Steven Spielberg (The Simpsons)

### Goals

Shoot his new movie in Springfield by convicing the government to blow it up to make a new Grand Canyon.

### Crimes

Attempted populicide
Abuse of power
Unlawful imprisonment
Public endangerment
Child abuse
Mass kidnapping
Corruption
Conspiracy
Terrorism

### Type of Villain

Manipulative Official

**Steven Spielberg** was the main antagonist of one of the early pitches for the script of *The Simpsons Movie*, the film adaptation of the long-running animated sitcom *The Simpsons*.

He would have been, just like his real-like counterpart, a Hollywood filmmaker who aspired to shoot his next movie in Springfield. However, despite his film calling for a Grand Canyon-like location that Springfield lacks, Spielberg would resort to convince the American government to trap the city under a dome for unspecified reasons so he could blow Springfield up and make a new Grandy Canyon.

He was intended to be voiced by himself.

## Biography

While *The Simpsons* crew gathered for their first brainstorming session to pitch potential plots for the film adaptation of the show in late 2003, one of the early pitches for the film's screenplay by Mike Scully suggested to have none other than the renowned Hollywood filmmaker and so-named "King Midas" of entertainment Steven Spielberg be the film's main antagonist. The writers had in mind asking Spielberg himself to provide his voice in a guest appearance, even though Spielberg has barely voice-acted in his career.

As *The Simpsons* showrunner Al Jean recalls, Scully's idea involved Spielberg wishing to shoot a new movie with Tom Hanks in Springfield, United States of America. However, Spielberg resorts to conspire to have the American government help him in encasing Springfield under a dome so he can blow the city up and create a new Grandy Canyon for his film (suggesting that it may have been a disaster movie), which would have likely put him at odds with the Simpson family, who would have gone all their way to defeat him.

While everyone didn't dislike Scully's idea, it was also during that brainstorming session that *The Simpsons* creator Matt Groening came up with the idea of having Homer Simpson dump his adopted pet's excrement (Plopper the Pig in the finished film) on Lake Springfield after seeing a case of pig-waste management in the TV news. The producers preferred Groening's idea, but still approved Scully's suggestion of having Springfield being threatened by a terrorist. In the end, both ideas were included, but Spielberg would be replaced by Russ Cargill, who underwent through some revisions before staying as the film's villain. In spite of this, Tom Hanks did get to have a cameo in the film as himself, assisting Cargill and the government in promoting the upcoming new Grand Canyon, though without hints on if Hanks is evil or not.

## Trivia

* While it's well-known that Hank Scorpio was considered to fill the role as the main villain of *The Simpsons Movie* before he was replaced in the role by the original Russ Cargill, that Steven Spielberg was first planned to be the film's antagonist wasn't revealed until the film's 10th anniversary in 2017.
* Unknown to many, Steven Spielberg has actually been featured and referenced in *The Simpsons* before and after the movie's release, mostly being mentioned in episodes and his very few physical cameos consisting in background roles. Thus, it's unknown if the design he had in "Million-Dollar Abbie" would have been reused for *The Simpsons Movie* or redesigned had he been kept in the production.