: Well, the sad truth is it took a very long time for the news to officially come down. And even then we were lodged in limbo (between no pick-up and not canceled) and eventually got the hint. I believe, after what seemed like an eternity, they let Matt [Groening] know we were not getting a pick-up "for now," and we all figured it was time to move on. Before we reached this point, I felt it was a good idea to remove the studio's suicide booth. In retrospect, I consider this a very prudent decision. By Season 4 we had assembled the perfect crew [but] unfortunately the series came to an end. At Rough Draft we've always held out hope for its return. Right after the series ended, there was some brief talk of a possible theatrical Futurama feature. This, of course, is my new Futurama hope!

Dwayne Carey-Hill: Futurama came to an end in such a non-definitive way that there was a lot more standing around scratching heads than there was taking of one's own life. It was more like the ending to our Halloween parties. You don't want it to end and a lot of people hang around talking and laughing. But eventually, all the conversations come to an uncomfortable end and everybody just turns and goes their own separate ways.

How many DVDs had to sell before someone (new) at Fox said "Heyyyy, there's still some more money to be made here! Someone politely get Matt Groening on the phone!"? When discussing the new Futurama projects, does the word "vindicated" come up very often? Is it pretty much the same crew from the series that's working on the movies? And do you haze the newbies like in a frat house?

CK: It's very hard to get the numbers on DVD sales, but clearly for Fox to consider producing more, they must have sold well. Understandably for Fox, it come down to a business decision, and we're thrilled they decided to go ahead with the DVDs. We've always had a great relationship with Matt, David [X. Cohen] and the writers, and this time around there's also been a great collaboration with the Studio (Fox). We feel vindicated, but more importantly, it feels like you can go home again. As far as the crew, we're super-fortunate to have a lot of great return talent. In addition to the other Rough Draft partners Rich Moore, Gregg Vanzo and Scott Vanzo, both Dwayne Carey-Hill and Peter Avanzino who directed on the series are back. Scott is back as the head of CG, as well as our lead CG artist Eric Whited. Our color supervisor Samantha Harrison and colorist Rachel Stratton returned, as well as our digital producer, Geraldine Symon, and our associate producer Elise Belknap. Luckily some layout artists returned, but we geared up for the DVDs in the midst of production on The Simpsons Movie. So we hired a largely new crew, which was some initial cause for concern, but they've done an incredible job. I can't release any exact hazing details, but we try to curtail them to activities that don't leave any marks or cause lifelong therapy needs.

Pretty much everyone I've talked to felt exactly the same way after seeing The Simpsons Movie -- relieved that they didn't blow it, a lot of laughs, but it wasn't quite the earth-shattering event we'd been dreaming of since we were kids. The film was measurably better than the current episodes, but not up to the show's heyday of seasons 1 - 10. Still, I don't think anyone could argue that the film is a rock solid comedy, and that was more than enough to make it stand out in the dreary summer season we just sludged through. But do I really need to revisit the movie? After reading the details on the DVD, that answer might be "yes." Releasing here on December 18th, The Simpsons Movie DVD looks to be quite d'oh-lightful.

Most intriguing are the two commentary tracks. One track will feature James L. Brooks (a hero of mine), Matt Groening, Al Jean, Mike Scully, David Silverman, Dan Castellaneta (voice of Homer and many other characters), and Yeardley Smith (voice of Lisa). The other will be a directors' commentary by Silverman, Mike B. Anderson, Steven Dean Moore and Rich Moore. There will also be deleted scenes, though not as many as I was expecting considering all the versions the movie went through on its way to release. These include: an alternate ending, something called "Sausage Truck," and additional work from Albert Brooks as Russ Cargill - whom I would argue stole the film. He certainly delivered its funniest line: "Rats can't be trapped this easily. You're trapped like...carrots." You also get Homer's amusing Tonight Show monologue, the Simpsons judging American Idol, and alternate character designs by the directors and Groening. Oh, and on DVD you can pause all the hardcore full-frontal Bart action!

Long before I was a writer for this fine online publication, I was an avid reader of both Cinematical and TV Squad. One of the things that made me very jealous about TVS (aside from the fact that all their writers are more talented than I am) was that they got to write about two series I'm very passionate about: The phenomenally brilliant Arrested Development and the hilariously geeky Futurama. And now that the latter series is about to make the leap into movie-ville, that means that now *I* get to write about it! As Tobias Funke would say: Huzzah!

Granted, the four Futurama movies are being produced directly for the DVD marketplace, but with Matt Groening and all of his original producers / writers / cast members on hand, I predict that these animated flicks will prove to be a real gold mine for the old-school Planet Express fans. While browsing through my bible I came across some info that might not be brand-new to the die-hard Futurama freaks -- but it was the first I heard about it, so I got all excited and logged in to Cinematical to start sharing the nerdiness.

According to the IMDb, the Futurama movies are called Bender's Big Score!, Bender's Game, Into the Wild Green Yonder and The Beast with a Billion Backs. Aside from those titles, that's about all the info that the IMDb has to impart. But being a longtime and unquestioning supporter of The Hypnotoad, I'm of course very familiar with the excellent fansite called CGEF.com. If you need a website to bookmark and refresh constantly in an effort to learn the latest on these Futurama movies, I highly recommend the CGEF.

Anyway, their news bin informs us of the following: Actress Lauren Tom told IGN that the voice-work on all four movies is done. (Apparently the movies will also break down into 16 episodes for Cartoon Network Comedy Central, which is just fine by me. Just give me the DVD versions!) A little more poking around yields the news that the first flick (Bender's Big Score!) will be in DVD stores before the end of the year with the others to follow in short order throughout 2008. Awesome. (And really, if you've never seen Futurama and you're wondering why I'm this psyched about the new flicks, just do yourself a favor and buy / rent the first two seasons. And then the second two. And then you won't wonder anymore.)

There is probably nothing that fans don't already know about the upcoming big screen version of The Simpsons, and this is just the latest thing in a long line of teasers, posters, and preview screenings. ComingSoon.net has the first look at yet another poster for the animated comedy and Fox has also launched the movie's official site. It's a relatively elaborate site with plenty to do, or at least it will be when Fox gets the entire thing up and running. At the moment, there are only a couple of games, that mainly involve cartoon destruction, so it looks they aren't kidding with the Michael Bay-style extravaganza they've hinted at in the trailers. For the less destructively inclined, there's also a little "three card Moe." You can also take a crack at creating your own Simpson's avatar, and of course there are the usual offerings of icons, a screen saver, and desktop wallpapers.

At this point, I think it's fair to say that I have lost track of the different posters for the film, so I can't say that this one is going to stand out any more than the rest. However, there is something to be said for the "classical" Homer, complete with donut. Fans have been anxiously waiting for July 27th to see if this is the Simpsons movie they have been waiting for, or if Groening and company have somehow managed to screw it all up, and as the wait goes on, Fox certainly seems to be giving the film all the support they can.

As we all know, the countdown to The Simpsons Movie began a long time ago -- probably about fifteen years ago by some fan estimations. So as we get closer to the holiest of days for Simpsons fans everywhere, a new poster for the film has just hit the net. Fox has managed to keep most of the details of the movie under wraps so far -- that's if you don't count those early screenings. However, the final theatrical trailer is making the rounds as well, providing lots more info regarding the plot of the film --mainly the annihilation of Springfield (through the kind of action-heavy montage you'd find in a Michael Bay trailer) and Homer's complex relationship with a pig (I'm making my prediction now that "Spider Pig" is going to sweep the nation). As for the marketing, it's been pretty inventive, and we still haven't found out which real-life Springfield is the lucky winner to host the premiere.

This is just the latest in an evolution of one-sheets that started with the oh-so-familiar image of Homer's chubby little hand grasping a donut, to some individual character shots, to finally a poster that puts the whole dysfunctional family front and center -- and I couldn't help but think of the original poster for National Lampoon's Vacation. The image does give a few hints to some of the things we have already seen in the teasers; namely that Homer manages to enrage the whole town -- complete with angry mobs carrying torches. Luckily, if there is anyone that can bring the comedy out of an angry mob, it's Groening and company. As you probably know, and are sick to death of hearing about, the film opens on July 27th -- but if you can't wait for a Simpsons fix, you can always pick up one of those limited edition soundtracks that will hit shelves the day before the release.

While there has been no shortage of Simpson's movie marketing, I'll admit that some of it has been downright original, including real-life Kwik E Marts and competing Springfield's. Today on Present Cinema (or ????????? ???? if you are brushing up on your Russian), six new international Teaser posters have been put online. This time around, they have abandoned the oh-so-familiar donut iconography and gone for straight character posters. There are five solo posters featuring Lisa, Maggie, Marge, and of course, Bart and Homer. Both Homer and Bart however, get an extra poster chronicling our favorite "horrible act of child abuse." Not to mention we get another partial look at a naked Bart, which Patrick had already warned us about. At least for decency sake they use the shot from the film with a French Fry covering up anything too specific.

Unless you have been in the witness protection program for the last year, there is probably not much I need to tell you about the highly anticipated big screen version of the long-running show. Already some early reactions to the film have hit the web, and so far most of the feedback has been positive. Although complaints about "side-character" screen time have popped up -- which seems like good news since it's not exactly the worst thing a fan could say about the film. Until The Simpson's Movie opens in July, we will just have to content ourselves with the next tidbit of news to head our way.

I've been hearing rumblings about this around the internets and in magazines for the past few weeks. Matt Groening told Entertainment Weekly in this week's Summer Movie Preview: "You'll see anatomy that you may not want to see." I thought it was a joke. Friends, it is not a joke. I don't really know how else to say it: Bart Simpson's yellow genitalia will be on display for all to see in the upcoming Simpsons movie. Newsweek reports: "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." Wow. Really? Just ... just give me a minute here.

For years, Donald Duck walked around without pants, and we said nothing! Now look what it's led to! Bart Simpson's dong? Is nothing sacred? What's next? Live footage of Garfield being neutered? Betty Boop getting bopped? Peppermint Patty finally exploring that long-suppressed lesbianism? Maybe the writers of the film feel like in order to compete with the more outrageous humor of the Family Guys and South Parks, they've got to up the ante. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt here, I'm sure they'll make the reveal funny. Still ... really? Poor Bart's 10 years old -- there's no way he could have legally consented to these images being released! Both the Newsweek and the Entertainment Weekly articles are good reads for Simpsons fans, be sure to check them out. I feel the show's been off for a while, but there was a run of about ten years where nothing was funnier. The movie opens on July 27th, and I really can't wait to see the thing. The movie I mean, not ... the thing.

Except for a few grumblings of mildly disappointing trailers, it would seem that most of talk surrounding the big-screen version of The Simpson's has been tinged with happy anticipation. But, the Associated Press might have one of the few pieces of bad press for the film. The AP reported that Mexican voice actors for the series were threatening a boycott. Actors had ended a strike in 2005 over hiring practices on the condition that they were promised the film. Gabriel Chavez, who is the voice of Mr. Burns, told the Mexican newspaper the El Universal, "Gentlemen keep their word," and that if the studio does not keep it's word that they will provide the voices for the film, then "there will be a boycott across Latin America of the film."

So far, neither Chavez nor a representative from 20th Century Fox Mexico has commented on the threat of a boycott, but it might set a dangerous precedent. The show airs in over 60 countries, so considering Fox is expecting a worldwide release, that is a lot of possibly disgruntled voice-actors. The real question is, would fans be able to stay away, even if it's not the "d'oh" they are used to? I'm not sure I could.

Simpsons creator Matt Groening recently sat down with Crave Online to discuss everything Simpsons, while also dishing a little bit of dirt on that tiny, minuscule movie coming out this summer. (Wait, there's a Simpsons movie? Do tell!) Though he didn't divulge too much information, he did note that we'll finally find out which state the Simpsons live in ... by way of a joke. However, Groening adds "Remember, I said joke." One of the great things about a feature-length film is that there's enough room for you to not get tied down to one character; Groening admitted the pic will focus on the entire family, instead of, say, only Homer.

But what about the good stuff? Will there be cursing, nudity -- will Bart crack someone over the head with his skateboard, then shove the broken pieces of wood down some pour soul's throat? Okay, we won't go that far, but those Simpsons freaks have definitely included a few things you won't see on the TV show. Says Groening, "You'll see more of The Simpsons than you really should see and probably things, people you don't want to see. Whoever you don't want to see naked on The Simpsons, you know that's who you're going to see. Sorry about Marge." Um, am I the only one who wouldn't mind seeing a little bit more of Marge? Then again, should I be even remotely excited about seeing an animated character naked? Will the FBI start tracking me now? For more with Groening (including his favorite Simpsons episode and lots of Futurama talk), head on over to Crave Online. The Simpsons Movie hits theaters on July 27.