Simpsons and Film Roman

I wandered around the Starz/Film Roman facility this morning, asking about this:

Simpsons creator Matt Groening has revealed that the Simpson family will have to wait a while for their second big-screen outing.

"It took 18 years to get around to doing the movie, we got very frustrated, we thought it would take two years but it ended up taking four - some day maybe we'll do another one, but don't hold your breath" ...

I got mostly blank looks from the crew when I mentioned Matt G.'s comments. One artist perked up when I mentioned that Mr. Groening doesn't know how much longer the series will run. (They're commited to two more years.)

"I've been here five years now and I didn't think it would last this long! I thought I would have a job for a couple of years, then it would be over."

But a savvy animation veteran at Film Roman had a different take on Matt G.'s "no new feature" quote:

"I read what Groening said at MIPCOM, but I think Fox might have other ideas. They made a lot of money with The Simpsons Movie. I don't think Fox wants to wait forever for a second one, because the first feature really extended and strengthened the brand around the world.

"I think this 'no new movie' quote is a shot across Fox's bow. I think maybe this is Groening's way of angling for an incentive to start a movie sooner rather than later ..."

I've got no take on this subject. But I do know this: large entertainment conglomerates aren't in the habit of letting profitable movie tent poles lie inactive for seven or eight years. My guess is Rupert and Co. will start applying pressure for a new ninety-minute extravaganza of the Yellow Family in short order.

Of course, I could be completely wrong.