What more can be said about Jaws (1975)? For the 50th anniversary of the original summer blockbuster, we invited filmmaker and podcaster Devan Scott to help us unpack how it quietly became one of the most referenced movies in the classic years of The Simpsons.

Also in this episode:

• The many parodies of Quint and his iconic introduction, including our Simpsons double feature, “The Joy of Sect” (S9E13)

• A deep dive on the dolly zoom, from Hitchcock to Spielberg to The Simpsons

• How Amity provides a template for the small-town politics of Springfield

• Why does The Simpsons leave the climax of this movie untouched by parodies?

• Plus, check out our show notes for a complete list of Simpsons references, double feature suggestions, and further reading

Next time, for our season finale, we celebrate the 30th anniversary of one of the most memorable Simpsons finales of all time, “Who Shot Mr. Burns” (S6E25) and its parody of Goldfinger (1964).

For more of Devan Scott’s film content, check out the complete podcast How Would Lubitsch Do It? and his video essays on YouTube, or follow him on Bluesky, Letterboxd, and Instagram. Plus, check out Arrow Video’s new definitive 4K UHD release of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966), which Devan consulted on as part of a “weird Leone amateur brain trust.” (Nate has already pre-ordered.)

For more Simpsons movie parody content, check out SpringfieldGoogolplex.com, or follow us @simpsonsfilmpod on Instagram, Bluesky, TikTok, YouTube, and Letterboxd. Discover more great podcasts on the That Shelf Podcast Network.

Why does “Bart Gets Hit by a Car” (S2E10) show the episode title on screen at the beginning, unlike nearly every other episode of The Simpsons? We think we found an answer in The Fortune Cookie (1966), the very first pairing of longtime comedy duo Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. They’re the original odd couple! This forgotten movie provided the plot for this early episode of The Simpsons, and possibly much more.

Also in this episode:

• A classic example of “homage, French for theft”

• How this movie may have inspired the origins of Lionel Hutz and Dr. Nick Riviera

• When does Walter Matthau sound most like season 1 Homer in this movie?

• Adam and Nate unwisely try to rewrite Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond, two masters of comedy writing

Plus, check out our show notes for a complete list of Simpsons references, double feature suggestions, and further reading

Next time, filmmaker and podcaster Devan Scott returns to discuss Jaws (1975) on its 50th anniversary, alongside its culty parody in “The Joy of Sect” (S9E13).

For more Simpsons movie parody content, check out SpringfieldGoogolplex.com, or follow us @simpsonsfilmpod on Instagram, Bluesky, TikTok, YouTube, and Letterboxd. Discover more great podcasts on the That Shelf Podcast Network.

Sean Baker’s movie had heart, but Football in the Groin had a football in the groin. Adam and Nate review the 97th Academy Awards, and compare their top five movies of 2024.

Also in this episode:

• The biggest surprises, snubs, and satisfying wins of the night

• Does former Simpsons writer Conan O’Brien work as host of the Oscars?

• A round-up of the night’s best Simpsons memes

• A trivia game about the most reference Best Picture-winners on The Simpsons, fresh from the Simpsons Movie Reference Database

Plus, check out our show notes for our top five lists, trivia answers, and more bonus content

Next time, we’re back to our regularly scheduled programming with The Fortune Cookie (1966), a Billy Wilder joint that had its plot stolen for The Simpsons episode “Bart Gets Hit By a Car” (S2E10).

For more Simpsons movie parody content, check out SpringfieldGoogolplex.com, or follow us @simpsonsfilmpod on Instagram, Bluesky, TikTok, YouTube, and Letterboxd. Discover more great podcasts on the That Shelf Podcast Network.

When Jay Sherman showed up as a guest judge for the Springfield Film Festival, it created the perfect platform for one of the most movie parody-packed episodes of The Simpsons ever. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of “A Star Is Burns” (S6E18), Adam and Nate explore an equally epic movie—Ben-Hur (1959)—as well as The Critic, an even more movie-saturated series developed by several Simpsons alumni.

Also in this episode:

• Is this movie actually as Christian as it seems, or is there very little meat in this gym mat?

• Which actor is more Troy McClure-ish, Charlton Heston or Stephen Boyd?

• Does the chariot race that launched a thousand homages hold up today?

• Are the lepers in Ben-Hur as scary as Maude Flanders thinks?

Plus, check out our show notes for a complete list of Simpsons references, double feature suggestions, and further reading

Next time, Nate and Adam look back on our favorite movies of the year and recap the surprises, snubs, and the Simpsons-related host of the 97th Academy Awards.

For more Simpsons movie parody content, check out SpringfieldGoogolplex.com, or follow us @simpsonsfilmpod on Instagram, Bluesky, TikTok, YouTube, and Letterboxd. Discover more great podcasts on the That Shelf Podcast Network.

The year 1999 was a big one for film. Star Wars returned to the big screen, The Matrix changed action movies forever, and notorious producer Jon Peters finally got his giant spider in a movie.

In our first episode of 2025, Nate and Adam revisit Peters’ and Barry Sonnenfeld’s notorious flop Wild Wild West (1999) and its eight-legged parody in “The Sweetest Apu” (S13E19). Is this movie as bad as you remember, or has Hollywood lowered our standards to meet it halfway? Let’s find out.

Also in this episode:

• One of the greatest Simpsons episodes of season 13

• Special effects and production design that have aged like fine wine

• Sexual politics that have aged like milk

• Is this the height of the ‘90s trend of end-credits raps that summarize the plot?

Plus, check out our show notes for a complete list of Simpsons references, double feature suggestions, and further reading

Next time, Adam and Nate revisit the Simpsons-Critic crossover “A Star Is Burns” (S6E18) on its 30th anniversary and Mr. Burns’s rip-off of Ben-Hur (1959).

For more Simpsons movie parody content, check out SpringfieldGoogolplex.com, or follow us @simpsonsfilmpod on Instagram, Bluesky, TikTok, YouTube, and Letterboxd. Discover more great podcasts on the That Shelf Podcast Network.

For our annual Non-Denominational Holiday Fun Fest this year, we unwrap “Grift of the Magi” (S11E9)—the Simpsons episode that gave us the name of this special—and its climactic spoof of James Cameron’s The Terminator (1984). Podcaster and prolific Letterboxd reviewer Matt Lynch joins us to break down the greatest movie ever made about a son sending his father back in time to have sex with his mother. (Oh yeah, and save the world in the process.)

Also in this episode:
• The delicious stone soup of Cameron’s budget filmmaking and special effects

• Is this a slasher movie? Does it simply borrow slasher tropes? Did those tropes exist in 1984?

• How James Cameron makes corniness as well as Frank Capra

• Why ‘90s kids saw T2: Judgment Day first, and why we need to break the cycle

• Plus, check out our show notes for a complete list of Simpsons references, double feature suggestions, and further reading

Springfield Googolplex is taking a break for the holidays, but we will be back on February 18, 2025, with a new batch of episodes. In the meantime,  have a merry Christmas, a happy Hanukkah, a cwazy Kwanzaa, a tip top Tet, and a solemn and dignified Ramadan.

For more of Matt Lynch, check out his popular Letterboxd profile, his thriller movie podcast The Suspense Is Killing Us, Scarecrow Video’s YouTube channel VIVA! Physical Media, or the massive library of Scarecrow Video itself and its awesome rent-by-mail program.

For more Simpsons movie parody content, check out SpringfieldGoogolplex.com, or follow us @simpsonsfilmpod on Instagram, Bluesky, TikTok, YouTube, and Letterboxd. Discover more great podcasts on the That Shelf Podcast Network.

Remember that time when Homer became Mr. Burns’ prank monkey? Adam and Nate watch The Magic Christian (1969), an adaptation of Terry Southern’s satirical novel that inspired The Simpsons episode “Homer vs. Dignity” (S12E5). Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr punking rich Brits to prove that everyone has their price—how could you go wrong? Well, let us tell you.

Also in this episode:

• Terry Southern’s influence on The Simpsons, Stanley Kubrick, The Beatles and beyond

• Is Peter Sellers’ talent as big as his ego?

• The undeniable and underutilized magnetism of Ringo Starr

• How this movie became a pop culture vortex in the careers of The Beatles, Monty Python, Yul Brynner, and Roman Polanski

• Plus, check out our show notes for a complete list of Simpsons references, double feature suggestions, and further reading

We’ll be taking a brief hiatus, but for our Non-Denominational Holiday Fun Fest on December 17th, we’ll be back to revisit The Terminator (1984) and “Grift of the Magi” (S11E9) with “the villain of Letterboxd” Matt Lynch.

Discover more great podcasts on the That Shelf Podcast Network. Follow us @simpsonsfilmpod on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Twitter, and Letterboxd.

On our election day special in America, Nate and Adam invited filmmaker and podcaster Devan Scott (How Would Lubitsch Do It?) to dissect the painfully relevant political thriller All the President’s Men (1976) and its Simpsons send-up in “Sideshow Bob Roberts” (S6E5). Join us as we try to laugh through the nausea and exorcize the ghosts of elections past!

Also in this episode:

• The Simpsons’ surprisingly timeless satire of populism and corruption in American politics

• Why they call cinematographer Gordon Willis the “Prince of Darkness” and why they shouldn’t

• The delightful chemistry and realism of Robert Redford’s Woodward and Dustin Hoffman’s Bernstein

• Is it a bad sign that a movie about a real-life government conspiracy orchestrated by one of the most corrupt presidents in American history makes us feel nostalgic about simpler times?

• Plus, check out our show notes for a complete list of Simpsons references, double feature suggestions, and further reading

Next time, Adam and Nate explore the film adaptation of Terry Southern’s cult classic novel, The Magic Christian (1969) and Homer and Mr. Burns’s reenactment in “Homer vs. Dignity” (S12E5). Peter Sellers. Ringo Starr. Elaborate practical jokes. Pow.

For more of Devan Scott’s film content, check out the complete podcast How Would Lubitsch Do It? and his video essays on YouTube, or follow him on Twitter, Letterboxd, and Instagram.

Discover more great podcasts on the That Shelf Podcast Network. Follow us @simpsonsfilmpod on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Twitter, and Letterboxd.