What Would Bart Do?

Springfield tells The Simpsons to shove it… and hopes Homer gets the joke.

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On June 16, roughly 250 strangers wielding pitchforks and picket signs nearly started a riot at Park Central Square. They violently hurled pink doughnuts at a 20th Century FOX studio executive who was trying his best to defend the 3-D Simpsons characters sitting on a couch behind him. All the anger and emotion came to a head as someone snuck up behind the executive and dumped a can of Simpsons-yellow paint over his head. The crowd cheered, their message clear: We don’t want no stinkin’ Simpsons Movie premiere.

Wait, what?

By now you’ve probably heard about the brilliant publicity stunt FOX is using to promote The Simpsons Movie, opening July 27 nationwide. (If you need to catch up on the details, search for “Simpsons” at springfieldgo.com/blogs.) So why, if our Springfield hopes to lure a movie premiere, are crowds booing the cartoon family from the seats at Hammons Field and picketing at Park Central Square?

Jeff Clinkenbeard, a local native with a production company in New York City, says he was asked by City spokeswoman Louise Whall to spearhead the making of a three-to-five minute video that will show our town’s “Simpsons Spirit.” Since the rules of the contest only give a few weeks for the film to be written, shot and edited, Clinkenbeard seemed like the perfect fit, since it was he that started SATO 48, the local film challenge that requires participants to make a film in only 48 hours. Rather than using the video as an advertisement for Springfield, Clinkenbeard asked himself: What would Bart do?

A Google search of other Springfields participating in the competition revealed that many videos being made liken their towns to the Springfield from the show. Other cities are using the video as a PR tool. Not our Springfield. To Clinkenbeard, the best way to show Simpsons spirit was to tell a story in the way the characters on the show would: with sarcasm and humor. “That’s the kind of comedy I write,” Clinkenbeard says. “It turns things on their head and skewers things.” Once a loose script was written, Clinkenbeard and partner Kyaw Tha Hla called on several local filmmakers who have participated in SATO 48 to take care of the filming of various scenes. The plot? Why our town doesn’t want The Simpsons Movie premiere.

If there has been some confusion about the plot of the film, it’s because there isn’t necessarily a linear storyline. “We’re calling it an unpackaged approach,” Clinkenbeard says. “There’s not going to be an overarching storyline. Maybe one scene will stand alone, or we may take two or three sections and piece them together or sprinkle them about.” And although the plot sounds negative, Clinkenbeard is convinced that the mysterious final scene of the video will convince viewers that it’s all in good fun.

But making the movie is only half the battle. The next step is convincing people to vote for the film when it’s displayed on the USA Today website along with videos from each of the other 13 Springfields participating. It’s the winner of the public popular vote that will determine the location of the “hometown premiere,” after all. That’s where Mar’Ellen Felin comes in.

Felin is the director of communications for the Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau, so she’s the one in charge of the PR campaign. Since we’ll be competing against Springfields from other states, a national campaign won’t work, Felin says, but she has been sending press releases to more than 1,500 local and state media outlets, hoping that all of Missouri will get behind our Springfield in bringing a major film premiere to the state. Clinkenbeard says he’s even heard talk of involving Springfield’s sister cities in Mexico and Japan.

Clinkenbeard has been editing some of the footage from New York as he receives it, although he’ll soon make a trip to Springfield to complete the film. KOLR 10 has volunteered the use of its editing suite for animations and edits, as needed. Voting will begin online shortly after entries are submitted to FOX on June 28. For e-mail updates send an e-mail to simpsons@springfieldmo.org. You can also find updates, on the web by visiting springfieldmo.org or springfieldgo.com.

Want to know more about the different scenes for our short Simpsons video? Read the details from Jeff Clinkenbeard on the next page.