Simpsons Movie Premieres in Springfield, VT

BURLINGTON FREE PRESS: First family of Springfield
Published: Sunday, July 22, 2007 - By Brent Hallenbeck

SPRINGFIELD — It was easy to find the festivities for the world premiere of “The Simpsons Movie” Saturday in downtown Springfield. All you had to do was follow the people with the sky-high blue hair.

Diane Bilotta was wearing a beehive wig mimicking the famous blue hairdo of Marge Simpson, the long-suffering wife of Homer, her fellow yellow-skinned cartoon character.

“It puts Springfield on the map,” the Grantham, N.H., woman said, clutching a Homer Simpson doll as she stood outside the Springfield Theater where the film would debut in about two hours. “It’s a lovely town, and Marge and Homer wouldn’t live anywhere else.”

It’s only been a couple of weeks since the world learned that the Springfield that Homer, Marge and their children Bart, Lisa and Maggie call home is Springfield, Vt., a well-worn town of 9,300 in a pretty spot among hills buffeting the Connecticut River that defines the Vermont/New Hampshire border.

The southern Vermont town was the smallest among the 14 Springfields in the country taking part in a contest through USA Today. By registering 15,367 votes among more than 100,000 cast, Springfield, Vt. — on the strength of a “Simpsons”-inspired online video produced by Vermont filmmakers — won the movie premiere and bragging rights as the hometown of “The Simpsons.”

Police estimated Saturday afternoon that the celebration drew a shade below the 5,000-10,000 fans organizers expected. Those who gathered for a chance to win some of the 800-plus tickets to the premiere and to hear from the filmmakers were excited enough to make up the difference.

Matt Groening, who created the satirical cartoon for television two decades ago and attended the feature film’s celebration, was stunned by the outpouring from fans.

“We knew that wherever the real Springfield was there would be a lot of enthusiasm. This is unbelievable,” Groening said in an interview along the yellow carpet — a red carpet just wouldn’t suit this jaundiced, dysfunctional family — that stretched toward the Springfield Theater.

“Rabid, zealous, fanatic, and yet they’re all smiling,” Groening said of the crowd. “Usually in Springfield on the show, any time a large crowd gathers it turns into a mob.”

Fans who gathered in a spacious parking lot next to the Springfield Theater heard short speeches from Groening and others who worked on the film, which opens nationwide Friday. Springfield officials presented Groening with a key to the town; Groening gave the town a plaque depicting “Simpsons” character Krusty the Clown placing his hands in cement outside the Springfield Theater while an oblivious hot-dog-munching Homer strolls through the ceremony and the cement.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, the first-term Vermont independent, said the contest win demonstrated that Springfield is a “can-do community” despite the obstacles the town has faced.

“Fortunes go up and down,” Sanders said. “This town, like ‘The Simpsons’ family, occasionally has its problems.” Springfield rose on the back of the machine-tool industry and slid into hard times once that business declined. Residents of the former industrial town are glad Springfield is animated again.
Betsy Eldredge was one of those residents happy to see her town so lively. “Springfield has been quite a depressed area for some time,” she said.

Springfield pride and “Simpsons” mania merged in front of the theater where a huge yellow hand hoisting a pink-frosted doughnut — Homer’s famously favorite food — rose like a beacon. A banner stretched across Main Street, also festooned with images of doughnuts, read “Welcome to Springfield, Vermont – Home of the Simpsons.” Big yellow lettering in the window of the Springfield Copy Center proclaimed “We Won!” in front of a backdrop showing Homer’s and Bart’s faces and, of course, more doughnuts.

There were also real doughnuts to be had from Vermont vendors near the theater. The Woodstock Water Buffalo Co. offered special “yo-nuts” filled with maple-flavored yogurt made from water-buffalo milk. The Magic Hat Brewing Co. crafted a “Springfield VT Premiere” ale that was more golden than yellow. Ben & Jerry’s combined Homer’s two favorite flavors for the one-day-only “Duff & D’oh-Nuts” ice cream with a heavy chocolate-doughnut flavor and a hint of stout beer.

Along with Vermont’s most famous ice-cream maker, the celebration featured two members of Phish, the band that, before the Simpsons were discovered to live in Springfield, was Vermont’s best-known group of celebrities.

“Thank you very much, Springfield, this is a huge honor for us,” said keyboard player Page McConnell, who preceded the ceremony with a set from his band. They were joined by ex-Phish bass player Mike Gordon who, like McConnell, appeared in flesh tones rather than the yellow hue the four members of Phish had in a 2002 episode of “The Simpsons.”

Several of the filmmakers remarked about the beautiful, idyllic setting of Springfield.

“It’s just amazing. I feel like we journeyed through America,” Emmy- and Oscar-winning producer James L Brooks said in an interview after the pre-premiere ceremony. “I feel like I’m going to bump into Frank Capra.”

The film’s director, David Silverman, also mentioned Capra, the classic movie maker known for setting his films in bucolic burgs.

“It’s wonderful. What a picturesque American town it is,” Silverman said.

Some people were there not to celebrate but to make a point. Eldredge was passing out fliers in her hometown opposing renewal of the Vermont Yankee nuclear-power plant’s license when it expires in 2012. The plant — perhaps the one Homer works in on the show — is about 45 minutes south of Springfield.

A shutdown of the plant might put Homer out of work. Eldredge has a suggestion for the head of the Simpsons family — he could work on a wind farm.

Nancy Schaefer was making a different sort of statement on Main Street, where the Bellows Falls woman and a handful of youths were gyrating inside Hula Hoops. Schaefer wore a T-shirt bearing the slogan “Drop the Donut.”

Schaefer and her fellow exercisers were recommending 30 minutes of exercise a day and five servings of fruit and vegetables. “Homer represents too many doughnuts and beer,” she said.

With her yard-high blue wig made of foam insulation, Schaefer suggested she might not be Marge but instead an obscure member of “The Simpsons” clan. “I could be her unknown sister, the one we don’t talk about, Nancy Simpson,” Schaefer said. “The crunchy-granola unknown sister.”

Stephanie and Matthew Strangwood were in Springfield to celebrate “The Simpsons Movie.” They drove 15 hours from Romeoville, Ill., to be there, and that’s not even the biggest sign of their “Simpsons” devotion: They met in 2000 through a “Simpsons” trivia online chat room, became friends, and Matthew, 26, moved to Illinois from his native England to be with Stephanie, now 23. They’ve been married almost four years. “The Simpsons” is the tie that binds.

“It’s brilliant,” Stephanie, wearing a Homer Simpson backpack, said of the show.

“It’s witty, it’s great satire,” said Matthew, who wore a Krusty the Clown backpack.

They wouldn’t have missed the Springfield celebration for anything.

“It’s the biggest event of all time,” Matthew Strangwood said.

In “Simpsons” history or world history?

He paused for a moment. “World history,” he said.

Contact Brent Hallenbeck at bhallenb@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com.

Goodbye, Premiere Magazine

VARIETY: Premiere folds
Magazine will continue online
By STEVEN ZEITCHIK
Posted: Mon., Mar. 5, 2007, 4:21pm PT

Hachette Filipacchi pulled the plug on Premiere on Monday, confirming widespread rumors that the embattled movie mag would be shuttered.

Many of the company's editorial staffers will leave the company, including editor-in-chief Peter Herbst.

The April issue, which features Will Ferrell on the cover for "Blades of Glory," will be mag's last. Staffers put the issue to bed about 10 days ago.

Premiere publisher Paul Turcotte could be named to another post within Hachette, though there was no official confirmation of a new role.

Magazine, published 10 times per year, will continue to exist online.

Specifics on how many staffers would migrate, how often content will be refreshed and how many of the mag's regular features will be maintained were undisclosed.

News of its print demise brings to an end what has been something of a media soap opera for the New York-based title, which employs five print editorial staffers in its Hollywood bureau and an estimated couple dozen in its flagship Gotham offices.

Hachette and parent company Lagardere were trying to sell the title earlier this year, but bidders were reportedly thin for the troubled pub. Mag saw its ad pages decline nearly 25% in 2006.

Announcement marks the closure of another pub for Hachette, which also shuttered Elle Girl and startup Shock.

The 20-year-old Premiere had its heyday in the 1990s, when the appetite for insider movie news grew.

Even today, mag publishes a Hollywood power list and industry scuttlebutt under sections like "Yes It's True: News You're Not Supposed to Know," alongside more consumer-friendly stories, such as a list of overrated movies.

But the trade-flavored pieces in which Premiere once specialized have become less relevant as consumer dailies have taken more of an interest in the biz, while sites like Defamer have proliferated to satisfy the demand for near-instantaneous industry gossip.

Premiere also faced the challenge of being a long-lead mag in a realm where news moves increasingly quickly. For example, Oscar predictions made months in advance now run the risk of becoming stale by the time the print edition hits newsstands.

And while interest in celeb news is by many indications stronger than ever, sites like TMZ and PerezHilton have proved more adept at breaking and keeping up with news.

Hachette's latest strategy is to move in a newsier direction, offering more timely items on Premiere.com and mobile platforms -- routes that would also be less costly.

"This step is consistent with our strategy to examine our portfolio of brands to determine the best business plan for each, based on its category and the marketplace," Hachette prexy-CEO Jack Kliger said in a statement.

Company will continue publishing international editions in territories such as France, where the mag started in the 1970s.

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I'm sorry to see Premiere go - I bought the first issue when it came out (The "Dragnet" film was on the cover), and subscribed for several years. I have to say, though, I think the magazine was best in its first incarnation - as a magazine for film buffs. Later, it evolved into an industry magazine, and I got disenchanted with its "power issues" - listing the 100 most powerful people in the industry, and so forth. These days, I sometimes read Sight And Sound - it's a pretty expensive subscription and a challenging read, but much more rewarding.