‘The Simpsons’ Will Air a ‘Live’ Homer Segment in May
Twenty-seven seasons in, The Simpsons still needs to stay topical, an especially difficult feat given the animation process’ long lead time. Well, consider The Simpsons more relevant than ever, up to the moment even, as May will see the long-running FOX staple experimenting with a live segment.
Per FOX’s official announcement, the May 15 Simpsons installment will take a brief break during the episode’s runtime, in order to “turn the show over to Homer who will take a break from stuffing his face to comment on the events of the day LIVE during both the East Coast and West Coast broadcasts.”
The report also offers that fans can tweet questions ahead of the segment by using the #HomerLive hashtag between Sunday, May 1 and Wednesday, May 4. In order to accomplish the feat, voice actor Dan Castellaneta will use a motion capture technology enabling Homer’s voice and motions to be depicted in an animated scene.
Says executive producer Al Jean to THR of the improv-themed episode:
As far as I know, this is the first time that’s been done by any animated show. And Dan is a great improviser.
One wonders if perhaps the technology succeeds, animation of The Simpsons could perhaps become a more streamlined process over time, but in the meantime, stay tuned for more on the May 15 live segment.
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