By Lisa Zlotnick and Thomas Chau
DVDFanatic.com was able to chat with one of the producers and veteran writers
of “The Simpsons,” Mike Reiss, and he gave us a scoop on the next
“Simpsons” DVD and confirmed rumors about “The Simpsons”
movie. We even have a speculated release date! Read below for some great news
on one of the best shows on the networks and be sure to check out Part 2 tomorrow
where we talk about the recently released "The Critic" DVD, which
has been selling extremely well.
DVDFanatic.com (Tom Chau): Are you currently working on the next season’s “Simpsons”
DVD?
Mike Reiss: Yes I am. In fact, it’s funny, I’m going in, in a couple
hours to do more commentary and Jon Lovitz will be there. We could not get Jon
Lovitz, he just wasn’t available to do “The Critic” commentary
and he’s in town so he’ll be doing some “Simpsons” commentary
on the episodes he appeared in.
DVDFanatic.com: Is there anything new on “The Simpsons” DVD this time around
that you can let us in on?
Mike: You know, I own these DVDs, I comment on them but I never watch any of
them! I don’t know what bonus material they have but they always seem
to deliver. They take these DVDs very seriously so there is certainly a lot
of commentary. There is commentary on every episode and we’re getting
the cast in more to do commentary so that’s something.
DVDFanatic.com: How involved with “The Simpsons” are you nowadays? Have
you started working on "The Simpsons" movie yet?
Mike: My partner, Al Jean is running the show. He’s the boss and I just
come in a day a week as a consultant. I come in every Tuesday and just help
and put in my two cents. Al and I and five other veteran writers of the show
are currently writing “The Simpsons” movie.
DVDFanatic.com: What can you tell us about the movie? We’ve heard that there
was supposed to be a "Simpsons" movie for the past several years but
you don’t want to just simply put three episodes together, so how are
you creating something new that’s not been done before?
Mike: That’s been the biggest challenge. They’ve wanted to do this
since season two. It’s been 13 years of wanting to do “The Simpsons”
Movie. Finally FOX said, “Let’s just do it!” We never had
the greatest idea that was compelling but FOX said, “Maybe if we start
paying you, you’ll get inspired.” And sure enough it worked! We’ve
got a very good and interesting idea and it’s different from the show.
You know, it’s like the “South Park” movie where it’s
just a bigger, longer, amplified version of the show. I can’t tell you
anything specific about it. My wife doesn’t even know the secret.
DVDFanatic.com: When do you think “The Simpsons” movie will come out?
Mike: I will say two years from this summer. I think it’s going to be
Summer 2006 or maybe Christmas 2006. It’s a reality after being just sort
of this phantom idea. I think it is really gonna happen.
DVDFanatic.com: How long do you think “The Simpsons” will run for on T.V.?
Mike: I think there’s no end in sight. I have to give credit to Al who
went back to the show. I feel he rejuvenated it. It might have gotten a little
tired but there’s a lot of fresh blood in the show. We’re writing
next year’s episodes already and it looks good. There’s plenty of
juice left in it. I think “The Simpsons” conceivably, if they run
it right, could run like SNL, where it just runs and runs and runs and keeps
refreshing and rejuvenating itself.
Stay tuned for Part 2 of our interview with Mike Reiss, where we talk about
the recently released "The Critic: The Complete Series" on DVD
