Movie premiere to be held in Springfield

**Dark Homer** · 03-08-2007, 08:21 PM

... but which one???

Springfield To Host 'Simpsons' Film Debut
By Jack Moran
The Register-Guard
Published: Thursday, March 8, 2007

SPRINGFIELD - Don't have a cow, man.

But if you're familiar with that phrase, you'll be excited to hear that Springfield - Springfield, Ore., that is - could be the place where Bart, Homer and the rest of the cartoon Simpsons family make their big screen debut this summer.

City officials have accepted an invitation from 20th Century Fox to compete against other Springfields across the country in a contest where the winner will host the premiere screening of "The Simpsons Movie," due out in July. The film is one of the most highly anticipated releases of the year.

"If we're selected, that's nationwide and even worldwide exposure for us," said Springfield Mayor Sid Leiken - not to be confused with Mayor Joe Quimby, of the Simpsons' fictional hometown of Springfield.

"There's plenty of serious issues to talk about, but this is something that we might as well try to have a little fun with," Leiken said.

Gwyne Ortiz, a Fox publicist, said Fox has asked 16 Springfields from Oregon to Massachusetts to participate in the contest.

Studio execs will pick the winner after reviewing short films submitted by local officials. Each entry should showcase a community's positive aspects, and somehow link it to "The Simpsons" TV show. The megapopular prime-time animated series created by Portland-born Matt Groening is now in its 18th season.

"We want each Springfield to express the highlights of what they do, and have it tie into the whole Simpsons element," Ortiz said.

Besides landing the movie premiere, the winning city and its mayor will be included in the film's closing credits.

The Springfield Chamber of Commerce and the Convention and Visitors Association of Lane County Oregon will help assemble the city's contest entry.

"On a personal level, this is very exciting," said Josh Alder, a longtime Simpsons fan who works as CVALCO's tourism public relations manager. "On a professional level, I think anything like this that could bring tourism to the area is fantastic."

Certainly, some people believe that Oregon's Springfield must be considered the contest's early favorite.

Because Groening is a Portland native, many speculate that he based the Simpsons' hometown on Lane County's second-largest city. It's hardly a flattering idea, considering that on the show, Newsweek ran a story calling Springfield "America's Crud Bucket." The cartoon town is a bizarre yet unremarkable place with a nuclear plant and several prisons.

Scores of Web sites have tried to answer the question: Where is the Simpsons' Springfield? No one can say for sure.

Groening has said that he chose Springfield because it's one of the most common city names in the United States.

In an interview last month with Web magazine Crave Online, Groening said "The Simpsons Movie" will address the question of which state the cartoon family's hometown is in.

"We actually have a really good joke about that (in the movie)," Groening is quoted as saying. "Remember, I said joke."

**Landshark678** · 03-08-2007, 11:02 PM

WOW...very interesting...Thanks for posting that!

**~~W.P.~~** · 03-09-2007, 06:07 AM

Interesting idea considering that many people think the Simpsons are based in Oregon, but I find the thing a little cheesy. Don't really have a reason why, but there is something about it that I just find a bit tacky.

**The Governor** · 03-09-2007, 06:10 AM

I smell another "search for Robin" going on...

**Lady2Hotty** · 03-09-2007, 09:28 AM

Here's another article about this on MSN

http://tv.msn.com/tv/article.aspx?news=254485&GT1=7703

**Kiyosuki** · 03-09-2007, 11:29 AM

Heh, well good luck there. Here's a list of all the places in the United States as well as other parts of the world that are named Springfield.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Springfield

It'll probably be either the Illinois one or the Massachusetts one as they're the most prolific.

**Akbar_and_Jeff** · 03-09-2007, 01:01 PM

We have a box factory here in the Springfield of Oregon. I chuckle every time I drive past it.

**George Cauldron** · 03-09-2007, 01:24 PM

I was going to post it but it looks like I've been beaten to it by quite a few hours..still, here's the BBC's take on it if anybody's interested:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6434607.stm

Film prize for real Springfield

Sixteen US cities named Springfield have been asked to compete to host the premiere of The Simpsons Movie in July.

The cartoon series is based in its own fictional town of Springfield - creator Matt Groening has said he chose it because it is a common US city name.

Film company 20th Century Fox will pick a winning short film submitted by the real-life cities about community life.

The fictional Springfield boasts several prisons and a nuclear plant. The series is now in its 18th year.

"There's plenty of serious issues to talk about, but this is something that we might as well try to have a little fun with," the mayor of Springfield, Oregon, Sid Leiken, told local newspaper the Register-Guard.

The Simpsons revolves around the antics of bald, beer-guzzling family man Homer and his spiky-haired son Bart.

It is the longest-running prime-time entertainment series on television in the US and a worldwide hit.

There has long been speculation about whether it would be turned into a film.

Groening has said that the animated hit would keep going as long as he and his colleagues could keep generating fresh ideas.

"That's what you're looking for in television - surprise," he added.

**The mayor of Albuquerque** · 03-09-2007, 01:38 PM

Rooting for Springfield Oregon since I lived next door for many years.

Seriously, it's a gimmick, but I think a fairly decent one. The frequency of the name is one of the reasons they chose it for the Simpsons, so why not have a little fun with it? It may draw some attention to an otherwise tourist-starved part of the country. It's certainly no worse a gimmick than the Simpsons house contest or the Simpsons plane from a few years back. It reminds me of my Phish Simpsons tour shirt that lists all the Springfields in the country as their tour destinations.

**zoidkat** · 03-09-2007, 03:22 PM

Oregon might be a good one to bet on, but I'd love for it to be TN. Since I might actually be able to go there.

**grissom** · 03-09-2007, 03:24 PM

Springfield Mass. is only a few hours from me. It'd be really cool to have the premiere held so close.

**Stevie V. Scrivello** · 03-09-2007, 03:27 PM

Personally, I was hoping for Springfield, Missouri, since it's next to my home state of Kansas. It doesn't look like that'll happen, though.

**richardUK** · 03-11-2007, 01:31 AM

Hey, that sounds like fun.

I think it will be hard for Oregon to win because they won't want to make it look biased (Matt lived there).

**Old Man Simpson** · 03-18-2007, 10:10 AM

Ha, there's a Springfield in Ontario! Anyway, since there's a Springfield in almost every US state (it seems), the executives could get more than they bargained for when they recieve entries for the film contest.

**Mira** · 03-20-2007, 01:12 AM

Kentucky has a Springfield, Shelbyville and Capitol City. They should have done it there.

**moneychair2003** · 03-20-2007, 04:53 AM

i really want it to be in Springfield, Massachusetts. it's a little less than a hour away from where i live.

**Violet Aurora** · 03-20-2007, 07:58 AM

They should hold it in Springfield in Scotland as a big screw you to the American towns. Though I doubt the place even has a cinema, it's in Fife area which is like crappy villages and small towns etc.

**Brad Clarke** · 03-20-2007, 01:36 PM

I saw this on my local fox news channel, its interesting, Hopefully it will be springfield, mass. Its closer to me

**Dark Homer** · 06-01-2007, 03:01 AM

This just in: It definitely won't be Springfield, Minnesota because Minnesota is too good for The Simpsons

... yet apparently it's good enough for a comedian to stand a decent chance of becoming the Democratic nominee for the US Senate so v

v

**The Space Pope** · 06-01-2007, 04:05 AM

Is there an official list of the 16 ( I mean 15) Springfield's that are participating? The only one I know for sure is Springfield, PA. The winning Springfield should be notified soon as the premier is less than two months away.

**AngryDad33** · 06-29-2007, 05:21 AM

Our Video is unveiled
Posted by AMC June 29, 2007 08:38AM
The Springfield, MA Simpsons video will be unveiled during a press conference Friday, June 29 at 11 a.m. at The Hippodrome.

http://blog.masslive.com/thesimpsons..._unveiled.html

well lets see how they did.

I forget when all the Springfield vids are supposed to be on the USA Today site so we can vote.

**AngryDad33** · 06-29-2007, 05:26 AM

'The Simpsons Movie' contest D'oh! Here come the Simpsons. Beginning Monday, you'll be able to vote for the Springfield you think should host the hometown premiere of 'The Simpsons Movie.' Leave your e-mail address, and we'll send you an alert when it's time to cast your vote.

Found this on the USA Today website

Also found this vid on Youtube at The Post Simpsons event in Springfield, Mass.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MV-HgBNWOk

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