Boing Boing tv: Ask "Simpsons" director David Silverman
We've invited Simpsons movie (and television Simpsons) director David Silverman to join us for an interview on a future episode of Boing Boing tv, and this presents an interesting conundrum. OMG what the hell do we ask him? Please tell us what you'd want to know, in the comments.
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I've always heard that if a Simpson's movie was made it would signal the end of the show. Is that still true? Can fans expect a second movie?
Any plans for the simpsons to do a commentary track on the simpsons movie dvd?
Why has the writing staff of the last few years eschewed the realistic plots of the series first 5 years (e.g. Lisa being in love w/ her substitute teacher, Milhouse's first girlfriend - who, by the way, was completely ignored when the show referred to Homer being Milhouse's "first kiss", Lisa's love-affair with jazz, Homer wanting to be a good dad but simply being bad at it, etc.) for more farcical storylines like this Homer trying a billion jobs, Bart magically becoming a jazz great, etc.
Wasn't the point of The Simpsons supposed to be that they were funny because they were an American family, as opposed to them being funny because they're outright absurd?
Don't get me wrong, I love Family Guy, South Park and Futurama too, but all for different reasons. Simpsons has simply stopped trying to be smart, and is now content to just be silly.
I would like to know when the TV show will get back to being a good show. It's really, really an awful show these days. Nothing like the golden years of the Simpsons. Now, Family Guy is the king.
How about this for a teaser:
There’s a general consensus among many fans of the Simpsons (especially among those that grew up with the earlier series) that the quality of the Simpsons has greatly declined in recent series and that the new episodes erode the “legacy” of the Simpsons as a landmark comedy. In respect to this; where do you think the balance lies between the Simpsons as a commercial product and the Simpsons as an artistic endeavour?
It Seems over the years, (or maybe just recently out of need) the show has picked up more political and social overtones. There were rumors on the internet last year of the censored Halloween episode ending with regards to Iraq. Was this true? and what Run ins have you had with Fox over the Simpsons?
Thanks for everything.
D'oh! ;-)
How are you so awesome? I mean, really?
Yay!! Boing Boing TV is on Miro!
No interview would be complete without asking him about his early career experience directing that super-cheesy '80s cartoon "Turbo Teen." You know, the one where the kid turned into a sports car when he got hot and turned back when he was cold?
What are some of the things you think the show should be doing (or preparing to do) in order to try and remain fresh? Secondly, what is your response to those who say that the show has declined in rescent years?
How did Family Guys appearance and apparent 'take-over' of animated television initially change the dynamic of your approach to The Simpsons? Has the formula changed at all over the 6 or so years that Family Guy been on the air?
Why did the film have so little of our beloved ensemble cast? We saw glimpses of them in the crowd scenes, but surely we could have thrown more than a line or two to SuperNintendo Chalmers, Agnes Skinner, Uter, Mr. Teeny. I mean, the Boob lady was a brilliant addition, and Homer's wobbly fathering is always very touching, but I need more Moe. And Cat Lady. And Moleman. And so on. Brilliant film, but still.
Which episodes/topics have resulted in the most hate mail, and which have received the most support?
The Simpsons status as a cultural icon is secure, obviously, and the show initially set the bar for TV satire, improving over many seasons to become biting, hilarious, and truly subversive. However, there is a widespread feeling that it has declined in the last few seasons.
The writing has always been the most important factor in the show's success, IMO, so how can the show attract more talented writers? Is there more competition out there for the talent (Family Guy, etc)? Is it possible for the Simpsons to become great again, or has it's day passed? What is the point of continuing until they've exhausted every variation on every classic story line ad nauseum? Why can't the current crop of writers write one single goddamn joke?
I don't like it when Homer chokes Bart. Homer's a lovable doofus, but this I cannot forgive.
I don't have a specific question in mind, but a general question concept: Technology. Ask questions that no one else has, questions that can't be found with a decent Googling. Maybe "How does the animation get digitized?" or "What voice recording tools do you use?"
i have no question, really, but being a fan of the simpsons since the tracey ullman days (and a fan of mr. groening's since before that, with "life in hell"), i just wanted to extend my warmest thanks for the simpsons.
What's Hank Scorpio been up to and when will we see him again? I tried to ask this question of Mike Reiss at a talk he gave in CT, but boy howdy was he insulting everyone who asked questions. Being a bitter little man makes for a great show, I guess.
Why did the creators of The Simpsons choose to call out Family Guy on plagiarism during the episode "The Italian Bob"? It seemed like an derisive choice since more than others "The Italian Bob" illustrates a staleness that can dampen cries of infringement.
Is he wearing any pants? I've heard rumors that he animates au natural.
Mr. Silverman, do you ever get the feeling that the people who complain about the Simpsons supposed decline in quality don't actually watch it anymore?
Seriously, there have been some real gems in the last few seasons. Keep up the awesome.
This is a three-parter:
Part 1: Can I have my money back? Honestly, I was so underwhelmed that I walked out halfway through. The funniest part to me was when Ralph was singing in the 20th Century Fox logo--and that was forced laughter. Mostly I just rolled my eyes at the idiocy of Homer, who surprise! does something stupid and doesn't listen to Marge when she tells him the right thing to do. The "jokes" seemed forced,a nd the whole project seemed like a money-making scheme and completely unnecessary.
Part 2: We get it already, Homer is an idiot, Marge is a martyr, Lisa is the smart one, Bart is the bad one, and Maggie is just there to try to inspire baby jokes. Seriously, this show was so much better when it wasn't focusing on Homer's imbecility, and since it isn't likely that it will go back there, isn't it time to end this runaway train?
Part 3: I heard rumors of a spin-off show focusing on Springfield rather than the Simpson themselves (as in they would be only minor characters. And this sounds like a wonderful idea to me--as long as you can get John Swartzwelder to write for it...
Why are the Simpsons designs kept so strictly on-model nowadays? The characters always look so stiff and lifeless. Also, I miss the old grumpy Homer.
I think that the general consensus among long-time fans such as myself is that the show has gone downhill over the past few seasons. Part of this is due to the quality of the writing, but a lot of it is also that the plots have changed from the original formula of mildly subverting reality to the flat-out fantasy scenaria of the past few seasons. (I'm just waiting for "Homer travels back in time to become Jesus Christ, and gives birth to Godzilla. Hey, it could happen!) And just throwing random guest stars at us is equally lame (e.g., Lionel Ritchie just happening to be on Burns' jet, so he could sing "Beer You, Beer Me". That pegged the hoke-a-rometer.)
Family guy relies way too much on gross-out humor and insults, but the thing that *does* work about it is that they've got these layers of reality that they peel back and surprise us with, with the cut-aways, flashbacks, etc. That makes its absurdism work. So instead of just putting Simpsons characters into increasingly implausible situations, why not do something really unexpected? Surely the talented folks behind the show can shake it up in a novel way? Because if the next season and the next after that (and so on) is just going to be more of the same, you can count me out.
What mistakes have you made that you think others could learn from?
Do you have any pointers for those just getting into the field?
Any advice for students?
How do you deal with plagiarism?
At what point does inspiration become imitation?
What is the best interview question you could ever be asked?
What question have you been dying someone to ask you?
What are three things you want to do before you die?
Can he answer the question that Jon Stewart asked Matt Groening, which Matt TOTALLY misunderstood? To wit (Comic Book Guy voice...engage):
- Homer knocked up Marge in high school. Thus, Homer and Marge were approximately 18 when Marge was pregnant.
- Bart was born shortly after, we'll say 19 for the both of them.
- Bart is established to be 10 on the show, Lisa 8.
- Therefore, Homer should only be 29, but he's 39. Was this ever discussed when talking about Homer & Marge getting married because Marge got pregnant?
Worst. Discontinuity. Ever.
What's the most unexpected effect you've heard of an episode having in the real world?
Homer did not get Marge pregnant in High School. He was working full-time at Sir-Putt-a-Lots Golf course. That experience could have happened several years after High School.
The show's discontinuity is something everyone has to deal with. Homer graduated in 1974, but he's also shown as a little toddler in 1969 at Woodstock. When a show's been on the air nearly 2 decades, it's bound to happen.
Please tell us what writer David Cohen intended to mean in the episode "Lisa the Vegetarian" when Ralph says, "Oh boy, sleep! That's where I'm a viking!"
Does Ralph mean that he dreams of being a literal Viking when he sleeps? Or does he use "Viking" as an absurd way of saying that he excels at the act of sleeping?
There has been much discussion of the question at this linked website.
1.-As a mexican fan i ask you, why you havent made an episode about mexico?, here you have many fans
2.-Are there any plans on release such and episode?
3.-why are your thoughts about the movie?
many many fans didt like it
3.-Is there going ot be more movies of the simpson?
4.- is it time to end the simpsons? i ,as everyone here feel it time to return the simpsons to its origins
finnaly my last question
5.-do you know about the mexican situation of
translators(actors who give the voice here in mexico) hope your informed about this and help them out they`r great look for "humberto veles"
thx
Duffman makes me barf. Ask him if he can remove that character from the series.
"Duffman!"
What's it like working with writers who grew up watching The Simpsons?
Were there any celebs you invited to guest star on the show, but sadly fell through?
Who was your favorite guest star and why?
Are there any topics the Simpsons just won't joke about even if it gets a cheap laugh?
Which character on the show do you think is the most underrated and why?
Are you anyone's favorite person?
(there's a short movie with that title)
BoingBoing -- I beg you to ask question 30 from Greg Nog. Google confirms this is a widely discussed but unresolved question. Silverman didn't direct the episode in question, but you could loom over him menacingly while he phones the writer, David Cohen.
In a July 2007 Vanity Fair interview, Conan O'Brien describes a joke the writers of his time were forbidden from using. The joke is basically that Homer runs off a cliff like Wile E Coyote and doesn't fall down. This very joke actually appeared in the movie.
In the early seasons, the show was an animated sitcom. It distinguished itself from just a "cartoon" with some adult humor. It was more like The Cosby Show than like Bugs Bunny. In the recent seasons it's been the reverse. Why the change?
From http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2007/08/conan200708?currentPage=1
Q: Tell me about working with Matt Groening.
A: He didn't want The Simpsons to be a cartoon where Homer can run off a ledge like Wile E. Coyote and keep running. He wanted respect for the laws of gravity, the physical properties of the basic elements. I would run up against that sometimes. For example, you can't have Bart shoot Homer in the face with a shotgun and make Homer's face all black, and then have Homer be fine in the next scene. You can do it in a Halloween episode—you just can't do it in a normal episode.
You should ask what the people in Korea (the ones who do all of the intermittent animation on the show) think about all of the silly situations they have to animate
@apelad: I've been watching since the very beginning, and I continue to watch the Simpsons every week. The sad part is these days I'm averaging maybe one weak chuckle per episode if I'm lucky, and most often simply a groan at the end when I realize I've watched yet another without laughing AT ALL. My wife refuses to even watch anymore.
The sole exception to this is usually the Halloween episodes - those are usually pretty awesome!
p.s. your comics are rad.
Where do you see the simpsons in 10 years?
Oh Zod, I hope we don't see The Simpsons in 10 years. Not that I don't have great love for the franchise, but it's been exactly that for no less than the last 10 years.
I'd written out a long question on the integrity of signing Groening's name to someone else's work, but I decided it was a question far larger than the world of The Simpsons. How about this for something less combative: will we ever see an actual "Life in Hell" animated series? Perhaps online? And other than "Futurama," are there any other Groening-inspired animated works in the works?
How do you balance conservative and liberal political messages so that both sides keep watching the show?
The Simpson's are still Great!
Question: What are the basic procedures of directing a cartoon and how do they differ from live action directing?
I bet many people (including myself) have no idea how this works.
I haven't actually watched the Simpsons in the last few years, though I did see the movie, which left me pretty unimpressed. If that's the direction that the series has taken, I guess I haven't missed much.
I'd be interested in knowing whether this shift in tone was an intentional response to the other animated shows that have entered the market, or if it was just a gradual loosening of the "rules," as highlighted in JoshD's comment.
There were some shifts early on in the show's development, too. It seems like the first couple seasons focused much more on developing Bart ("Everybody if you can, do the Bartman"), while later seasons started to focus more on Homer and the entire family. I guess you could consider this part of the initial "growing pains," but it also led to a show that was much funnier. The more recent shift, apparently, has made the show less funny. Is this a mid-life crisis, or the onset of senility?
Gawd, I guess that's an awful way to phrase the question to anyone actually involved in the show, but I can't think of any better way to put the recent changes in context.
And oh yes, by all means let's ask about Ralph Wiggum's dreams, because a joke can't be funny until it's been analyzed to death. In fact, I refuse to laugh at all until this issue has been resolved.
The staff at AB wants to know:
Has Tom Cruise tried to stop further broadcasts of the episode in which he did the voiceover?
Did you have anything to do with those dirty cartoons of Homer and Marge that one can find on the intertubes?
On the show who does the voice for the various clerks, cab drivers and other working class dudes? He kind of sounds like Charles Bronson.
Most shows are pretty strict about keeping the number of characters that are onscreen at the same time to a minimum. The Simpsons, more than any other show, consistently has large crowd scenes. Are the writers given any budgetary limitations or is everything governed purely by trying to make the best show possible?
Also, how many of the writers have been around since the early years of the Simpsons and how many are young enough to have grown up watching the show?
Finally, I read in Entertainment Weekly that Conan O' Brian wanted to write for the movie, but was prevented from doing so. Is that true or was he joking?