Countless celebrities have landed guest spots on "The Simpsons," allowing the capable hands of the long-running show's creative team to design, draw and animate them as yellow-skinned cartoon characters. In March, a group of street artists will appear on the series. more ›

Hollywood is going to give "The Simpsons" creator Matt Groening the ultimate forever Valentine and an early birthday gift tomorrow as he's honored with the 2,459th star on the Walk of Fame. more ›

"2011: The Adult Industry in Photos" is a candid look back at the past twelve months at a business that is headquartered in the San Fernando Valley. more ›

This is the third consecutive year we've reflected upon the past twelve months in the adult industry, headquartered in the San Fernando Valley, and again the statistics speak for themselves -- we traveled thousands of miles for a whopping 26 set visits, four award shows, two conventions, two collegiate visits, a recording studio visit, a movie premiere, and one benefit. more ›

Beloved California public broadcasting icon Huell Howser played--and spoofed--himself on last night's The Simpsons. The easily awed Midwestern transplant is seen on a TV show about the making of candy, which at first delights, then disgusts Homer and Lisa. While we can't say that no one outside of California knows who Howser is, it's likely the cameo will only tickle locals who have seen Howser marvel over all manner of landmark, machine, or quirky Californian on his various PBS shows. Of course, if you want to see Huell Howser in a whole other light, there is of course this video... more ›

LA has a diverse cast of characters. Whether it's the characters with stirring stories or interesting occupations or the people who are just simply characters, this town has them all. In an effort to get to know some of those characters a little better, we've created "Seven Questions with..." more ›

The Simpson's Ride at Universal Studios takes up a large section of the park, almost making it Simpsons-land. The exterior section is carnival-barker-themed, and as Sideshow Bob warns, "Silly Simpsons. Don't you know every ride has to end by the gift shop?" The Kwik E Mart gift shop sadly does not sell Squishees (or those hideous pink donuts) but it is fun to browse around in anyways. more ›

There are so many events going on tonight, it must be Thursday – the unofficial start of the weekend. more ›

Today is the long-awaited official opening of the Simpsons ride at Universal Studios! (See lots of photos of the ride here) more ›

Universal Studios has just unveiled Krustyland, a magical theme park within a theme park. Monday will be the official opening of The Simpsons Ride, the area's main attraction. The Simpsons Ride is a virtual adventure much like the Back to the Future ride that previously occupied the location. Dome screens, measuring an expansive 80-ft in diameter, and a groundbreaking digital projection system bring the viewer right into the ride. The vehicles elevate nine feet on a scissor-lift motion based platform. more ›

There are two movies that are being scandalously left off the year-end best lists. The first, is pure, guilty goodness. more ›

What's better than spending your Friday night among free donuts and over 85 pieces of art from The Simpsons? Yeah, that's right, nothing. Starting at 6 p.m. tomorrow night, Every Picture Tells A Story on Montana Ave. will have an art opening showing off and selling 40 original production drawings from The Simpons Movie, over 25 original production cells from TV show and limited edition prints and treatments from film. Many of the prints are... more ›

MUSIC: Machine Project is back with an evening of experimental folk music mix. The evening features the sounds of Ryan Fuller, Julie Carpenter, Laura Steenberge, Ruthann Friedman, rickyricky, Pilar Diaz, Pawko and Marshweed. more ›

1. The Obvious- My parents and sister are the most important people in the world to me. They support me in every boneheaded endeavor I partake in, and believe me, there are tons. It's astonishing how many, actually. 2. My friends. Once again, totally obvious. Once again, they're totally awesome. Much love to Porter House, SLC, Shalhevet, AU, and everyone who fits into all, some, or none of those categories. World rockers, each and every... more ›

Exceeding even the most optimistic of expectations, continued to hang on with 6.6 million and a new cume of 165.1M. more ›

Even though finished third, totalling 11.1 million and now sitting at an unexpectedly robust 152.2 million. more ›

Before catching The Simpsons this past weekend, this LAist poster had to sit through -- not just one -- but four lame ass trailers. Usually, you get a 50-50 chance of seeing at least one good trailer...because, now call us crazy, but isn't the purpose of a movie trailer to entice people to actually go see the film? At the very least, aren't we supposed to say, "Yeah, the trailer's the best part of that movie..." more ›

In the last year, HBO has lost four of my favorite shows for various reasons--The Sopranos, Extras, Deadwood and Rome. Do you hear that sound, HBO? That sound is Showtime creeping up on you. At least the second season of Rome is now available on DVD. If you like gratuitous sex mixed with your gratuitious violence (and who doesn't?), then Rome is the show for you. more ›

In what the Wall Street crowd might call a flight to quality, North American audiences made nose-dived 65% after an auspicious opening, adding 25.6 million to run its total to 128.5 million. more ›

For what seems like the first time in years, The Simpsons actually exceeded expectations. The first movie of America's first animated family took in a whopp(er)ing 71.8 million dollars at the box office this weekend, demolishing even the most optimistic of estimates. Credit Fox's clever marketing campaign and the opportunity to finally see Bart's shrimpy doodle. I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry finished a distant second, making 19 million bucks to raise its total to a dismally robust 71.6 million after two weeks. Why, America? Why? more ›

Photo by ellwoodite via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr more ›

Of course Supervisor Yvonne Braithwaite-Burke lives in her district. Or maybe not. (Los Angeles Times) more ›

I don’t believe in spoilers, I just believe in me. And Homer. While The Simpsons have never faded from public view, the last few years have seen their franchise popularity wane ever so slightly; their eighteen year marathon hitting something of a plateau. So when I first heard murmurs of a feature film, my worst fears surfaced -- What if no one cares about The Simpsons anymore? What if the entire campaign gets ignored... more ›

OUT TODAY: Tegan and Sara - The Con (Sire) Juliette and the Licks - Four on the Floor (Hassle) UNKLE - War Stories (Surrender All) Mexican Institute Of Sound - Pinata (Nacional Records) Robbers on High Street - Grand Animals (New Line) Manu Chao - Rainin In Paradize [EP] (Nacional Records) Prince - Planet Earth (NPG) VHS or Beta - Bring On The Comets [Single] (Astralwerks) Hanson - The Walk (Cooking Vinyl) Manic Street... more ›

The Simpsons Movie global-dominance-marketing-crusade marks another notch in the bedpost of ruffled feathers. Who knew that Pagans had no sense of humor? I would have guessed the symbol superstars to be down with the whole why don’t we "Do It In The Donut” message of pastry love. This promotional, biodegradable, painting was unleashed on a hillside near the very old and very naked fertility carving in Southern England. Doh! Eight days and counting... AP... more ›

Although South Park is shocking and The Family Guy delivers more jokes per minute than ever thought possible, neither show would be around without The Simpsons, the longest-running animated television series of all time. Part of the show's universal charm and unparalleled stamina is its rich tapestry of lovable characters -- many of whom are criminals and deeply flawed. Somehow LAist got our hands on two movie passes (each pass admits two people), and... more ›

For a tv show thats been around forever, and no longer relevant (some say) thanks to the likes of Adult Swim and The Family Guy, The Simpsons still got it, as evident from the raging success of the various 7/11s that were transformed into Kwik-E-Marts. According to this Fox 11 report people were buying up as much Buzz cola, Krusty-O's, and Squishees as possible. And we also hear that Kwik-E-Mart uniforms are being sold... more ›

Kwik-E-Marts popped up all around the US yesterday and if you missed it, LAist contributer Elise got a bunch of pics at 4am in Burbank and then went again in the daytime. more ›

The 7-11 at the intersection of Olive and Verdugo in Burbank has temporarily been converted into a Kwik-E-Mart. It was re-done late Saturday night and will remain a Kwik-E-Mart for the next month to promote the upcoming Simpsons movie. more ›

Dear London. Why hast thou forsaken us? We realize that you hate us for our freedoms and for our superior dental hygiene. But why would you take the innocence and intellect of Lisa Simpson and do that for her just so that you could sell a few more million 2012 Olympic t-shirts? We could have sworn that they have The Simpsons across the pond, was there nobody in the room who snickered when this... more ›