SPRINGFIELD, Vt. – Rolling out the yellow carpet, the “hometown” of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie played host Saturday to the premiere of “The Simpsons Movie,” with creator Matt Groening among thousands who turned out to toast the debut.
Streets were closed off, costumed Simpsons lookalikes walked through the crowds and blue-haired fans vied for tickets to one of four showings of the movie at the 212-seat Springfield Theater, the first of which was by invitation only.
“As Homer would say, ‘Woo-hoo!’ ” Groening said in a short ceremony before the first showing.
Groening and other VIPs walked the yellow carpet to a stage set up in a bank parking lot for the ceremony, where former Phish member Page McConnell played “The Simpsons” theme song on keyboards.
Brock Rutter of the Vermont Film Commission, noting the premiere’s intensity, declared: “I think it’s quite clearly bigger than Elvis and the Beatles put together.”
The Vermont town got the most votes in an online USA Today poll and earned the right to host the premiere, beating out Springfields in Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon and Tennessee.
Officials for Vermont’s Springfield, a city of about 9,300 that was originally uninvited, lobbied to be included in the contest and then won it, in part on the strength of a homemade video in which Homer – played by a local talk-show host – runs through town chasing a doughnut before he gets chased into a movie theater by a mob of people.
“It’s so great to have this little town on the map for something positive,” said Angelo Jardina, 56, of Springfield.
About 2,000 people turned out for the festivities, far below the 10,000 some had forecast, police said.
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