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Super Mario Bros. (film): Difference between revisions
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Film producer [[wikipedia:Roland Joffé|Roland Joffé]] visited [[Nintendo]] of America’s headquarters in 1991, and pitched a ''Super Mario Bros.'' film to then-president [[wikipedia:Minoru Arakawa|Minoru Arakawa]] after originally pitching the idea during a script meeting at Lightmotive Studios. Nintendo had already received several offers for a ''Super Mario'' movie, but Akarawa was interested by Joffé’s pitch, and the producer later flew to Nintendo's headquarters in Kyoto to speak with [[Hiroshi Yamauchi]] about a movie deal.<ref name="Wired">[http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2012/04/generation-xbox-super-mario-movie Why the Super Mario Movie Sucked]</ref> Nintendo later agreed to sell Joffé and [[wikipedia:Jake Eberts|Jake Eberts]] the rights to produce a ''Mario'' film for $2 million<ref name="Wired"></ref>, while Nintendo would retain merchandising rights<ref name="Game Informer">[http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2013/05/28/mario-s-film-folly-the-true-story-behind-hollywood-s-biggest-gaming-blunder.aspx?PostPageIndex=2 Game Informer: Mario’s Film Folly: The True Story Behind Hollywood’s Biggest Gaming Blunder]></ref>. Other than imposing a deadline on production<ref name="Game Informer"/>, Nintendo exerted little creative control on the project; Joffé would later speculate that Nintendo was mostly interested in seeing if a big-budget movie would have any impact on the ''Mario'' brand<ref name="Wired"></ref>. | Film producer [[wikipedia:Roland Joffé|Roland Joffé]] visited [[Nintendo]] of America’s headquarters in 1991, and pitched a ''Super Mario Bros.'' film to then-president [[wikipedia:Minoru Arakawa|Minoru Arakawa]] after originally pitching the idea during a script meeting at Lightmotive Studios. Nintendo had already received several offers for a ''Super Mario'' movie, but Akarawa was interested by Joffé’s pitch, and the producer later flew to Nintendo's headquarters in Kyoto to speak with [[Hiroshi Yamauchi]] about a movie deal.<ref name="Wired">[http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2012/04/generation-xbox-super-mario-movie Why the Super Mario Movie Sucked]</ref> Nintendo later agreed to sell Joffé and [[wikipedia:Jake Eberts|Jake Eberts]] the rights to produce a ''Mario'' film for $2 million<ref name="Wired"></ref>, while Nintendo would retain merchandising rights<ref name="Game Informer">[http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2013/05/28/mario-s-film-folly-the-true-story-behind-hollywood-s-biggest-gaming-blunder.aspx?PostPageIndex=2 Game Informer: Mario’s Film Folly: The True Story Behind Hollywood’s Biggest Gaming Blunder]></ref>. Other than imposing a deadline on production<ref name="Game Informer"/>, Nintendo exerted little creative control on the project; Joffé would later speculate that Nintendo was mostly interested in seeing if a big-budget movie would have any impact on the ''Mario'' brand<ref name="Wired"></ref>. | ||
Joffé initially met with [[wikipedia:Harold Ramis|Harold Ramis]] to direct the film, who took the meeting because he loved the ''Super Mario Bros.'' game, but he declined the offer.<ref>Kohler, Chris (June 17, 2009). [http://www.wired.com/2009/06/harold-ramis-passed-on-mario-movie/ Harold Ramis Glad He Turned Down Mario Movie]. Wired. Retrieved January 2, 2016.</ref> Joffé then chose filmmaker [[wikipedia:Greg Beeman|Greg Beeman]] as the director, but later lost faith in his abilities, and replaced him with duo [[wikipedia:Rocky Morton|Rocky Morton]] and [[wikipedia:Annabel Jankel|Annabel Jankel]], best known for ''[[Wikipedia:Max Headroom|Max Headroom]]''. [[wikipedia:Danny DeVito|Danny DeVito]] was first offered to direct and play Mario, but he declined it in order to focus on his movie ''[[wikipedia:Hoffa|Hoffa]]''. [[wikipedia:Tom Hanks|Tom Hanks]] later agreed to | Joffé initially met with [[wikipedia:Harold Ramis|Harold Ramis]] to direct the film, who took the meeting because he loved the ''Super Mario Bros.'' game, but he declined the offer.<ref>Kohler, Chris (June 17, 2009). [http://www.wired.com/2009/06/harold-ramis-passed-on-mario-movie/ Harold Ramis Glad He Turned Down Mario Movie]. Wired. Retrieved January 2, 2016.</ref> Joffé then chose filmmaker [[wikipedia:Greg Beeman|Greg Beeman]] as the director, but later lost faith in his abilities, and replaced him with duo [[wikipedia:Rocky Morton|Rocky Morton]] and [[wikipedia:Annabel Jankel|Annabel Jankel]], best known for ''[[Wikipedia:Max Headroom|Max Headroom]]''. [[wikipedia:Danny DeVito|Danny DeVito]] was first offered to direct and play Mario, but he declined it in order to focus on his movie ''[[wikipedia:Hoffa|Hoffa]]''. [[wikipedia:Tom Hanks|Tom Hanks]] later agreed to the lead role, but the producers decided the $5 million dollars Hanks demanded were too much for their budget<ref name="Grantland">[http://grantland.com/features/the-strange-case-super-mario-bros-movie/ Hollywood Archaeology: The Super Mario Bros. Movie]</ref>. [[wikipedia:Arnold Schwarzenegger|Arnold Schwarzenegger]] and [[wikipedia:Michael Keaton|Michael Keaton]] were both offered to play King Koopa but ended up turning down the proposal.<ref name="Game Informer"></ref> | ||
A treatment for the script was done by [[wikipedia:Barry Morrow|Barry Morrow]], but was turned down as it was seen as too dramatic. The job was then handed to Jim Jennewein and Tom S. Parker, who wrote a light-hearted fantasy romp comparatively closer to the source material. However, after the departure of Greg Beeman, the script went through multiple rewrites, each increasingly adding "darker" content and science-fiction elements<ref name="SMBArchive">[http://www.smbmovie.com/SMBArchive/preproduction/script.htm SMBArchive: Scipts]</ref>. Both the new directing team and Roland Joffé wanted a more adult-oriented production, justifying this direction by stating that ''Super Mario Bros.'' appealed to many demographics beside children<ref name="Wired"></ref>. A satirical, ''[[wikipedia:Mad Max|Mad Max]]''-inspired script, impressed the directors<ref name="Nintendo Life">Meli, Jowi.[http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2014/11/interview_rocky_morton_on_the_chaos_of_directing_the_super_mario_bros_movie Interview: Rocky Morton On The Chaos Of Directing The Super Mario Bros. Movie], ''Nintendo Life''. November 3, 2014 (retrieved November 3, 2014)</ref> and actors [[Bob Hoskins]], [[Dennis Hopper]], and [[Fiona Shaw]]<ref name="SMBArchive"></ref>, but was later revised, due to concerns from the studio that the film was straying too far from the family friendly license. [[wikipedia:Ed Solomon|Ed Solomon]], one of the writers of ''[[wikipedia:Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure|Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure]]'', was brought in to make the revisions, and despite production being well underway the directors were forbidden from working with him<ref name="Game Informer"/>. In a 2014 interview, Rocky Morton defended the direction of the film, stating that the idea was that the film | A treatment for the script was done by [[wikipedia:Barry Morrow|Barry Morrow]], but was turned down as it was seen as too dramatic. The job was then handed to Jim Jennewein and Tom S. Parker, who wrote a light-hearted fantasy romp comparatively closer to the source material. However, after the departure of Greg Beeman, the script went through multiple rewrites, each increasingly adding "darker" content and science-fiction elements<ref name="SMBArchive">[http://www.smbmovie.com/SMBArchive/preproduction/script.htm SMBArchive: Scipts]</ref>. Both the new directing team and Roland Joffé wanted a more adult-oriented production, justifying this direction by stating that ''Super Mario Bros.'' appealed to many demographics beside children<ref name="Wired"></ref>. A satirical, ''[[wikipedia:Mad Max|Mad Max]]''-inspired script, impressed the directors<ref name="Nintendo Life">Meli, Jowi.[http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2014/11/interview_rocky_morton_on_the_chaos_of_directing_the_super_mario_bros_movie Interview: Rocky Morton On The Chaos Of Directing The Super Mario Bros. Movie], ''Nintendo Life''. November 3, 2014 (retrieved November 3, 2014)</ref> and actors [[Bob Hoskins]], [[Dennis Hopper]], and [[Fiona Shaw]]<ref name="SMBArchive"></ref>, but was later revised, due to concerns from the studio that the film was straying too far from the family friendly license. [[wikipedia:Ed Solomon|Ed Solomon]], one of the writers of ''[[wikipedia:Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure|Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure]]'', was brought in to make the revisions, and despite production being well underway the directors were forbidden from working with him<ref name="Game Informer"/>. In a 2014 interview, Rocky Morton defended the more mature direction of the film, stating that the idea behind this was that the film would be the "real story" while the game was an unfaithful retelling<ref name="Nintendo Life"></ref>. | ||
There were frequent conflicts between the directors and the rest of the staff. Most of the film crew disliked Morton and Jankel, referring to them with nicknames such as "Rocky and Annabel, the Flying Squirrel Show". Furthermore, the script was rewritten and revised on a daily basis even after filming had begun<ref name="GameInformer"/>, making the lead actors feel apathetic toward the shoot<ref>[http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1992-11-05/features/9204100424_1_super-mario-bros-king-koopa-video-games Chicago Tribune: Mario`s Great Challenge]</ref>. Filming was originally scheduled to last ten weeks, but due to these issues ended up going for fifteen.<ref name="Game Informer"/> The directors were shut out of the production after most of the main scenes were filmed, as other production companies were brought in to complete the late and overbudget shoot<ref name="Game Informer"></ref>. Morton and Jankel were able to get back into the production during editing with help from the [[wikipedia:Directors Guild of America|Directors Guild of America]], and wanted the movie cut digitally, but the editors insisted on using [[wikipedia:Moviola|Moviola]] and [[wikipedia:Steenbeck|Steenbeck]], leading to a slow editing process.<ref name="Game Informer"/> | There were frequent conflicts between the directors and the rest of the staff. Most of the film crew disliked Morton and Jankel, referring to them with nicknames such as "Rocky and Annabel, the Flying Squirrel Show". Furthermore, the script was rewritten and revised on a daily basis even after filming had begun<ref name="GameInformer"/>, making the lead actors feel apathetic toward the shoot<ref>[http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1992-11-05/features/9204100424_1_super-mario-bros-king-koopa-video-games Chicago Tribune: Mario`s Great Challenge]</ref>. Filming was originally scheduled to last ten weeks, but due to these issues ended up going for fifteen.<ref name="Game Informer"/> The directors were shut out of the production after most of the main scenes were filmed, as other production companies were brought in to complete the late and overbudget shoot<ref name="Game Informer"></ref>. Morton and Jankel were able to get back into the production during editing with help from the [[wikipedia:Directors Guild of America|Directors Guild of America]], and wanted the movie cut digitally, but the editors insisted on using [[wikipedia:Moviola|Moviola]] and [[wikipedia:Steenbeck|Steenbeck]], leading to a slow editing process.<ref name="Game Informer"/> | ||