] After all these years "it's a fairly well-oiled machine,"
] observed Smith. Actors who are out of town, like Azaria,
] can record their lines at a convenient studio.
]
] When the cast is finished the animators step in. The Los
] Angeles-area animation house Film Roman creates a
] black-and-white draft, called an animatic, which reveals
] what works and what doesn't, Jean said.
]
] "Sometimes we do a considerable rewrite with the
] animatic. Once it's in color, the cost of changing too
] much is prohibitive," he said.
]
] The revised animatic is sent to South Korea for creation
] of the final version -- or almost final. If a line
] remains troublesome, the characters' lip movements
] provide enough leeway for another phrase to be subbed in.

] The event was a "table read," when the cast of "The
] Simpsons" gathered with a roomful of writers, producers
] and guests, using their imaginations to conjure up the
] animated family with the distinctive mustard hue.

] Actors, producers and writers sit at a massive conference
] table littered with water bottles and note pads. Invitation-
] only visitors ring the table. (Noticeably absent are the
] network executives who always haunt rehearsals; "The
] Simpsons" has a rare stipulation, won by executive
] producer James L. Brooks, limiting Fox meddling.)

] "It's sort of the hottest ticket on the lot," said Yeardley
] Smith, who voices young Lisa, the wise Simpson daughter.

] After all these years, Jean has developed his own script
] shorthand: a check mark for a joke that gets a laugh, an
] "X" for one that falls flat. "Something that's sweet but
] doesn't necessarily get a huge laugh will stay in," Jean said.

It would be interesting to see a store with more detail that follows the script creation process.