Congrats to Vermont for Winning The Simpsons Movie Premiere
Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 8:43 pm
Congrats to Vermont for Winning The Simpsons Movie Premiere
Looks like Missouri lost, but we should have won it!A hearty congratulations to the small town of 9,078 residents that rallied 67% more votes than they have people. The city now being dubbed the home of the Simpsons according to USA Today will receive the Hometown Premiere of The Simpsons Movie on July 27.
Missouri’s Springfield, one of the 13 other cities competing for the premiere, never wanted the moniker of the fictional family’s place of origin. Although our Springfield was in it to win the premiere, Missouri sought a different form of fame. The public relations campaign that accompanied the seven-day Internet viewing of the city’s video entry resulted in media inquiries from the Boston Globe, a Portland, Oregon radio show, a St. Louis television morning show, French syndicated newspaper, BBC radio, Australian newspapers, Associated Press, and Costa Rican radio, among others.
The Springfield, Missouri, Convention & Visitors Bureau regularly generates nationwide and occasional international media coverage, but the competition opened the door for an unprecedented 30 days of worldwide attention for the nation’s second-largest Springfield. Amidst the Simpsons discussions, our interviews focused on Springfield’s many positive attributes ranging from rugby for the British audience to Route 66, Bass Pro and Brad Pitt. Listeners, viewers and readers were prompted to visit springfieldmo.org to learn more about the city as a tourist destination.
A special thanks is extended to all who made the production of the video entry possible:
- Jeff Clinkenbeard and Kyaw Tha Hla, Hlabeard Productions
- The 15 amateur film crews
- KSFX animation and editing geniuses
- Krispy Kreme
- The stars of the video Annie Busch, Springfield Greene County Library, and Ron Spigelman, Springfield Symphony Orchestra
- And, the nearly 9,000 extras at the Springfield Cardinals game and at the downtown commotion scene
The video was produced in classic Springfield, Missouri, fashion with vast community collaboration, and for that everyone involved is most proud.
20th Century Fox is providing an advanced screening in Missouri’s Springfield. Details are yet to be announced