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Groening: 'Simpsons' lives 'forever' - July 2002
Georg Szalai
MONTREAL (The Hollywood Reporter) --- "The Simpsons ( news - Y! TV)" will continue to entertain TV audiences for years to come as far as creator Matt Groening is concerned.
Speaking at a press conference at the Just For Laughs comedy festival in Montreal on Thursday, Groening shot down recent rumors that an end of the animated cult series was imminent. "The show will go on," he said, before jokingly adding, "Forever."
Groening, who is an executive producer on the show, said rumors of the imminent demise of "Simpsons," which will enter its 14th season on Fox this fall, were a result of industry observers misinterpreting a recent comment from him. "All I said was that after 13 seasons, we are probably closer to the end of (the show) than to the beginning," he explained. But there were no immediate plans to stop producing the series, he added.
Groening joined members of "The Simpsons" cast in Montreal for a series of festival shows, titled " 'The Simpsons' In the Flesh" that will see the actors voicing an entire episode on stage. The stage show previously was seen in London's West End and at the Edinburgh Festival, both times with great success. Because of popular demand, Just For Laughs has added an additional performance and made available extra seats at all showings of "In The Flesh."
Despite the success of the stage shows, it is not clear whether they will turn into a more regular tour. "I think it would be great if we had shows around the world," said Nancy Cartwright, who voices Bart Simpson in the series. Groening on Thursday did not say whether he would take the stage show elsewhere.
Either way, the "Simpsons" cast showed that it was happy about the show's latest Emmy nomination. "We have won seven times, so it's just fair that we win again," executive producer Al Jean joked at the news conference Thursday.
Groening predicted that there would be no serious rivalry between "Simpsons" and his other animated series, "Futurama," which also just earned an Emmy nomination. "But I am in a tough spot," he joked. "No matter who wins, I get to be bitter."
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