FOX announced that the series had to take a huge budget-cut in order to survive and later even suggested the series would definately end next year, even if the cast would be okay with a lot less income, meaning the voice actors would earn at least 45% less.
Dan Castellaneta (Homer), Julie Kavner (Marge), Nancy Cartwright (Bart), Yeardley Smith (Lisa), Hank Azaria (Moe the bartender, Chief Wiggum and Apu) and Harry Shearer (Mr. Burns) make about $440,000 per episode. The reason given for the cancellation was that, althought the ratings dropped considerably (20% over the last five years), the cost of production only seems to be rising. Others however figure that the contracts Newscorp, the owner of FOX, has for worldwide syndication, will earn much more if the show was cancelled today. When production of the serie would stop, it would give opportunity to negotiate new deals for the reruns. Some say the contracts in today's market are at least 750 million dollars worth more (the original rerun deals were signed in the mid 1990s). Over the last two decades the show has been on the air, Rupert Murdoch's Newscorp already made more than $ 1 billion dollars off the show.
Above: designs by John K. for couch-gag scene. The voice cast agreed with a 70% pay cut if they would get a small piece of the back end profits of the series, but that idea didn't go well with FOX. The negotiations are now over and it's been decided to keep the Simpsons on the air for two more seasons, until 2014, so season 25 will have the very last episodes.
Have a look at the Simpsons intro below. John K's stuff begins at 00:50.
Banksy's intro.
John Krisfaluci's creative opening sequence for the episode of last week wasn't the first time the producers hired a known guest artist to do the so called couch-gag in the intro. In 2010 the producers had contacted renowned British street artist Banksy to come up with an original intro. Known for his critical statements in his graffiti, Banksy's identity still remains unkown today.
(Above: Posters for Banksey's documentary, hiding his identity behind a mask (right). Was it his art or the mask that got the Simpsons producers excited? He sure looks like Bart to me!)
The producers never met Banksy and contacted him through the producers of his film 'Exit through the giftshop'. (in the movie he appears only rarely, face hooded and voice distorted). The film was nominated for an Academy Award in 2010 for 'Best Documentary' (which was won by Charles Fergusons' 'Inside Job').
Personally, I think Banksy never guessed the producers would go through with it. In his intro you see the Korean animators working at an assembly line, living under the worst of circumstances underground and being abused to create the Simpsons episodes week after week. ('The Simpsons' is created by AKOM productions in South Korea which of course is a lot cheaper than having the work done in the US). There's even a unicorn held prisoner in the sequence, it creates the holes in the dvd's that are sold worldwide! Still, his ideas for the opening sequence were carried out almost exactly as he had designed it. (The segment was lightened after critique from Nelson Shin, founder of AKOM animation and designer of George Lucas' original lightsaber).
For more on John Kricfalusi, visit his official blog or check out what he had to say about his cooperation with Matt groening in an interview he did posted over at cartoonbrew.
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