Opinion (Lauren MacLaren): This month, the cast and crew of The Simpsons confirmed rumours of a movie deal after years of speculation that such a film was already in the works. After what seemed like eons to diehard fans, the inevitable has happened, and The Simpsons will take Hollywood. In other words, the show's producers have given the final push to a show that has been teetering on the edge of mediocrity for over five seasons. Despite anyone's opinions on the show's current quality, the fact of the matter is The Simpsons ceased to exist as a mere "television show" years ago. After hundreds of books and articles, several certified university courses and a legion of fans all analyzing the show’s social significance, The Simpsons is less a cartoon and more a cultural phenomenon. Many believe the movie will mark the end of the series, and though the show isn't now what it once was, I can't think of a less fitting send off.

The Simpsons Season 17 could go to air before November this year. The Futon Critic website has The Simpsons Season 17 premiere scheduled for the tentative date of Sunday September 18th at 8:00pm. If these details are correct, it will be the eighth time the show has premiered in September, and the first time it has premiered before November since Season 11. However with Fox screening the Baseball playoffs throughout October, the season return would be shortlived, with the possibility of only one or two new episodes in September and Treehouse Of Horror airing in it's (now) usual post Halloween date. In Season 10, Fox aired a stray episode in August away from the rest of the season and a similar situation could be seen this year. With Season 15 being cut one episode short due to a postponement, the original Season Finale "The Girl Who Slept Too Little" could act as a bumper episode. At the moment it's all speculation but as soon as any concrete information comes through we'll let you know. Speculate here.

Is your boss a psychopath? That's the question Fast Company magazine is posing in its July 2005 edition, which features Springfield Nuclear Power Plant owner Charles Montgomery Burns on its cover. The issue has just hit the news stands this week and the magazine's official website has a preview of the issue's contents. While Mr. Burns fronts the magazine, the content on the inside is merely a quiz for identifying if your boss is a psychopath, how to cope if he is, and a rundown of all-time bosses from hell in which Burns is featured. The magazine is out now.

Golf Digest has interviewed professional golfer and golf course architect Peter Jacobsen, in which a question was asked about a piece of his past which he shared with Simpsons creator Matt Groening.

Jacobsen was asked "Growing up in Portland, one of your classmates was Matt Groening, the creator of "The Simpsons." What do you remember about him?" to which Jacobsen replied "We went through school together, first grade through 12th. Matt's nickname was Matt the Brat, which morphed into Bart. His father's name was Homer, and his mother is Margaret, and that became Marge. He would draw pictures of Bart on the back of his homework, and I would draw golf course layouts on mine. When we see each other, we laugh at how we turned out." We know, it's an exciting news week. Here's some more.

The Promotions Factory in Australia have this week begun their Greetings From Springfield promotion, which sees limited edition Simpsons figurines, DVDs, and environmentally friendly shopping bags rolled out to over 700 Coles, Bi-Lo, and Target stores Australia-wide. The promotion is one of the largest of its kind, with 28 figurines to collect at $2.00 each, ten specialty DVDs valued at $10.00 each, and three printed shopping bags replacing the traditional 'Go Green' bags at the participating supermarkets. The DVDs are those in the Simpsons Classics range which includes Bart Wars, Too Hot For TV, and TheSimpsons.com to name a few. Not all titles wille be available at all stores and stocks are limited. Further information can be found at The Promotions Factory's official website.

Welcome to a new-look Simpsons Channel. You'll notice the changes we've made today aren't too major, which I've done because we're all still fond of the previous design. The main reason for the changes are to fix the space issues we had with the site's previous form. You'll notice we've expanded the width of the site and those still using a resolution of 800*600 or less will now see a horizontal scrollbar. This gives us more room for longer headlines, and stories which are easier to read and more in-depth. The sideways navigation is no more, which is another change I've been wanting to make for a while. Otherwise the site's exactly how you remember it from its previous design which had been online since December 2003. And now we're more committed to bringing you the latest Simpsons news as it arrives. Enjoy!

Homer Simpson might be the all-American suburban anti-hero but the Brits have no problem identifying with the beer-swilling couch potato from the nuclear power plant town of Springfield. A recent list of favourite animations by Channel 4 showed American humour rates highly with the Brits, as it does in New Zealand. And a top-five selection of history's greatest cartoons by the Independent newspaper confirms the Americans are on top when it comes to animated hi jinks and mockery. In first place was The Simpsons, A dozen series ago, during the 1992 presidential election, George Bush senior awarded the animated couch-potatoes from Springfield the ultimate subversive accolade. The ideal American family, he said, should be a little "more like the Waltons and less like the Simpsons". For an out-of-touch Bush, it was a case of "Good night, John Boy", and he lost the election.

Ricky Gervais has been exclusively telling Radio 1 about his experiences writing and recording an episode of 'The Simpsons'. He spent a week out in LA doing the recording. He said it was a dream come true for him and he even told us he may be going back: "Amazing, it was like I'd won a competition. In a room with Homer and Marge - it was fantastic. I was intimidated thinking 'These people are so talented and versatile and I'm gonna come up with a squeaky little English voice. After we finished they said, 'Do you wanna come back?'. Maybe they say that but then they lock the door and go 'Right, change the phone number'. Maybe they didn't mean it. Maybe they were just humouring me. Maybe they say that to everyone." Radio 1 can also reveal the episode will be called 'Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife' and the character Ricky has voiced is called Charles.

US President George W Bush has snubbed producers of The Simpsons by refusing to appear in an episode of the show. Creator Matt Groening was hopeful after convincing British Prime Minister Tony Blair to make a cameo appearance - but was not surprised when the president said no. Groening says, "We've now asked every living president and they've all said no. In fact they all said, 'Hell no.'" But the cartoon mastermind is still planning some special guest appearances: "Maybe we should ask Prince William and Prince Harry."

Fox has just sent the press the box art for The Simpsons: Season 6, and rather than going for a different color this time, the entire box design has changed. The DVDs for this season will come packaged inside Homer's head, but don't worry, we've been assured it'll fit on your bookself. There are plans to release seasons 7-10 in the heads of the other family members, though we don't know what order they will be in and we're a little worried about the size of a Marge head. The set will be available in the US on August 16th, retailing for $49.98, and other countries are sure to follow before the year's end. Enjoy the artwork!

Richard Dean Anderson reports that he has completed filming a guest appearance on his favorite show, The Simpsons, and says his career is now complete! The comments posted on rdanderson.com come straight from the man himself, who tells the website "Just enough strength to break the news of a completed career (mine) with the already completed episode of The Simpsons. You are the first one I told. More later. D'oh!!!!!" The guest spot has probably come a decade too late, with Patty and Selma's obsession with MacGyver somewhat no longer existing, but I'm sure they'll have at least something to do with his guest appearance. With his recording finished, the episode should be expected to air some time during the next season which starts in November. Keep an eye on the website for further details.

Simpsons Comics #107 ships to comic book retailers this Wednesday. In this month's edition, Homer wins Gil’s law license in a bar bet, and soon becomes Springfield’s newest and hottest lawyer, winning cases with showstopping pyrotechnics. But when Bart is accused of setting Springfield Elementary on fire, Homer’s career may crash and burn. In related news, Futurama Comics #20 was released last week, in which Bender, feeling under-appreciated, goes off on a mind-bending, space continuum-shattering odyssey that will take him across the galaxy and through the offices of Bongo Comics in a mad chase. Get your copy today.

Academy Award winning actress Anne Bancroft has died at the age of 73. A spokesman for Bancroft's husband, Mel Brooks, said that Bancroft passed away Monday night at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. Ms. Bancroft had been suffering from uterine cancer. Bancroft won her Oscar for portraying Anne Sullivan, the teacher of young Helen Keller in the film 'The Miracle Worker' in 1962. She also won a Tony Award for portraying Sullivan on the Broadway stage in the play of the same name. Despite her appearance in so many diverse roles over the course of her career, Bancroft remained best remembered for her role as Mrs. Robinson in the landmark film 'The Graduate' starring Dustin Hoffman. Simpsons viewers will remember her has Dr. Zweig in the 1994 episode 'Fear Of Flying'. She was Marge Simpson's psychiatrist.

When Latin American audiences tune in to the new season of The Simpsons in July, they might notice something oddly different about the voices of Homero or Senor Burns. That's because a labor dispute has prompted a dubbing studio to replace the program's famed Spanish-language cast members as it heads into its 16th season. "Los Simpson" has been a huge success throughout Latin America. The big question now is how viewers will react to an entirely new cast of voice actors. "I'm deeply disappointed because we did such quality work and now they're using other people," said Humberto Velez, who had been doing the voice of Homero Simpson for 15 years. "Every one of us has given personality to the characters and that's because we loved what we were doing."

BBC's Radio 1 spoke with Nancy Cartwright, the voice of Bart Simpson in The Simpsons, who says a feature film adaptation of the popular Fox animated comedy series is moving forward. "You know what? We've just done the table read for the 'Simpsons' movie so although we've been promoting that we're going to do it, now we're actually doing it and are in production," said Cartwright, who is in London for her one-woman show "My Life as a Ten Year Old Boy". She said it will likely take at least two years to make. Read More >>>

Sitting before a group of 5-year-olds last week, Chicago Gov. Rod Blagojevich was hit with an unanticipated question. "Do you watch `The Simpsons'?" a child asked as the TV cameras rolled. The question seemed to come out of nowhere, because the governor was there to promote early childhood education and read the children the book "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie." In order to ingratiate himself with the 20 or so youngsters sitting cross-legged on a mat at the St. Vincent De Paul Center on the North Side, Blagojevich had asked them if they watched a few kid-friendly television shows. Most had, but this child wanted to know how the governor felt about America's first television family, Bart, Lisa, Maggie, Marge and, of course, Homer. Although it's a cartoon, "The Simpsons" is the longest-running sitcom in history. "I don't watch it," he said. "Because there's too much adult content."

"For many Christians, The Simpsons is at best a guilty pleasure. It is on many families' lists of television shows children are absolutely not allowed to watch. They consider the show a travesty and a mockery, displaying nothing but bad role models and irreverent attitude. Now in its 15th year as a television series and having passed its landmark 350th episode, the show inspires both rabid fans and rabid detractors. And both sides have a point." Read More >>>