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How did Super Mario Bros. The Movie become so Shit so quickly?

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D

DoktorEvil

Banned
It's on Discovery Family right now. I haven't seem the film in over 2 decades.

I don't know how anyone directing this film would get from the video game a pseudo BDSM club and tie everything to reptiles/dinosaurs.

Oh and Dennis Hopper talking to a booger.

Inb4 Bob omb
 
D

DrForester

Kills Photobucket
Someone at some point said "Lets make a Mario movie look like Blade Runner", and then someone with lots of money said "That's a great idea".
 
D

deltatheta

Member
From what I've heard, the directors (a husband and wife team) were extremely unprofessional.

And a preemptive rebuttal to those that are probably about to show up in this thread: No. This movie is shit.
 
S

sooperkool

Member
deltatheta said:
From what I've heard, the directors (a husband and wife team) were extremely unprofessional.

And a preemptive rebuttal to those that are probably about to show up in this thread: No. This movie is shit.
Click to expand...

They were, they sucked and made life miserable for all of us. Not to mention the Crow was shooting in the same location.
 
1

120v

Member
there's really not a whole lot to do with a live action mario, so they had an apeshit idea and ran with it. i remember it being not *quite* as bad back in the day. though it aged horribly, obvs
 
G

Glowsquid

Member
From the interview, it's a mix of the directors being inexperienced egomaniacs and the script being rewritten a ridiculous number of times (even when it was filmed!)

Also one of the directors had the idea that the film depicted the "true version" of the Mario Bros. universe and the games were a shitty adaptation. That was an idea alright.
 
M

Mr-Joker

Banned
I remember watching this movie in cinema and when it was over I asked my nanny, "Why are we leaving I thought we were watching the Super Mario movie?"

I didn't realised that was the Super Mario Bros. movie.
 
D

deltatheta

Member
Savitar said:
Can we hear more about these two directors?

Never heard the details on those two.
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Just from browsing their IMDB pages, apparently their big prior hit was the Max Headroom show and TV movie.

I kind of appreciate Max Headroom for what it was, but I can't understand why anyone would think they would be a good choice for a Mario movie. Not a lot of cyberpunk dystopia elements in Mario unless you're looking really deep into the subtext.

They haven't done much work since this movie.
 
M

Mushroomer25

Member
It was a product of the money & drug hungry late 80s - a bunch of Hollywood producers got their hands on a hot property, and were determined to get a picture out of it. I'm sure multiple screenwriters took their hands to it, and it's the result of so many voices that produced the cocaine fever dream we have now. The worst of "kids will watch anything" filmmaking.
 
S

suaveric

Member
There's a great chapter on the movie in the book Console Wars. The crasiest part is Nintendo had the option to bury the movie, but they gave the go ahead to put it in theaters anyway. After they had watched it!
 
F

Fury451

Banned
Currygan said:
Bob Hoskins said some really unflattering things about the two directors, it was hilarious
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Anytime that movie was brought up he had some pretty hilarious things to say about it.

It really is such a bizarre film now looking back at it. I didn't like it when I was a kid much, but I desperately tried to. Looking at it today though, it definitely seems like a film that was made for adults by adults that didn't really understand anything about video games or filmmaking for that matter.
 
Z

Zvonimir Boban

Banned
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/jun/18/bob-hoskins-interview-neverland

What is the worst job you've done?
Super Mario Brothers.

What has been your biggest disappointment?
Super Mario Brothers.

If you could edit your past, what would you change?
I wouldn't do Super Mario Brothers.
Click to expand...

RIP Bob Hoskins :(

I liked this bit from the same Q&A:

Who would play you in the film of your life?
Danny DeVito.

What's the worst thing anyone's said to you?
Aren't you Danny DeVito?
Click to expand...
 
C

Crazymoogle

Member
The part I always found fascinating is that Nintendo had the option to pay a penalty to prevent the film from ever releasing. (I recall it being 100m?)
 
S

sooperkool

Member
Gentleman Jack said:
Who was in charge of delivering the suitcase of uppers to Dennis Hopper every morning?
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Hopper was a cool dude, always laid back and nice to us production types (the whole cast was actually) he was always inviting us down to this building that he bought in Wilmington for after shoot partying.
 
B

BertramCooper

Banned
One of the things I find most amusing about the Super Mario Bros. movie is that Roxette wrote that "Almost Unreal" song for a completely different movie (I think it was Hocus Pocus) and it got stuck on this movie somehow. Apparently they were really fucking pissed about it.
 
D

DoktorEvil

Banned
sooperkool said:
Hopper was a cool dude, always laid back and nice to us production types (the whole cast was actually) he was always inviting us down to this building that he bought in Wilmington for after shoot partying.
Click to expand...

Entourage has taught me that partying with Dennis Hopper would be rad.
 
2

213372bu

Banned
WorldStar said:
It's actually an excellent flick
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Can't tell if sarcasm. This interview with Bob Hoskins pretty much sums it up:

Interviewer : What is the worst job you've done?
Bob Hoskins :Super Mario Brothers

Interviewer: What has been your biggest disappointment?
Bob Hoskins : Super Mario Brothers.

Interviewer: If you could edit your past, what would you change?
Bob Hoskins: I wouldn't do Super Mario Brothers.

Bonus image :

Super+Mario+Bros_2.JPG
Click to expand...

Edit : Beaten with the interview!
 
L

Lijik

Member
When the people behind your mario movie decide they want to create an art movement called "New Brutalism" to base the film around, you're gonna have a bad time
 
E

ElTopo

Banned
It's impossible to make as a Live Action movie without drastically changing the source material until it barely resembles the original source material. Which is exactly what happened (kinda').

I like this exchange Dennis Hopper had with his son:

His son goes up to him and asks him "Dad, that Super Mario Bros. movie was terrible. Why did you do it?"

Dennis tells his son "You needed shoes."

His son goes "I didn't need shoes that badly."

The concept can only work as a Cartoon/CGI movie.

Check out the Rifftrax version. It's one of their best (on par with Manos). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yjm8K93u4Y
 
O

Oblivion

Fetishing muscular manly men in skintight hosery
120v said:
there's really not a whole lot to do with a live action mario, so they had an apeshit idea and ran with it. i remember it being not *quite* as bad back in the day. though it aged horribly, obvs
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This.

Like many, I've made fun of this movie ever since I saw it, but while it's crap, the truth is, making a proper live action Super Mario movie would be virtually impossible.

If this didn't have the Mario moniker on it, it could have been a decent, B-level sci-fi flick.
 
C

Christine

Member
suaveric said:
There's a great chapter on the movie in the book Console Wars. The crasiest part is Nintendo had the option to bury the movie, but they gave the go ahead to put it in theaters anyway. After they had watched it!
Click to expand...

I can't think of any analysis that would conclude that the movie actually harmed the Mario brand, so sure, why not?

lol Nintendo.
 
A

androvsky

Member
Christine said:
I can't think of any analysis that would conclude that the movie actually harmed the Mario brand, so sure, why not?

lol Nintendo.
Click to expand...
I think the ultimate reasoning cited in the book why Nintendo didn't bury it is the market at large would forget about it in a few weeks.

Sad thing is it sounds like the movie went through a half-dozen scripts, directors and casts, all of which probably would have been markedly better than what we got.
 
D

danm999

Member
Savitar said:
Can we hear more about these two directors?

Never heard the details on those two.
Click to expand...

They were (for some reason) totally opposed to Mario and Luigi appearing in their signature jumpsuits.

They apparently dumped coffee on an extra because they didn't think he looked dirty enough for the scene.

Leguizamo and Hoskins were just getting sloshed on set because filming was dragging on so much longer than scheduled.

Film was a top shelf failure from top to bottom in terms of oversight.
 
kamineko

kamineko

Does his best thinking in the flying car
I think it's kind of nice to live in a universe where something this crazy exists.
 
T

The Real Abed

Perma-Junior
I adore this movie for what it is. But it definitely would have made more sense as a cartoon. A well done official professional non-DiC produced cartoon.

I think all Nintendo properties would work better animated.

Still, I like the movie a lot. And I only saw it for the first time like 15 years ago.
 
P

Paskil

Member
I absolutely hated this movie being such a Nintendo fanboy while growing up. It just didn't feel like what I thought a Mario movie should be. I watched it again about a year ago and really enjoyed it. As a standalone movie, it really isn't super terrible. It does some interesting things and makes a good sci-fi flick. Definitely a so bad it's good movie.
 
C

Currygan

at last, for christ's sake
“The worst thing I ever did? Super Mario Brothers. It was a fuckin' nightmare. The whole experience was a nightmare. It had a husband-and-wife team directing, whose arrogance had been mistaken for talent. After so many weeks their own agent told them to get off the set! Fuckin' nightmare. Fuckin' idiots.”

Bob about Mario Bros
 
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