9-30-98

Contacts:
Pat Miller, ISU Lectures, (515) 294-9935
Tracy Griffin, News Service, (515) 294-4777

PRIME-TIME CARTOON CREATORS AT ISU VIA SATELLITE

AMES, Iowa -- The creators of the popular television cartoons "The Simpsons," "King of the Hill" and "South Park" will appear live, via satellite, in the Maintenance Shop of Iowa State University's Memorial Union, at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 8.

"Prime-Time Animation: A Conversation with the Creators of The Simpsons, King of the Hill and South Park" will be a panel discussion on the satire of these prime-time cartoons on contemporary society. The panelists will be Matt Groening ("The Simpsons"), Mike Judge ("King of the Hill"), and Trey Parker and Matt Stone ("South Park").

Groening started "The Simpsons" on a napkin. The cartoon, now in its 10th season, spurred a boom in animation that has continued into the 1990s.

"King of the Hill" creator Judge also created "Beavis and Butthead," which became MTV's highest-rated program. Judge later teamed up with Greg Daniels, ex-Simpsons producer, to create "King of the Hill," a parody of small town Texas.

Parker and Stone started their satirical cartoon, "South Park," as a privately commissioned project crafted from construction paper. The cartoon has been opposed by supporters of violence-free programming, but embraced by the under-30 audience.

After the 90-minute seminar, students will be given the chance to speak directly with the panelists via telephone.

The "Prime-Time Animation" seminar will be presented by the Museum of Television & Radio's University Satellite Seminar Series. The seminar series feature writers, directors, producers and actors from contemporary and historic television as well as the policy-- makers who influence the discussed issues.

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