George Lucas Is Indirectly Responsible for ‘The Simpsons’
George Lucas has already contributed so much to pop culture, from Star Wars, to Indiana Jones, to the somewhat less successful Radioland Murders Cinematic Universe. And just when you thought that he couldn’t be any more responsible for your childhood, it turns out that Lucas inadvertently led to the creation of another beloved franchise about a father who routinely attacks his son: The Simpsons.
When Simpsons creator Matt Groening was first tapped by producer James L. Brooks to come up with animated segments for The Tracey Ullman Show, he planned on simply adapting his popular Life in Hell comic strip. So what happened?
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When asked this very question during a 1990 interview, Groening replied, “Fox, back in 1977, made Star Wars, and George Lucas asked for the merchandising rights, and they said, ‘Fine, go ahead.’ (Fox) swore they’d never make that mistake again. So I don’t own the Simpsons, but I do own my little Life in Hell characters.”
The real story is slightly more complicated than that. When Lucas negotiated his Star Wars contract with the studio, he passed on an extra $500,000 in exchange for certain concessions, such as allowing him to maintain the rights to any sequels, which wasn’t a big deal for Fox because nobody thought the movie would be a hit.
Lucas also wanted to have the merchandising rights, not because he foresaw a massive toy empire, but because he wanted to sell some posters and T-shirts to promote his goofy movie. Fox agreed, believing that licensing Star Wars wouldn’t be “worth anything.”
Clearly that was a mistake, as evidenced by the staggering amount of Star Wars merchandise that’s been released over the years, ranging from action figures, to toilet paper, to erotic coffee table books. Fox reportedly lost billions by agreeing to Lucas’ terms, hence why the studio began to cling to merchandising rights at all costs. Which probably explains the Xenomorph dolls that were marketed to small children just two years later.
So Fox was going to keep the rights to whatever characters Groening brought to the table in 1987. Supposedly, Groening learned of this condition while sitting in the lobby waiting for his meeting. Not wanting to give up the rights to his Life in Hell characters, just 15 minutes before the pitch, he “hastily” came up with a cartoon family that he “named after his own parents and siblings.”
If it weren’t for George Lucas’ unorthodox negotiations a decade earlier, The Simpsons likely wouldn't exist.
Incidentally, despite the fact that he was instrumental in paving the way for their existence, that didn’t stop The Simpsons from dunking on Lucas in Season 15, in the form of diminutive “Cosmic Wars” director Randall Curtis.
At least Curtis was open to Bart and Lisa’s constructive criticism about his boring prequels.
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