Al Jean, scary hours and 'The Simpsons'

Who’s the hardest-working man in show business?  It might be Al Jean.  If you watch an episode of “The Simpsons,” Jean’s name is the first that pops up in the credits at the end.  Cartoonist Matt Groening created the family from a blank piece of paper and producer James L. Brooks shaped much of the spirit and tone once they hit the screen, but Jean is the day-to-day engine that keeps the franchise going.

On Sunday, I saw “The Simpsons Movie” for the second time, and I couldn’t help but smile when I saw Jean’s name flash on the screen.  As a writer and producer for the film and the show-runner for the series, Jean had a year of seven-day workweeks and days at the office that stretched well into the night.  I got to talk at length with Jean (as well as with Brooks, Groening and fellow “Simpsons” stalwart Richard Sakai) for a Calendar Weekend cover story that ran on the eve of the film’s release, and he looked weary but plainly excited about the movie.  “I am really looking forward to the response; I want to see what the public and the critics say. I know we are very happy with the movie.”  (Sakai, an especially wry character, had a different response when I asked him his thoughts on the movie: "It just won't die.  I keep thinking we're done.  But it just ... won't ... die."

I haven’t talked to Jean since the movie opened July 27 to stellar reviews and a robust $74 million at the box office (it's total has reached $128 million in the U.S. as I write this, $236 million worldwide), but I hope he’s enjoying the success -- and some time off.

“The hours and the schedule are difficult, absolutely, but that’s what it takes to do a film and TV show at the same time,” he said during the interview.  I pointed to his wedding ring and asked, “How’s that going?”  He laughed.  “My wife is very understanding.  Very, very understanding.  Can you put that in the story?  Please?  And can you put in that I love her very much?”  That didn’t make it in the story, Al. Sorry.  But I'm hoping this blog item counts for something.

Jean's name popped up in The Times on Monday in a fun story by my colleague Jerry Crowe on all the sports stars who have passed through Springfield, while Lorenza Munoz (who was my partner covering the crime beat in Orange County a decade ago) wrote up an insightful piece on the global resonance of “The Simpsons” for our business section.

-- Geoff Boucher