About this item
In celebration of The Simpsons thirtieth anniversary, the shows longest-serving writer and producer offers a humorous look at the writing and making of the legendary Fox series that has become one of the most revered artistic achievements in television history.Four-time Emmy winner Mike Reiss--who has worked on The Simpsons continuously since episode one in 1989--shares stories, scandals, and gossip about working with Americas most iconic cartoon family ever. Reiss explains how the episodes are created, and provides an inside look at the shows writers, animators, actors and celebrity guests. He answers a range of questions from Simpsons fans and die-hards, and reminisces about the making of perennially favorite episodes.In his freewheeling, irreverent comic style, Reiss reflects on his lifetime inside The Simpsons--a personal highlights reel of his achievements, observations, and favorite stories. Springfield Confidential exposes why Matt Groening decided to make all of the characters yellow; dishes on what its like to be crammed in a room full of funny writers sixty hours a week; and tells what Reiss learned after traveling to seventy-one countries where The Simpsons is watched (ironic note: theres no electricity in many of these places) ; and even reveals where Springfield is located! He features unique interviews with Judd Apatow, who also provided the foreword, and Conan OBrien, as well as with Simpsons legends Al Jean, Nancy Cartwright, Dan Castellaneta, and more. Like Cary Elwes As You Wish, Jennifer Keishin Armstrongs Seinfeldia, and Chris Smiths The Daily Show: An Oral History, Springfield Confidential is a funny, informational, and exclusive look at one of the most beloved programs in all of television land.
About the Author
Mike Reiss has won four Emmys and a Peabody Award during his twenty-eight years writing for "The Simpsons". He ran the show in Season 4, which Entertainment Weekly called "the greatest season of the greatest show in history." In 2006, Reiss received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Animation Writers Caucus. "Springfield Confidential", Mike's memoir of three decades at "The Simpsons", will be released by Harper Collins in June 2018. Reiss has written jokes for such comedy legends as Johnny Carson, Joan Rivers, Garry Shandling... and Pope Francis! For his comedic contributions to the charitable group Joke with the Pope, in 2015 Pope Francis declared Reiss "A Missionary of Joy". Reiss co-created the animated series "The Critic" and created Showtime's hit cartoon "Queer Duck" (about a gay duck) . "Queer Duck" was named one of "The 100 Greatest Cartoons of All Time" by the BBC. "Queer Duck: the Movie" was released to rave reviews in July 2006, winning awards in New York, Chicago, San Diego, Sweden, Germany and Wales.Mike Reiss has been a contributing writer to more than two dozen animated films -- including four ICE AGEs, two DESPICABLE MEs, THE LORAX, RIO, KUNG FU PANDA 3, and THE SIMPSONS MOVIE - with a worldwide gross of $14 billion. Reiss' first play, "I'm Connecticut" set box-office records for Connecticut Repertory Theater. The Hartford Courant called it "sweet and hysterically funny" and named it one of the year's Ten Best Plays. Broadway World Connecticut voted it Best Play of 2012. His caveman detective story "Cro-Magnon P.I." won an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America. He has published nineteen children's books, including the best-seller "How Murray Saved Christmas" and the award-winning "Late for School". Reiss also composes puzzles for "NPR", and "Games Magazine". As a professional speaker, Reiss has lectured at over three hundred colleges and institutions, on six continents. His topics include "The Simpsons", comedy and Judaism, and the sorry state of television. Reiss is a former president of "The Harvard Lampoon" and editor of "The National Lampoon". He has been happily married for thirty years. Like most children's book authors, he has no children.
