Alt Tv Rewind

kaanchtoofanApr 29, 2002, 4:23 PM ET

Is Matt Groening only responsible for the drawings (all pictures tend to have his sig) of the Simpsons both in the show and in other merchandise, or does he have a part with the actual story/jokes in the episodes?

JamesApr 29, 2002, 7:54 PM ET↩ kaanchtoofan

I highly doubt that most of the animating is done anywhere other than Korea or some other cheap-labor country...

It would honestly surprise me if Groening still picked up a pencil (during normal show production) this late in the game, except maybe for fun.

Sir Arther BorttendimbleApr 30, 2002, 12:00 AM ET↩ kaanchtoofan

"kaanchtoofan" wrote in message news:HYhz8.141259$[email]...

or

Basically, he consumes resources.

Ferd FerpleApr 30, 2002, 12:40 AM ET↩ kaanchtoofan

"kaanchtoofan" wrote in message news:...

Matt not only does all the drawings, but every line of every script passes through his keyboard. He doesn't really need writers, but they're in the budget, so what the hell: someone might contribute a line or two now and then.

In addition, Matt personally coaches the actors on every line and oversees all casting, voice recording, sound effects and editing, and picks up the cast's dinner orders from the Daily Grill every evening.

AndrewRApr 30, 2002, 11:08 PM ET↩ Ferd Ferple

On 29 Apr 2002 21:40:45 -0700, [email] (Ferd Ferple) wrote:

And don't forget he does the show live... it's not TOO much of a strain on his hand! :o)

Alan HamiltonApr 30, 2002, 1:19 AM ET↩ kaanchtoofan

On Mon, 29 Apr 2002 20:23:03 GMT, "kaanchtoofan" wrote:

He has complete creative control: he can spend the checks on anything he wants.

AndrewRApr 30, 2002, 11:09 PM ET↩ Alan Hamilton

On Mon, 29 Apr 2002 22:19:09 -0700, Alan Hamilton wrote:

Dune Buggies! Or a walk-in humador?

Jym DyerApr 30, 2002, 12:47 PM ET↩ kaanchtoofan

=v= Each episode requires thousands and thousands           (****)
of drawings all done by hand by Matt, which leaves        (*******)
him little time for writing.  Alas.                     (*********)
    <_Jym_>                                            (*********)
   .--.                                               (*********)
  /|   \                                             (*********)
 / |____\__                                         (*********)
+::| . .   \: Jym Dyer http://www.things.org/~jym/ :(o)(o)(*)::

OOOOOO

Aaron HirshbergMay 1, 2002, 9:33 AM ET↩ Jym Dyer

Benjamin RobinsonMay 6, 2002, 12:17 AM ET↩ kaanchtoofan

In alt.tv.simpsons, on the "What does Matt Groening do?" thread, kaanchtoofan wrote:

Accounts of his involvment vary. Some people say that he keeps close tabs on the show and controls what direction it takes. Others say his only connection with the show nowadays is that he gets to put "Matt Groening" on the opening credits in nice big letters.

What we do know is that Groening was more involved in the show's early seasons than he is now, creating the characters and even doing some of the writing. He doesn't do that now, apparently, but I suspect his underlings brief him on what's going on, and if something really rubs him the wrong way, he can complain about it. Being the credited creator of the show, his opinion probaby carries more weight than yours or mine. Even so, he is not immune to being overruled. Consider what happened with "A Star Is Burns (2F31)" -- Groening didn't want a crossover at all, but that sure didn't stop the rest of the team from making the episode.

Today, I think (and this is just my educated guess) Groening splits his time between light supervision of "The Simpsons," complaining about Fox's treatment of "Futurama," and drawing new installments of "Life in Hell" -- which is probably the project that gets most of his creative energy these days.