Talking Simpsons - Cape Feare With Mike Drucker
Added 2024-09-11 04:00:02 +0000 UTCIt's the end of the first era of Simpsons writers as we welcome back returning favorite, comedy writer Mike Drucker (pre-order his upcoming book, Good Game, No Rematch)! In a full-length parody of 1991's Cape Fear remake, Bart evades murder by the talented singer, Sideshow Bob. Learn how this episode was written, how Jon Vitti looks back on it, why the animation is so gorgeous, and even the secret of Poor Little Buttercup. Grab a pan of brownies and watch out for rakes while listening to this podcast!
Comments
Funnily enough since you brought it up, I worked at a public library that was twice as a filming location. Once was as the law library for Ted 2. You can see my desk in that scene and Ted pops out of my filing cabinet (it was normally a local history vertical file). We were briefly allowed to watch filming going on and I can tell you the process had all the wiz-bang action of watching paint dry. The second production was for a paranormal reality show that needed a cool library to film an info dump scene. I was asked to appear on camera as "local genealogist" and although it was "unscripted television" I was in fact given a script. Perhaps it was the more efficient nature of television but the shooting process was much quicker in this case and the production team and on air talent I worked with were incredibly friendly and professional.
Stephen C. Nedell
2024-09-19 02:12:37 +0000 UTCThere is a tiny little blue mouse (awfully similar to Itchy) that comes out in the scene where homer yells “someone’s trying to kill me”. Makes me laugh every time.
yethen
2024-09-18 21:09:31 +0000 UTCThis is still THE Sideshow Bob episode for me. It's direct and to the point and ruthlessly absurd. It works as both a parody of Cape Fear and as a standalone episode as evidenced by how many kids watched this in the 90s having no idea it was a parody of a movie. As a kid, I only knew it was because of the name-drop when discussing places the family could move to and because my parents had recently rented it (I was not permitted to view it). I still haven't seen either version of the film since I feel like I already know it due to this episode and other references over the years. I like Hitchcock though so I should get around to it some day.
Joe Hodgson
2024-09-16 14:07:37 +0000 UTCAbout the episode's title: in the SNPP capsule for this ep, Bill Oakley apparently suggested there's an official title that went even further with the parody name, something to the effect of: "Cape Feare: Not Affiliated with the Film 'Cape Fear.'" I've never seen the full title used outside the capsule, so I wonder what the story behind the change was.
Vance Jericho
2024-09-14 23:14:26 +0000 UTCI watched a few different recorded performances of Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play because I decided the best chaser to a podcast that summarized and contextualized Cape Feare in depth was a play about post-apocalyptic survivors trying to recall that same episode without the benefits of home video or the Internet. The idea of a Simpsons episode evolving into a bizarre morality play where the theme is sung as a dirge by a Greek chorus may not gel with everyone (Mike Reiss apparently didn't care for the play), but I really enjoy the play's exploration of our relationship with pop culture and the way stories are affected by changing material conditions. Each production has its own distinct interpretation of the second and third acts, and I hope I get an opportunity to see a live performance at some point. My personal favorite out of the ones that are on Youtube is the Harvard TEATRO production, which has consistently solid naturalistic acting and lots of fun and unique flourishes, including changing the setting from the Northeast to the U.S./Mexico border and incorporating the culture of that region into the in-universe "post-electric" plays.
Kate Santee
2024-09-14 16:26:40 +0000 UTCAt the start of the show you guys asked why Scorsese did this movie when he was primarily known for more personal work. One of the reasons was that he was doing Universal a favor because they had financed The Last Temptation of Christ, and supported him during the ensuing Evangelical protests. It was a movie no one else wanted to touch, and because he was grateful to them for standing by the work, he agreed to remake Cape Fear for them. Bob talked about all the camera movements and push-ins, and that's an aspect I love it about it too. It's a genre movie made by a craftsman, which I'd also love to wee more of. Thank you guys!
Dudes On Movies Podcast
2024-09-13 12:46:53 +0000 UTCCommunity is the “high water” mark of extended, grueling parody.
Steve D
2024-09-13 11:56:17 +0000 UTCI'm surprised you guys didn't mention that there was a non canon sequel to this ep in a treehouse of horror, where he does kill bart and lisa sees it happen
Zachary McClure
2024-09-13 04:14:35 +0000 UTCYou just blew my mind
PurpleComet
2024-09-12 23:00:36 +0000 UTCWhen you were discussing cabana shirts, I was surprised that Henry didn't name check Waylon Mercy, an old WWF wrestling gimmick that was an homage/copy/rip-off of Deniro's Max Cady. It was masterly performed by wrestler Danny Spivey on what would prove to be the final lap of a solid, if unspectacular ten-plus-year career.
Norman Benford
2024-09-12 22:47:23 +0000 UTCthe writer of the novel of 2001 arthur c clarke witnessed a computer doing this and wrote it in to the novel
kid presentable
2024-09-12 22:07:50 +0000 UTCI am 28 and I don’t think I knew Cape Fear was a parody until I was like 19 or 20 and I probably heard it from you originally covering this episode.
Aidan fleming
2024-09-12 15:37:28 +0000 UTCWhat do the Simpsons writers have against Denver one way or another the are the but of there jokes
Alistair Shand aka Bongo
2024-09-12 11:12:50 +0000 UTCLeno: "You'll really enjoy the chemistry between Branford and me!" Branford: "Shut up, man."
Ian Stratton
2024-09-12 08:20:57 +0000 UTCI attended a performance of The Mikado with one of my friends in the cast, and she told me that most Gilbert & Sullivan productions will drop in references to current events, and the places to do so are basically baked into the original scripts. So people have been groaning at these stabs at relevance for decades. (Trying to find any “Gilbert Sullivan modern references” Google result to back up what my friend told me instead brings up Gilbert O’Sullivan, a man I have only ever heard discussed on this very podcast.)
Mike Mariano
2024-09-12 05:00:34 +0000 UTCHenry said HAL sang Daisy because it was public domain, but I remember reading that it was also a reference to the first song a computer ever "sang" https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daisy_Bell
Daniel Milian
2024-09-12 02:52:58 +0000 UTCTwo great jokes that go unmentioned: 1. Sideshow Bob referring to Maggie as "that little baby Simpson" 2. The whole "If you don't like your neighbors..." scene that ends with the other houseboats sailing away from the dock
James Miller
2024-09-11 20:16:28 +0000 UTCThe last time I watched this episode, we had the brilliant idea to rewind the rake scene and watch it over and over again with all of the different foreign dubs. It took the scene to new heights of "I thought this stopped being funny but then it became funnier than ever"
Andrew Bryson
2024-09-11 19:48:44 +0000 UTC
