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#Post#: 276--------------------------------------------------
Bart, Homer, Conan and Michael Jackson:
By: WomanInTheMirror Date: February 15, 2012, 9:30 am
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Bart, Homer, Conan and Michael Jackson: Behind the Scenes
Stories From 500 Episodes of 'The Simpsons'
Birthed from the antsy mind of creator Matt Groening -- and
first part of the then-fledgling network's sketch series The
Tracey Ullman Show -- the 1989 premiere of The Simpsons
resurrected the animated primetime comedy, not seen since The
Flintstones had gone extinct 23 years earlier.
"The Simpsons came from the old world of television," one-time
series writer Conan O'Brien tells The Hollywood Reporter. "Fox
was an upstart, it was just the big three networks and The Cosby
Show was still dominant. And now, 23 years later, we’re living
in this world of 650,000 channels and literally nine cake shows.
And yet The Simpsons is still with us. It’s probably the only
real bridge from the old world of media into the new world of
media."
Today, The Simpsons is not only the chief creative linchpin for
20th Century Fox Television (Simpsons has won 27 primetime Emmys
and 30 Annie awards) but also is the most lucrative property on
television, with a billion-dollar merchandising empire. But to
hear the show’s creator, producers, writers and voice talent
tell the story, The Simpsons was a bit of a happy accident.
On the eve of the series’ milestone 500th episode airing Feb.
19, THR cover boys Groening, showrunner Al Jean, EP James L.
Brooks and the rest of the brain (and voice) trust behind Bart,
Homer, Marge, Lisa, Maggie and dozens of other Springfield
residents tell THR about the early meetings, awkward auditions,
totally out-there scripts and legendary guest stars that have
mingled to make The Simpsons (sorry, Seinfeld!) the most
important comedy of the modern era.
Here are a few behind-the-scenes anecdotes from THR's cover
story:
TAKING 'COMEDIC LICENSE' TO MOCK FOX AND NEWS CORP.
"We’ve taken our shots [at Fox], despite our fears," says EP
James L. Brooks. "When Rupert Murdoch’s been on the show, he’s
always done his lines. We’ve never heard a word about our
comments about Fox News or anything. We have comedic license. I
always say, if you came from the moon and landed on the Fox lot
and went from office to office and guessed the show that’s been
on the longest, you’d never pick us. We’re still sweating each
episode. But I think that’s a great thing."
WORKING WITH MICHAEL JACKSON AND ELIZABETH TAYLOR
"Michael Jackson once called Jim [Brooks] and said he wanted to
do the show and even write a hit song for Bart," showrunner Al
Jean says of the uncredited 1991 guest spot and single, "Do the
Bart Man." "This is the only time this ever happened. We went to
his agent Sandy Gallin's house. We're all sitting around this
huge table and everybody’s silent, including Michael. I’d never
been more nervous in my life. He asked for a sound-alike
vocalist, Kipp Lennon, to sing, and Michael did the spoken part.
When Kipp sang, Michael was really cracking up. I also directed
the Liz Taylor episode when she did the voice of Maggie saying,
'Daddy.' I asked her for 15 or 20 takes. At the end she said in
the cute baby voice, 'F--- you!' It was really funny."
Source:
HTML http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/new...roening-287823
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