Related people

• Albert Brooks
• Minnie Driver

'The Simpsons' set for cinematic debut

A teaser trailer states that the eagerly anticipated animated feature will hit screens next summer.

Apr  3 2006

Great news for fans of 'The Simpsons' (isn't that everyone?) – the hugely successful TV show will be making its big screen debut on July 27, 2007.

Twentieth Century Fox announced the news by placing a teaser trailer with prints of 'Ice Age 2: The Meltdown' over the weekend.

'The trailer is running on 7,000 screens' executive producer James L Brooks explained, 'Committing us to opening every place in the world on the same date. Which means we'd better get started.'

And over at Variety, they've got a full update on the project, explaining that the film is in the storyboarding stage following two years of script drafts and covert cast readings.

The show's vocal talent have all signed up for the flick, while Albert Brooks, Minnie Driver and the real Erin Brokovich have also been approached about roles.

'The movie has been so daunting, and the contract between us has always been to wait until we all felt the script was right,' explained Brooks. 'We tell a feature-length movie story with each episode, but we feel now we have a story and script worthy of a movie. And there was so much secrecy that it's actually a relief to be able to speak about it now.'

To check out 'The Simpsons' trailer, head here.