Simpsons Ready for Movie Close-Up

August 18 -- The Simpsons, the Movie?

It's about damn time, is all we have to say.

After 10 years of animated antics, the Fox Sunday night mainstays are headed for the big screen.

No script — or even a deal — is in place yet, Matt Groening, the creator of The Simpsons, said Wednesday.

Speaking at a news conference in London with the actors who provide the voices for the series, Groening confirmed that a film version of the TV series is in the works.

Groening admitted, "It's a little daunting coming up with a half-hour TV episode, let alone a full-length feature. … No deals have been struck, but we will do one." You Simpsons-philes already know that its takes six months to create each joke-packed half-hour episode of the long-running pop culture staple.

When asked about the future of the TV series, Groening shrugged off the question: "That is a bit like asking a marathon runner if he is tired. The series is now in its 10th year. There is a shared vision and little disagreement about the direction of the show," he was quoted as saying in London's Daily Express.

The folks who provide the voices of Homer, Marge, Lisa, and Bart Simpson — not to mention the dozens of other Springfield residents — re-upped their contracts in 1998.