It looks like the longest animated show on television is going meta.
According to an exclusive by the Hollywood Reporter, an upcoming episode of The Simpsons scheduled for May 15 will feature a three-minute-long slot in which beloved doofus and family patriarch Homer will break the fourth wall to "take a break from stuffing his face" to give some remarks of the goings-on during the day twice — once during the East Coast broadcast and once for the West Coast airing.
Simpsons showrunner Al Jean dished to THR that the show will implement motion capture technology to bring the cartoon beer-guzzler to life (i.e., the same sensor-laden tech that brought characters like Andy Serkis' Gollum in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and Lupita Nyong'o's Maz Kanata in Star Wars: The Force Awakens to the big screen).
Jean continued that the effects for the scene could only be produced once for the show, and that anything voiced by Homer, played by actor Dan Castellaneta, who has voiced the character for decades, "could only be saying [things] live on that day."
"As far as I know, this is the first time that's been done by any animated show," Jean added, hinting at the possible short shelf life of improv comedy in his particular genre of television. Nevertheless, the creator was quick to praise Castellaneta, deeming him "a great improviser."
In addition to this metafictional twist, Simpsons fans will also be able to tweet to Homer from May 1 to May 4 using the #HomerLive hashtag, enabling viewers to get up close and personal with the character — as well as giving them a chance to have their questions about anything Homer- or Simpsons-related answered.
So, will you tune in? As Homer might say in his own particular parlance, "D'oh!"
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
