Friday, July 20, 2007

Springfield,Springfield, It's a Helluva Town!


By now everyone in Christendom (and beyond, no doubt) has heard that Springfield, Vermont is going to the place that premieres the new Simpson's Movie this weekend.

I really wish I could go to the movie or at least the event that surrounds it! Since my brother is flying to Montreal from Texas this weekend on an impromptu visit I won't be able to make it. We'll be visiting up in MTL. Not that that is a bad thing, but now that I think about it...

Confession time: I once wrote a spec script that had the Simpson's visiting Vermont. In other words, I am one of a legion of Simpson's writers manque (I don't know how to put an accent mark on that "e" - you should read that last word as "mankay": as in French for "missed"). I paid a professional (scam) writer to read my script and he thought it stank, although he didn't use that word in the worthless canned comments he sent. I reread it some time after I had written it and had to admit it was not so funny as it seemed while I was drafting. Just kind of laid there, but it had some funny stuff in it.

I have figures of Lionel Hutz and Blue-Haired Lawyer on my desk at work. Blue-haired lawyer is the New York, no doubt Jewish, lawyer who represents Mr. Burns'. He is a competent (i.e. slippery) lawyer. In this way he contrasts with Hutz, who is hired by the Simpsons over and over. (Hutz's office is in the Mall and is called "I Can't Believe It's A Law Firm.") I also bought Cletus and Brandene figurenes - they are the husband/wife - brother/sister hillbillies who appear on the show from time to time. I bought them mostly for my husband, who rants against hillbillies on a near daily basis. Cletus came with a whiskey jug and Brandene came with an extra halter top. C&B don't have Vermont accents but we have their equivalents in Vermont. They stand in the dining room of the Last House, next to the crystal wine glasses on the China cupboard. They preside over our own dysfunctional family dinners.

I am sure the Movie and surrounding street fair will be a great time and its Fabulous to have two of my favorite phenomena (the Simpsons and Vermont) mixed up in this way. I can't wait to see the movie in some other Vermont town... Kid 1 and Kid 2 have been quoting from the commercials for weeks. "Spider Pig, Spider Pig..." (That's something Homer sings in the ad - FYI). They love the show as much as their parent's do, which is a little scary. Maybe one of them will get that brass ring and write for the show one day. Reflected glory is fine with me.

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