Al Jean was interviewed by the blog /Film regarding the past, the current and future seasons of the show, and some trivia questions.

After giving their condolences about about Russi Taylor, the interviewer asked Al if Martin will disappear to the show, until what point she recorded his voice, to which Al answered: “I’m really sad that Russi passed and it’s my belief that she would want the character to continue. She was wonderful to work with and is greatly, greatly missed. There wasn’t any Martin centered show in the new season. I can’t be exactly sure.” Being asked if they considered a recast, Al answered “I don’t want to get into anything thus far.”

Al was asked regarding the season 19 DVD and if it was through Disney’s interest, and if there’s any interest on season 21, to which he answered: “The person I really want to thank the most is Denise Sirkot at Gracie Films who appreciated how people hated that gap between 18 and 20 in their collections. We finally filled it so I’m very excited. Let’s just be happy we’ve got 19. We’re still recording commentaries. We’re going to record commentary for season 24 coming up and it’s all on Disney+ starting in November so I can’t repeat that enough.”

Next question Al was asked if the idea for the Thanos couch gag come from joining Disney, and Al answered: “No, just because Thanos is such a huge, popular presence, we thought it would be funny. It was not promoting Disney nor anti. It was just Thanos.”

Being asked if he envisioned the gag of Homer backing into the bushes gif going viral and he answered “I should credit Caesar Mazariegos who’s the writer of that joke. I should credit him and say I was just surprised it was as big as it was. I guess the snake swallowing its tail really impresses people.”

Regarding when Al aknowledged the show in the real world, Al said “Oh, long ago the instant a T-shirt with Homer on it and Marge says, “A Simpson on a T-Shirt, I never thought I’d see the day.” That was about as soon as we realized we were a hit.”

Next, Mr. Teeny and if he’s an independant contractor: “Yes. So that’s very important in terms of his W-2s and his tax filings.”

Being asked where Señor Spielbergo was when Krusty made a movie in Mexico: “Well, it was Mexico in the ‘80s. He might not have started his career yet.”

Al was asked next about Homer mentioning “a tour of rocking chairs” and what they were referencing: “There’s a giant chair somewhere in America. I believe Lyndon Johnson was photographed sitting on it. So I think that was the inspiration for the chair joke.”

When asked if Jacques is faking his French accent and if it’s canon, Al denies: “No. Not everything is canon but I won’t say what is.”

Speaking of Bruce Willis, the interviewer said that there was a Bruce Willis joke in season 30, “We hope to have one every season”, and if Al ever met him, “No, never met him.”

Regarding Adi Shankar and the Apu controversy, Al is asked if he was worried about a leak: “No. He never said who it was from so as far as I can see, it wasn’t correct.”

About the phrase Marge says in “No Good Read Goes Unpunished”, “Some things will be addressed at a later time.” he was asked if they’d address it further up but Al just said: “I think her statement is correct.”

Regarding the female reboot of Itchy and Scratchy and its possible connection to the 2016 Ghostbuster movie, Al said “A little bit. There’s a lot of movies coming out where the gender flip is the premise.”

About satirizing the Comic-Con panels, Al confirmed it’s always fun.

When asked about including the live-action To Kill a Mockingbird, Al said “We once used live-action footage from It’s a Wonderful Life and we had the live-action original footage in Homer3 in the third dimension. It was the most extensive. We actually had to license it and get permission from both the estate of Gregory Peck and the girl that played Scout. It’s such a wonderful movie, I just wanted to put it in.”

Regarding Ralph, he was asked if it’s easy to do Ralph gags, “No, it’s very hard. Very, very hard to write a new Ralph line.”, and about him doing show recaps, “Yes, the recapping was a great episode and I’d say it got a little personal.”, and why they have not done a Wreck-It Ralph Wiggum yet, “That’s funny. Wreck-It Ralph, it seems like a movie like that is a funny animated movie so it’s hard to parody a comedy.”

In a confirmation about The Simpsons Guy, he was asked if it was Seth MacFarlane to voice Stewie in the episode: “No. I think that was Chris Edgerly imitating him.”

When asked about the future plans for seasons 31 and 32, Al answered: “31 we have episode 666 which is “Treehouse of Horrors.” We also have a scary Thanksgiving show. We have a show where Artie Ziff gets married.”, and if there’ll be a a permanent marriage for Artie: “You’ll have to watch. Nothing is permanent.”

Speaking of Treehouse of Horror XXX, Al was asked if it was intentionally done to be the 666th episode: “Nope. It’s just like we intended it from the beginning.” and what they’re spoofing in the episode: “We have a Stranger Things parody and the opening is a little bit of an Omen parody, reflecting on the fact that it’s episode 666.”

Being reminded about Odder Stuff, the Stranger Things parody they did in season 30, Al answered: “Yeah, this is somewhat different. Stranger Things is such a big thing. It’s The Simpsons kids like Bart and Milhouse as the Stranger Things boys.”

Last question was regarding working with Disney and if it was any different: “No, they just said, “Do what you do” and we’ve been doing it. It’s been full speed ahead.”

Source: /Films