Just the other day, I was given the opportunity to sit in on a Simpsons table read. Needless to say, I jumped at the chance!
The table read turned out to be for episode NABF20, "The Food Wife," written by Matt Selman. The story involved Marge becoming jealous over the fact Homer got to do all the fun things with the kids while she was stuck doing all the "mom" things. After accidentally enjoying a meal of Ethiopian food, Marge and the kids start a food blog which leaves Homer feeling like the odd one out. The read took place on the Twentieth Century Fox film lot in a long, well-lit conference room.
Five of the six main voice actors were in attendance: Dan Castellaneta, Yeardley Smith, Nancy Cartwright, Julie Kavner, and Hank Azaria. Tress MacNeille and Pamela Hayden were also providing their voice acting skills, while Harry Shearer was represented by a speaker phone in the middle of the table. I was informed that Harry Shearer rarely attended the table reads, instead "phoning it in" from home. In fact, I was also informed that Shearer rarely came in to record his lines in the studio. He does that from home over the phone, too!
(Left to Right, Yeardley Smith, Julie Kavner, Hank Azaria, Tress MacNeille, Matt Groening)
Besides the voice actors, the long table was occupied by creator Matt Groening, author Matt Selman, producer Mike Scully, and approximately 30 other producers / writers / etc. The guests in attendance were seated around the perimeter of the room (along with a Simpsons employee or two as writer John Frink and Al Jean's assistant were sitting toward the back of the room.) (Below photo, the back of the room. John Frink (after whom the character was named) is sitting in the second seat from the right.)
Each of us was given a script so we could follow along.
While everyone was getting settled in, Nancy Cartwright made her way around the room, introducing herself to every guest and autographing their script. She was very friendly, quite chatty, and one could tell she truly enjoyed having the job she does. (Photo Below)
At 10AM the table read began as a man (whose name I didn't catch) announced that The Simpsons had been renewed for its 23rd season. During the table read, this man narrated the non-dialogue portions of the script (for example, "Exterior Simpsons Family House, Day. Marge stands at the doorway as the family car pulls into the driveway. Homer, Bart, and Lisa bound out.")
Hank Azaria read the celebrity guest star's lines and later told me that he would probably also record them in the studio for the episode's temp mix. If they managed to get the celebrity guest, his lines would be replaced. (Photo Below of yours truly and Hank Azaria doing the 'ol "hold the camera at a distance and hope you get both people in the shot.")
The read lasted only about an hour, after which the people seated at the table led a round of applause (and Yeardley Smith grabbed her bag & left. I was told that she never sticks around afterwards. Likewise, Julie Kavner did not stick around long.) Dan Castellaneta, Hank Azaria, and Matt Groening, on the other hand, immediately settled down and began signing whatever was placed in front of them - scripts, DVDs, production cels, etc. (Photo Below: someone sitting at the table must've gotten bored and started drawing)
While doodling Bart onto my script, Matt Groening commented that, usually, several changes would be made to the script in between the table read and the recording session. But in the case of this episode, he didn't anticipate much changing. (Below, Matt Groening autographs scripts for the numerous kids who attended the table read. November 11th was a US holiday and the schools were closed, thus lots of children attending)
On our way back across the Fox lot, we saw Nancy Cartwright driving away in her Lexus. Her license plate read "4EVER10," a reference to the fact Bart never ages. Someone mentioned that her old license plate used to read "I DO BART." If that's true, I can understand why she changed it!
Many thanks to John Frink and Anthony Sword, without whom I wouldn't have had this opportunity!
- MJ
The table read turned out to be for episode NABF20, "The Food Wife," written by Matt Selman. The story involved Marge becoming jealous over the fact Homer got to do all the fun things with the kids while she was stuck doing all the "mom" things. After accidentally enjoying a meal of Ethiopian food, Marge and the kids start a food blog which leaves Homer feeling like the odd one out. The read took place on the Twentieth Century Fox film lot in a long, well-lit conference room.
Five of the six main voice actors were in attendance: Dan Castellaneta, Yeardley Smith, Nancy Cartwright, Julie Kavner, and Hank Azaria. Tress MacNeille and Pamela Hayden were also providing their voice acting skills, while Harry Shearer was represented by a speaker phone in the middle of the table. I was informed that Harry Shearer rarely attended the table reads, instead "phoning it in" from home. In fact, I was also informed that Shearer rarely came in to record his lines in the studio. He does that from home over the phone, too!
(Left to Right, Yeardley Smith, Julie Kavner, Hank Azaria, Tress MacNeille, Matt Groening)
Besides the voice actors, the long table was occupied by creator Matt Groening, author Matt Selman, producer Mike Scully, and approximately 30 other producers / writers / etc. The guests in attendance were seated around the perimeter of the room (along with a Simpsons employee or two as writer John Frink and Al Jean's assistant were sitting toward the back of the room.) (Below photo, the back of the room. John Frink (after whom the character was named) is sitting in the second seat from the right.)
Each of us was given a script so we could follow along.
While everyone was getting settled in, Nancy Cartwright made her way around the room, introducing herself to every guest and autographing their script. She was very friendly, quite chatty, and one could tell she truly enjoyed having the job she does. (Photo Below)
At 10AM the table read began as a man (whose name I didn't catch) announced that The Simpsons had been renewed for its 23rd season. During the table read, this man narrated the non-dialogue portions of the script (for example, "Exterior Simpsons Family House, Day. Marge stands at the doorway as the family car pulls into the driveway. Homer, Bart, and Lisa bound out.")
Hank Azaria read the celebrity guest star's lines and later told me that he would probably also record them in the studio for the episode's temp mix. If they managed to get the celebrity guest, his lines would be replaced. (Photo Below of yours truly and Hank Azaria doing the 'ol "hold the camera at a distance and hope you get both people in the shot.")
The read lasted only about an hour, after which the people seated at the table led a round of applause (and Yeardley Smith grabbed her bag & left. I was told that she never sticks around afterwards. Likewise, Julie Kavner did not stick around long.) Dan Castellaneta, Hank Azaria, and Matt Groening, on the other hand, immediately settled down and began signing whatever was placed in front of them - scripts, DVDs, production cels, etc. (Photo Below: someone sitting at the table must've gotten bored and started drawing)
While doodling Bart onto my script, Matt Groening commented that, usually, several changes would be made to the script in between the table read and the recording session. But in the case of this episode, he didn't anticipate much changing. (Below, Matt Groening autographs scripts for the numerous kids who attended the table read. November 11th was a US holiday and the schools were closed, thus lots of children attending)
On our way back across the Fox lot, we saw Nancy Cartwright driving away in her Lexus. Her license plate read "4EVER10," a reference to the fact Bart never ages. Someone mentioned that her old license plate used to read "I DO BART." If that's true, I can understand why she changed it!
Many thanks to John Frink and Anthony Sword, without whom I wouldn't have had this opportunity!
- MJ
