TONY HAWK BACKS SPRINGFIELD, ORE., BID.

Byline: Jack Moran The Register-Guard

SPRINGFIELD - With Tony Hawk on their side, Springfield officials hope to skate to the top of a contest pitting their city against 13 same-named towns trying to land next month's national premiere of "The Simpsons Movie."

Skateboarding legend Hawk appears in a four-minute video the city has entered into a competition dreamed up by 20th Century Fox to promote its feature film based on television's animated Simpsons family, which lives in the fictional city of Springfield.

Videos from all 14 participating Springfields are expected to be posted online by Monday at thesimpsons.usatoday.com. Through July 9, anyone with a computer can vote for the city that he believes has the most Simpsons spirit.

Officials in Lane County's Springfield say the choice is clear.

"If people don't vote for us, they're just kidding themselves," city spokesman Niel Laudati said. "I honestly believe that this is where ("Simpsons" creator and Portland native Matt Groening) came up with a lot of his ideas for the show."

In the city's contest submission, Hawk proclaims that "everyone knows" Springfield, Ore., is "the true home of the Simpsons."

Hawk's Springfield connection - in real life and on television - dates to 2003, when he battled Homer Simpson for skateboarding supremacy in an episode of "The Simpsons." That May, Hawk showed off his skills in Oregon's Springfield during the grand opening of a Willamalane Park and Recreation skate park that his foundation helped build.

Hawk's appearance is just one of several highlights in the city's video, a parody of the 1970s television show "In Search Of ..."

Like the original show, Laudati said the video uses a mix of "facts and conjecture" to arrive at a plausible conclusion. In this case, compelling evidence is presented to demonstrate that Groening was inspired to name his fictional family's hometown after Springfield, Ore.

The video's humorous plot includes a nudist, vandalism and a devastating fire for which Mayor Sid Leiken appears to accept partial blame.

"It's perfectly Oregon," Laudati said of the city's contest entry. "It's a little strange, but we were able to tie it all together in the end. We're in Oregon, and our video should be different from everyone else's."

Laudati and fellow Simpsons fan Steve Woodward, promotions director for the local Fox television affiliate, wrote and edited the video. "I think as far as creativity, we'll be on par or better" than the other cities' entries, Woodward said. "For having no budget, I think we did a hell of a job."

Getting out the vote could prove tough, considering that Springfield, Ore., (pop. 56,000) is clearly outsized by competitors in Massachussets (pop. 152,000), Missouri (151,000) and Illinois (111,000).

But, as Laudati points out, Oregon's Springfield is the only participating city in the Pacific time zone. The next-closest Springfield in the contest is in Colorado.

"We're representing the entire West Coast," Laudati said. "People in California, Washington and Nevada need to jump on board and vote for us."

The city got a promotional boost Friday, when MTV's news breaks included a report showcasing the local effort. A story on the network's Web site is titled "Oregon Takes 'The Simpsons' Contest Seriously."

The winning Springfield will host the movie's national premiere on July 26. Five hundred people will be chosen to attend the showing for free.

If Springfield, Ore. prevails, the premiere would be at the Cinemark theater in Gateway Mall. The mall's general manager, Ron Glover, has distributed pins to shop managers throughout the mall, urging people to vote for his home city.