Springfield, Vermont to Host 'The Simpsons Movie' Premiere
By Ray McDonald
Washington
11 July 2007
Just say "D'oh!" Springfield, Vermont has been chosen to host the premiere of The Simpsons Movie.
The tiny hamlet - population 9,300 - topped 13 other like-named U.S. cities on July 10. Its 100-seat cinema will on July 21 host the full-length animated comedy, which opens nationwide six days later.
Springfields in Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, and Tennessee, also made bids. Each submitted a video showing how it resembled the Simpsons' own fictional hometown of Springfield. While Vermont's Springfield wasn't initially an entrant, its Chamber of Commerce ensured a slot after appealing to the movie's production studio, 20th Century Fox.
The winning video shows a Burlington, Vermont talk show host dressed as Homer Simpson running through town chasing a big, pink rolling doughnut. A mob then chases him into a movie theater. By its July 9 deadline, the contest web site had received 109,582 votes - 15,367 of which went to Vermont. Springfield, Illinois was the runner-up with 14,634. Florida's Springfield was last, drawing only 1,386 votes.
Since its debut on December 17, 1989, The Simpsons has aired 400 episodes over 18 seasons. The show has been renewed for a 19th season, beginning September 23. Currently the longest-running U.S. situation comedy, The Simpsons was in 1999 named the best television series of the 20th Century by Time Magazine.
source:
http://www.voanews.com
