Making movies based on long-running television shows is nothing new. Hollywood has cashed in big-time on the Charlie's Angels, Mission: Impossible and Muppets franchises, for example. With The Simpsons Movie however, 20th Century Fox -- a division of News Corp (NYSE: NWS) -- is attempting something different.

Most TV-to-cinema transitions have offered an expansion of the television content, taking the mundane storylines and effects and dramatically upgrading them, giving new dimension and backstory to the characters, pushing them several orders of magnitude beyond their 23" version. The eyeball kicks and surround sound add a thrilling dimension to even the most mundane flat-screen entertainment.

The Simpsons, however, has no such potential. Early reviews have consistently referenced the television-scope frame that the film continues: same characters, same town, same comedy, just more of it. The infusion of famous names wasn't an option to elevate the show beyond the cromulent, either; the show has lampooned, both through cameos and voice doubles, hundreds of the famous and fatuous, from Michael Jackson to Stephen Hawking. Even entering the third dimension wouldn't have broken new ground for the cast, as they invaded both it and the "real" world in my all-time favorite episode, Homer3, a spoof on the math novel Flatland.

This weekend's opening results, then, will be watched with great interest by both the television and movie industry, to see just how low the bar can be set in transitioning content from TV to cinema. I'm guessing the results will be rather disappointing for 20th Century, as moviegoers will want more for their movie D'oh than two hours of Sunday night Fox entertainment.

In the immortal words of Homer S., "Kids, you tried your best and failed miserably. The lesson is: Never try."

The Simpsons Movie, which has been 18 years in the making, is finally due to hit theaters July 27. The movie is creating quite a frenzy around the country -- with a dozen 7-Elevens in cities from New York to California turning into Kwik-E-Marts. They are also selling Simpsons branded products in all 7-Eleven stores (I bought a box of KrustyO's). The frenzy is even bigger in Springfield, Vermont, which was chosen to host the premier of the movie.

The biggest beneficiary of the movie will be the same company that has benefited from the long, successful run of the show -- News Corporation (NYSE: NWS). After 20 years on the small screen, making News Corp's Fox billions, the big screen version will look to take No. 1 at the box office. It shouldn't have any trouble, as most of this summer's blockbusters have already come and gone, and the other new movies out that week -- I Know Who Killed Me and No Reservations -- don't have anywhere near the hype, universal appeal or the marketing push of the Simpsons.

Other beneficiaries are the aforementioned 7-Eleven, which is owned by Seven-Eleven Japan Co, the privately-owned toy company McFarlane toys, which is making The Simpsons Movie toys, and Electronic Arts Inc (NADSAQ: ERTS), which is releasing a new Simpsons video game to coincide with the release of The Simpsons Movie on DVD.

For a look behind the scenes at the history of the longest running comedy on television, check out this article from Vanity Fair.

In a bizarre case of life imitating Bart (sorry, couldn't help it), 7-Eleven has transformed a dozen stores into Kwik-E-Marts, even offering Simpsons-exclusive products like Buzz Cola, KrustyO's cereal and Squishees. The transformation comes as part of the promotional lead-up to the July 27 opening of The Simpsons Movie, the first feature-length version of the popular cartoon.

According to the Associated Press, "For 20th Century Fox Film Corp. and Homer's creators at Gracie Films, the stunt is a cheap way to call attention to their movie, since 7-Eleven is bearing all the costs, which executives of the retail chain put at somewhere in the single millions."

Wow. So far this Kwik-E-Mart stunt has gotten coverage in nearly every media outlet, including CNBC. And none of it has cost Fox a dime! The move comes several years after industry executives turned down an offer to transform select locations of the struggling restaurant chain Applebee's (NASDAQ: APPB) into Hannibal's to coincide with the release of a sequel to Silence of the Lambs.

Last year I previewed the big-budget summer movies, giving you a look at ten interesting films that were on the docket for the summer of 2006. This year I'm back with an even longer list (bloated like these films' budgets) of 15 movies you may want to escape to -- or possibly run screaming from.

Of these fifteen movies, Spiderman 3 and ten others are sequels, which in itself indicates something about the state of the industry (And I didn't even include Rush Hour 3 in this list, because, honestly, who wants to see that?). Two of the remaining four movies, Transformers and The Simpsons, are based on animated television shows, leaving only two original ideas in the whole lot -- Knocked Up and Ratatouille. Please, don't shoot the messenger.

Anyway, here is the list, chronologically, of the movies that Hollywood's brain-trust believes you will shell out your cash to see in the air-conditioned darkness of your local movie-house, along with my opinion of how they'll fare. The first on the list, Spider-Man 3, is already out in Asia, but will not be released here until May. All release dates below are for the U.S.

5/04 - Spider-Man 3, Sony Corp's (NYSE: SNE) Sony Pictures
Being the first blockbuster of the summer almost guarantees a successful open, and the popularity of the franchise seals that guarantee. One problem, however, is that "success" measured by any normal means won't be enough, as this movie had an estimated budget of $258M.

5/11 - 28 Weeks Later, News Corp's (NYSE: NWS) 20th Century Fox
The highlight of the horror/zombie genre for the summer, this follows the surprise success of Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later, which reinvented the zombie film with faster zombies and smarter characters.

5/18 - Shrek the Third, Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) Paramount Pictures
One of the only cartoon franchises that has held its own against Pixar (Ice Age being the other), the draw of this fairytale romp is that while kids love the story, there are enough winks at the adult audience to make parents happy to take them.

5/25 - Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS)
Money in the bank for Disney, and since it was shot simultaneous with the second Pirates installment, it wasn't even as expensive to make as this summer's other budget hog, Spider-Man 3.

In this week's episode of the Bloggingstockcast we cover Photobucket and News Corporation's (NYSE: NWS) MySpace's new truce, Suze Orman's Caribbean cruise of debt, Buyyourfriendadrink.com, the General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) NBC's Universal Studios collaboration to make the Simpson rollercoaster, and celebrate our one year anniversary of blogging.



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Universal Studios, a unit of General Electic (NYSE: GE) owned NBC, in collaboration with The Simpsons creator Matt Groening, has announced the creation of a virtual amusement ride experience based on The Simpsons, the popular television show.

Using an amusement park ride concept envisioned by The Simpsons, Krusty the Clown, theme park enthusiasts shall be dazzled with a full field of view, visual presentation which simulates the stimulation of a true motion experience. As riders view the surrounding scene in real time, their seats shall provide the appropriate shake rattle and roll affects and give the impression that riders are actually in the company of television's most beloved modern cartoon family while on an amusement ride. In reaction to the announcement, Bart Simpson was heard to say simply, "Kawabunga dude!"