Oregon city calls dibs on ‘Simpsons’
Published 9:00 pm Thursday, March 8, 2007
SPRINGFIELD, Ore. – Don’t have a cow, man. But Springfield, the Oregon one, is on a list of like-named towns competing for the big-screen debut of Homer, Bart and the rest of the semi-functional, fully fictional TV Simpson family this summer.
City officials have accepted an invitation from 20th Century Fox to compete for the honor of hosting the premier screening of “The Simpsons Movie” in July.
“If we’re selected, that’s nationwide and even worldwide exposure for us,” Springfield Mayor Sid Leiken told the Register-Guard newspaper.
“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.
Fox will pick the winner after reviewing short film entries showcasing the community’s positive aspects and links to the Simpsons, who live in their own fictional Springfield.
The prime-time animated series created by Portland-born Matt Groening is now in its 18th season.
“On a personal level, this is very exciting,” said Josh Alder, a Simpsons fan and the Springfield Chamber of Commerce’s tourism public relations manager. “On a professional level, I think anything like this that could bring tourism to the area is fantastic.”
Springfield, a generally blue-collar town of 54,000 adjacent to Eugene, already is a jumping-off spot for Oregon Cascades recreation spots.
Some say Oregon’s Springfield has an edge because of Groening’s Oregon roots.
Newsweek once called the Simpsons’ Springfield “America’s Crud Bucket,” hardly an honor worth fighting over.
The cartoon Springfield has a nuclear power plant and several prisons, amenities Oregon’s Springfield lacks. It is unclear which state it’s in, but Groening occasionally sneaks discreet references to Oregon into his shows.
Groening has said he chose “Springfield” because it’s one of the more common city names in the United States.
In an interview with Web magazine Crave Online, Groening said “The Simpsons Movie” will address the question of which state the Simpsons’ hometown is in.
“We actually have a really good joke about that (in the movie),” Groening is quoted as saying.
“Remember, I said ‘joke.’ “
