Macfarlane adds his voice to ‘The Simpsons’ gig
Cannon gets first-look production deal with NBC
LOS ANGELES, Dec 2, (RTRS): Seth MacFarlane may already have three hit animated television shows, one hit raunchy comedy movie and the coveted Oscars hosting job for next year, but the comedian is adding another notch on his resume: guest voicing on “The Simpsons.”
“Family Guy” creator MacFarlane will appear in the season premiere of the 25th season of “The Simpsons” in 2013, Fox Television, home to both shows, said on Friday.
MacFarlane will play a married man who pursues matriarch Marge Simpson after the two meet on a website and form a bond over their love of a “Downton Abbey-esque” show called “Upton Rectory,” show producer Al Jean told Entertainment Weekly.
The episode, entitled “Dangers on a Train,” will air in fall 2013.
MacFarlane’s guest spot is a crossover for the actor, writer and director, who was inspired by “The Simpsons” when creating “Family Guy,” an animated comedy following the dysfunctional Griffin family headed by dim-witted patriarch Peter, who bears similarities to Homer Simpson.
Both shows air on Fox, and the news comes after MacFarlane featured Dan Castellaneta, the voice of Homer Simpson, in a recent “Family Guy” episode.
MacFarlane, 39, also created and voices characters for animated comedies “American Dad” and “The Cleveland Show,” and he had a boxoffice hit with R-rated comedy “Ted” this past summer.
He will be hosting the Oscars in February.
“The Simpsons” first aired in 1989 and is now the longest-running U.S. sitcom in history and is broadcast in more than 100 countries.
The show has seen a diverse range of guest stars across all spectrums of pop culture including Bill Clinton, Buzz Aldrin, Tony Blair, Julian Assange and Lady Gaga.
“Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlane wants to bring his beloved and controversial Fox show to the big screen, telling students at UCLA last week that a theatrical version of the show will definitely happen.
“It’s just a matter of when,” MacFarlane said, according to Entertainment Weekly. “It’s hard to do that while you have the series going on at the same time; I think that’s why it took ‘The Simpsons’ 20 seasons to figure out how to do it.”
“Family Guy,” which is in its 11th season, has made MacFarlane one of the most successful writers in television. A writer, director, voice actor and animator - not to mention singer-ofstandards and this year’s Oscar host - MacFarlane created that show, as well Fox shows “American Dad” and “The Cleveland Show.”
He also had been working on a reboot of “The Flintstones,” but that appears to be shelved for now.
MacFarlane then transformed into one of the film industry’s hottest commodities this summer thanks to the breakout success of “Ted,” the Universal comedy that has set a new box-office record for an original, Rrated comedy.
While Universal has every intent of making another “Ted,” MacFarlane said he also has developed the ideas for a “Family Guy” film.
“We do know what the ‘Family Guy’ movie will be,” he told the students. Drawing another comparison to “The Simpsons Movie,” he said his one criticism of the cinematic version of that iconic show was that the plot would have worked on TV.
He claimed his “Family Guy” idea “would be impossible to do on TV.”
The Hollywood Reporter wrote last year that there is a deal in place for a ‘Family Guy” movie, but MacFarlane’s representatives did not respond to a request for more information about the rights to the movie or MacFarlane’s plans.
While MacFarlane still spends a good deal of his time working on television projects, the prospect of a “Family Guy” movie raises two questions: Does he have to make “Ted” first? Does Fox have the rights to the movie?
Neither Universal nor Fox have returned requests for comment.
Nick Cannon, host of NBC’s “America Got Talent,” has signed a first-look production deal with the network.
Cannon and his manager Michael Goldman, the principals in NCredible Entertainment, will develop both unscripted and scripted programming for the network.
“We are gratified to know that this new agreement will expand our successful working relationship with Nick beyond ‘America’s Got Talent’ and allow him to further draw on his notable creative instincts,” said NBC president of alternative and late night programming Paul Telegdy. “Nick already has produced content for many entertainment genres and formats, and we look forward with great anticipation to his cutting-edge ideas in the months to come.”
Cannon will return as host on “America’s Got Talent” next summer. The 32-year-old is also a film star, comedian, musician, writer and director. His wife, Mariah Carey, is a judge on the upcoming season of Fox’s “American Idol.”