The creator of “The Simpsons”, Matt Groening has finally revealed (to Smithsonian Magazine), after 25 years of keeping it a secret, that The Simpsons live in Springfield…Oregon.
He says “Springfield was named after Springfield, Oregon. The only reason is that when I was a kid, the TV show “Father Knows Best” took place in the town of Springfield, and I was thrilled because I imagined that it was the town next to Portland, my hometown.”
When later asked about never admitting this to anyone before he said “I don’t want to ruin it for people, you know? Whenever people say it’s Springfield, Ohio, or Springfield, Massachusetts, or Springfield, wherever, I always go, “Yup, that’s right.”
Well, the secret’s out now. Interestingly in “The Simpsons Movie”, Ned Flanders shows Bart the four states that border Springfield: Ohio, Nevada, Maine and Kentucky. Yet the real inspirational location is in fact “outside” that border. You can read the entire interview at smithsonianmag.com and in May’s Smithsonian Mag. issue.
In movie news: Tom Hanks is in talks to play Walt Disney himself in “Saving Mr. Banks”. This upcoming Disney film will tell the story of how Walt struggled to get the rights to “Mary Poppins” back in the 1950’s and 60’s from author P.L. Travers. According to Variety, Disney hopes Emma Thompson will play Travers. Ironically, she played a similar character to Mary Poppins – Nanny McPhee – in two movies.
This movie should appeal to Disney fans, older audiences (and critics) if it’s done well, but I’m not sure if the story will appeal to a younger audience. Nothing,s been confirmed, but it looks like the project will happen since a screenwriter and director have been named.