TVSquad

The always-informative Simpsons Channel has news from the always-informative TVShowsOnDVD.com about the upcoming DVD release of the Simpsons Movie. The information was relayed to TVShowsOnDVD through some folks in the industry, so everything I mention here is subject to change. Still, I couldn't resist this opportunity to whet fans' appetites.

The DVD will be out on December 18, and it will be circular. Also, the film will be available in both full screen and widescreen formats. I don't know why you'd want to buy full screen, unless you want to sit and pretend you're watching an extra-long episode of the TV series.

Try this experiment: mention The Simpsons anywhere and see how long it takes for someone to say, "Oh, right, The Simpsons, yeah, they were good for the first ten seasons, but after that, they just got SO UNFUNNY! I don't know why people watch anymore!"

Since Fox decided to release a Simpsons movie (apparently under the radar -- I mean if you're going to release a movie, you should at least market it! you know?), I've been hearing that sentiment approximately once every thirty-four seconds. It annoys me every time I hear it, but it wasn't until today that I realized exactly why this was so.

It's because the people expressing it are confusing their ignorant negativity for intelligent commentary.

• At 8, ABC has a new Set For Life, then the latest episode of ABC Family's Greek.
• The CW has a new Smackdown! at 8.
• PBS has a new NOW at 8, then new episodes of Washington Week and Bill Moyers Journal.
• At 9, USA has a new Monk, followed by a new Psych.
• The History Channel has a new Dogfights at 9.
• There's a new Doctor Who on Sci-Fi at 9, then a new Painkiller Jane.
• VH-1 has a new Best Week Ever at 9.
• Also at 9: TV Guide has coverage of The Simpsons Movie premiere.
• At 9:30, HBO has a First Look at The Bourne Ultimatum.
• At 10, E! has a new episode of The Soup.
• Frank Sinatra stars in Come Blow Your Horn, on TCM at 10.
• At 10:30, BBC America has a new Hollyoaks.

Check your local TV listings for more.

The Simpsons promo machine is still going strong, preparing for the family's bigscreen adventure on July 27th. The marketing for this movie has been wonderfully creative, but even though real-life Squishees are delicious, I think my favorite plug has got to be the new fashion spread in the August issue of Harper's Bazaar. "The Simpsons Go to Paris" depicts the Simpson family wearing outfits straight from the seasons' high fashion catwalks. The spread also features Simpson-ized versions of supermodel Linda Evangelista and designers like Marc Jacobs and Jean Paul Gaultier.

Check out this post with scans of the illustrations, helpfully accompanied by real photos of the outfits on the catwalk. Sadly enough, many of the fashions look better in the cartoon world than in the real one. Case in point: Those bizarre "if Carol Burnett had a stage lighting fetish" Viktor & Rolf numbers. And I also find it a little unsettling that Donatella Versace looks healthier in Simpson-yellow than in whatever shade of leather her skin is now.

Hey, Brigitte here with TV Squad Daily. I'll be covering the TV stories I find interesting each day, Monday through Friday, in this video blog.

Today on TV Squad Daily:

• Scott Baio filmed a reality show about helping him find a meaningful relationship... while he was in one with his ex's stunt double. Yeah, it's complicated.
  
• Criss Angel of Mindfreak is having relationship issues too.
  
• The Simpsons Movie is responsible for turning your local 7-Eleven into a real-life Kwik-E-Mart.
  

The video's embedded below, or you can subscribe to this podcast via our feed. Plus, you can also download the file directly.

Big thanks to The Simpsons Channel for the following information.

The Web site for The Simpsons Movie has been sitting around not doing much of anything lately, but finally, it has launched. Not all the parts of the site are online just yet, but there's a couple fun games and an avatar builder. The character on the right is the Simpsons version of me, though it doesn't look much like me since eyeglasses aren't an option, and you can't add stubble. It's sorta me as a ten year old boy.

Speaking of the movie, which premieres July 27, I've placed a new trailer at the end of this post. This one gives us an even better glimpse of what to expect. You can tell they went all out to make the movie truly cinematic, and not just another episode of the series slapped up on a theater screen.

Finally, the anticipated premiere date of season 19 is September 23. That's only a few short months away.

Excuse me if I salivate like Homer standing near a box of donuts, but this is awesome. I want myself a Simpsons Xbox so bad and I don't even play video games. Our pals over at Endgadget, who know more about such things, say that the new system, created as a promotion for the upcoming Simpsons movie, is an Xbox 360 Pro and not an Elite, which apparently means less GBs.

Don't bother trying to find it in stores, though, because only one hundred of these machines were created and they'll be given away at different promotional events as we get closer to the film's release on July 27.

I suppose if you want to you could always just draw a picture of Homer on your Xbox with a Sharpie. Heck, draw Homer on everything in your house and pretend you won some kind of sweepstakes.

To quote Yogurt: "MOICHendising!"'

That's "merchandising" -- it's difficult to affect that Yiddish accent in print. Anyway, the little green guy is right. You can't have a movie without product tie-ins, and it's no different for the upcoming Simpsons Movie. There will be a line of toys based on the movie out this Spring, and they're being created by McFarlane Toys, the company responsible for some of the coolest movie and TV-based toys in the last few years. Seriously, check out some of their other work.

This isn't the first time McFarlane has designed Simpsons toys. The pic on the right is for a new "Treehouse of Horror" set slated for a release later this year, along with this set featuring Homer and Lard Lad. Collectors, get ready to purchase one set you'll never take out of the package, and another set you can play with. Kids ten and under: take the toys outside and bury them in the ground and dig them up the next day. That's how I always played with my action figures. Sure, it means they're worthless now, but I'm one of those silly people who thinks toys should be played with.

Thanks to my pal Wild Bill for the tip.

If you're curious about the upcoming Simpsons movie (and who isn't?) and want to see a really, really rough preview of it, watch the video that's embedded after the jump. The producers of the movie came to the San Diego Comic Con and presented a preview of the movie consisting of storyboard drawings and the voices of the main characters. Apparently, Homer has gotten himself in some sort of trouble (shocker), and the people of Springfield are more upset with him than ever.

Anyway, I'd watch the video now and not wait until later, because FOX might move pretty quickly to have YouTube take it down. So click on the link below and enjoy.

(UPDATE: Reader Douglin sent us a link to a second video... it looks like Homer is on a dog sled in this scene. Pretty funny. You can find it here.)

(UPDATE #2: Both videos have been taken down by YouTube. Hope you enjoyed them while they were up.)

They've chosen a director for the new Simpsons movie, and it's Steven Spielberg.

Wait. I'm sorry, I didn't have my glasses on. The director is actually David Silverman, a name Simpsons fans should immediately recognize. Silverman is a supervising animation director on the show and also worked on the movie Monsters, Inc.

While I'm sure David Silverman's direction will be just fine, I wonder if they ever considered having Brad Bird direct the film (or if Bird was even available, for that matter). Bird seems like an obvious choice to me, having worked on The Simpsons and also having helmed two of the more well-respected animated films in recent years, The Iron Giant and The Incredibles. I think a mix of Simpson-y irreverence mixed with Bird's knack for storytelling would have been nice, but oh well. I'm still excited, regardless.

Oh yeah, and Sitcoms Online is reporting that Albert Brooks (one of my favorite occasional guest voices) will make an appearance in the movie, too. This movie just keeps sounding better.