Halloween Episode to Mix Animation with Live Action
By Jouni Paakkinen (jouni@snpp.com) - October 4, 1998
In the 1995 Simpsons Halloween episode,
"Treehouse of Horror VI," live action was featured in the
final segment with a computer-generated Homer walking down a street
in Los Angeles. However, aside of strange looks from various
passer-bys, Homer did not interact with the humanoids.
This year, the producers of The Simpsons have
decided to go one step beyond. In season 10's Halloween episode,
one segment--"The Terror of Tiny Toon"--will feature a mix of
live action and traditional animation in which the characters interact
with one another. One scene will include "Live! with Regis & Kathie
Lee", with Bart and Lisa running from Itchy & Scratchy after being
zapped into their television.
Other guests, which will appear in animated form,
include Jerry Springer and Ed McMahon.
The episode, "Treehouse of Horror 9", is
scheduled to run on the FOX
network. For air dates and times, please see our
upcoming episodes page.
(Editor's note: If the world series continue to
seven games, only the October 29 broadcast will take place.)
"Go Simpsonic" Indefinitely Postponed
By Jouni Paakkinen (jouni@snpp.com) - September 1, 1998
The new Simpsons CD, "Go Simpsonic with the
Simpsons" was supposed to be released today, September 1st. As
you may have already heard, the release of the CD has been
indefinitely postponed due to unspecified production problems.
This was not the first setback for the fans who
have long awaited for the CD to appear in their local music store.
The release date has been changed three times.
At first, in February,
Rhino Records announced that
the new CD, at that time entitled "Sunday Night Fever - More
Music from the TV Series", will be released on June 16, 1998.
In March, the release date was postponed to July
17. "Licensing issues" was the reason given. In addition, the title
was changed to "Go Simpsonic with the Simpsons!".
In May, Rhino gave details about the CD in their
first (and so far only) official press
release concerning the album. The release date was now set to
September 1 and, according to Rhino, the licensing issues had been
settled.
Rumors about another postponement began to spread
in early August when Rhino removed the title from their
"Upcoming" page. Eventually Rhino representatives admitted that
the CD had indeed been postponed once again.
Although the history of the CD has been shaky to
say the least, it seems that this time the postponement is more serious
one than the ones before. No new release date has been given and it
looks certain that the album will not be published this year. Who
knows, maybe we have another never-to-be-published "Yellow Album"
in our hands.
Rhino and Alf Clausen refuse to give any details
about the alleged "production difficulties". According to some
unconfirmed Usenet rumors, the reason may be a money dispute between
Rhino and Fox. In other words, Fox wanted a bigger slice of the cake
than with "The Songs in the Key of Springfield".
Another rumor suggests a conflict between Alf
Clausen and Rhino. However, these are unreliable rumors, supported
only by the reluctance of the parties to specify what excactly the
problem is.
According to our sources, the licensing issues
are not the reason behind this postponement. Whatever the reason is,
keep your fingers crossed and think happy thoughts.
Simpsons Get Three Emmys
By Don Del Grande (ddelgran@snpp.com) - September 1, 1998
The Simpsons ended up with three Emmys this year:
Outstanding Voiceover. Presented to Hank
Azaria for his work in an unspecified episode of "The Simpsons".
The award is for all of the voices he did on one episode.
For those of you wondering: "How come I didn't see
his nomination" - there are no nominations in this category; anyone who
did a voiceover last season can submit a tape of their voicework in one
show, and each tape is judged on its own merits by a panel of animators
and voiceover actors, who can decide to give Emmy awards to one, more
than one, or none of them.
Animated Series/Special. "Trash of the
Titans" beat episodes of "South Park", "King of the Hill", "Dexter's
Laboratory", and "Cow & Chicken")
Music & Lyrics (i.e. "Best Song") - Alf
Clausen (music) and Ken Keeler (lyrics) won for "You're Checkin' In"
from "The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson"
In the other two categories in which the show was
nominated, the Music Composition (Dramatic Underscore) For A Series
award went to Christophe Beck for "Buffy the Vampire Slayer",
and Music Direction went to Bill Conti for the Academy Awards.
Also, Hank Azaria lost to Mel Brooks in the
"Guest Performance In A Comedy Series" award; both were nominated for
appearances in "Mad About You".
The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences held
an IRC chat in association with the awards, which featured some of the
presenters and winners; unfortunately, it was spoiled by a few people
who were under the impression that the two creators of "South
Park" would be there, and weren't exactly happy when they didn't
show up.
Simpsons and Emmys
By Don Del Grande (ddelgran@snpp.com) - July 28, 1998
"The Simpsons" received four nominations for the
1997-98 Emmy Awards, three of which involve music:
Outstanding Animated Program (One Hour Or
Less) - the series was nominated for "Trash of the Titans"; the other
nominees were:
- Cow & Chicken ("Free Inside",
"Journey to the Center of Cow", "I.R.
Pixie Fairie")
- Dexter's Laboratory ("Dyno-Might",
"LABretto")
- King of the Hill ("Texas City
Twister")
- South Park ("Big Gay Al's Big Gay
Boat Ride")
Outstanding Music Composition (Dramatic
Underscore) for a Series (in other words, "best background music") -
Alf Clausen, nominated for "Treehouse of Horror VII" (other nominees:
"Buffy the Vampire Slayer", "Roar", "Stargate SG-1", and
"The X-Files")
Outstanding Music Direction - Alf Clausen,
nominated for "All Singing, All Dancing" (other nominees: the
Academy Awards, Michael Crawford In Concert, Rodgers &
Hammerstein's "Cinderella", and "Star Trek: Deep Space
Nine")
Outstanding Music And Lyrics (in other
words, "Best Song") - Alf Clausen and Ken Keeler, nominated for
"You're Checkin' In (A Musical Tribute To The Betty Ford Center)"
from "The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson" (other nominees:
"The Closer", HBO's "Mr. Show with Bob and David",
and two nominations for "Xena: Warrior Princess")
Music nominations were determined by screening
panels of members of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences'
"musicians branch"; the Animated Program nominations were determined
by votes of the "animation branch". The awards themselves will be
determined by special judging panels from the music/animation
branches, and will be announced August 29 at the "Emmy Creative
Arts Awards", which will be simulcast on the
Internet; the winners will
probably be listed on the "main" TV ceremony on September 13.
There are two animation awards that did not
have nominations: Voiceover Performance and Individual Achievement
in Animation. In both cases, all entries submitted for the award
are judged on their own merits by a panel of Animation branch
members (and, for the voiceover award, Acting branch members with
voiceover experience). It is possible for more than one, or no,
awards to be given out in these categories.
Simpsons Walk the Walk
By Jouni Paakkinen (jouni@snpp.com) - July 27, 1998
The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce announced that
The Simpsons will receive their own brass star on the
Hollywood Walk of
Fame in 1999. Homer, Bart, Lisa, Marge and Maggie will join more
than 2,000 immortal figures of the entertainment industry who have
had their name inlaid on the sidewalks of Hollywood Boulevard since
1960. Other newcomers will include former Simpsons guest voices
James Woods, Bob Newhart and Dennis Franz.
Murdoch to Guest Star?
By Jouni Paakkinen (jouni@snpp.com) - July 27, 1998
Simpsons creator Matt Groening has asked Rupert
Murdoch to lend his voice to an upcoming episode of The Simpsons.
While no further details were released, Groening confirmed that the
billionaire media tycoon was sent a sample script of the episode.
Sources report that as a condition of his
appearance, Murdoch would be required to read his lines exactly
as written by the show's producers, and that he would be playing
himself. Should the request be accepted, Murdoch will join other
celebrity guest voices in the 10th season such as Jerry Springer,
Mark Hamill, Kim Basinger, Alec Baldwin, Billy Bob Thornton and
Calista Flockhart.
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