George Meyer (screenwriter)
George Meyer (born 1956 in Pennsylvania ) is an American screenwriter . He received the Emmy Award and is best known for his work on the series The Simpsons .
Life
Meyer grew up in Arizona . His family, which has German origins, has eight siblings. According to his own statements, he was never satisfied with his Catholic upbringing and today describes himself as an atheist . However, he is tolerant of other beliefs. Although he believes his parents are happily married, he is against marriage himself. He sees marriage only as an ideal of society. He has a daughter named Poppy Valentina. The name was derived from the first woman in space, Valentina Tereshkova .
Meyer, like several other Simpsons writers , studied at Harvard University . There he made a name for himself as president of the Harvard Lampoon . In 1977 he published the Harvard Lampoon Big Book of College Life with other journalists . In 1978 he completed his studies in biological chemistry. Then he earned money with several small jobs until 1981.
Meyer discovered his skills as an entertainer during his time at Harvard.
After graduating, he moved to New York , where he wrote screenplays for David Letterman and Saturday Night Live . However, he had relationship problems and was not happy with his job on Saturday Night Live . Meyer decided to leave New York and move to Boulder, Colorado . According to his own statements, his motives for moving were his love for dog races, the many bookshops and the will to start again.
In 1987 he founded the electronic magazine Army Man , which soon achieved cult status. One of his readers was Sam Simon , the producer of a new sitcom called The Simpsons . In 1989, Meyer was finally asked by Simon to join the team as a writer. Since then he has written several times for The Simpsons . Among other things, he was on the writing team for The Simpsons - The Movie . In 1995 Meyer wanted to leave the team of authors briefly at the end of the sixth season. However, his colleagues explained to him that he was indispensable and was able to persuade him to come back to the team. Meyer was known for foregoing the recognition he deserved, despite his numerous ideas. He never insisted on being listed as an author.
“George never claimed authorship with the Simpsons, even though he was an idea machine. There is a crucial ten-year phase of the Simpsons in which he does not even appear in the credits, even though countless jokes are from him. "
Works
Meyer has written twelve episodes of the Simpsons to date . Barter and Spies is its first episode; he and Mike Scully wrote his final episode, I'm with you, my son . Meyer's colleagues always held him in high regard. Mike Scully considered him the best writer in Hollywood and he also said that Meyer was primarily responsible for the success of the Simpsons after several years. His distrust of social institutions is reflected in some Simpsons episodes in the behavior of the characters. Although he has clearly turned away from Christianity , he sees the factor of faith as an important part of the Simpsons . In an interview, he explains that jokes about something essential like religion go down better with viewers than jokes about trivial topics. Bill Oakley emphasized that Meyer was there from the start and was responsible for thousands of brilliant jokes and plot changes. In 1988 he published with some other authors such as David Sacks and Max Pross the Army Man magazine. Meyer wrote most of the first issue himself. The in-house production was one of the most important details of the legendary beginnings of the magazine. Many of Army Man magazine's contributors later became part of the Simpsons writing team. Meyer's success and influence on the Simpsons made Army Man a mystery again. However, in an interview with Mike Sacks, Meyer tried to downplay Army Man. He was embarrassed that it was considered a monumental comedy work. For him it was just a silly little escapade that should never go down in history.
Meyer is known for voluntarily taking on unpopular tasks and helping others correct their work. He even has a code of honor that goes as follows: 1. Be present, 2. Work hard, 3. Be kind, 4. Don't avoid inconvenience.
“Other than death and speaking in public, one of the big fears that everybody shares is that the joke will have been on them. ”
" Aside from the fear of death and appearing in public, the fear that the joke will affect you is a fear we all share."
Web links
- George Meyer in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- George Meyer in Simpsonwiki
- Army Man magazine
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d George Meyer. In: believermag, The Believer. 2004, accessed on January 26, 2018 .
- ↑ a b George Meyer. In: Simpsonspedia, the Simpsons Wiki. 2008, accessed January 8, 2018 .
- ↑ Simon W. Vozick-Levinson: For Simpsons Writer Meyer, Comedy is No Laughing Matter. In: The Harvard Crimson. June 4, 2003, accessed January 8, 2018 .
- ↑ a b c Adam Grant: Give and Take: Being Successful for Everyone's Benefit. September 26, 2013, accessed February 5, 2018 .
- ↑ Oakley / Weinstein: Springfield Weekly. (No longer available online.) November 30, 2007, archived from the original on November 30, 2007 ; accessed on February 12, 2018 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Army Man. Accessed January 28, 2018 .
- ↑ Stephen Hoban: George Meyer's 'Army Man' and the Birth of 'The Simpsons'. In: Splitsider. December 1, 2010, accessed February 12, 2018 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Meyer, George |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American screenwriter |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1956 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Pennsylvania |