Sony Pictures allegedly landed rights to produce animated Mario film
Several internal Sony e-mails have been leaking to the press over the last week following a particularly nasty hacking incident, and some uncovered by Buzzfeed appear to contain some interesting Nintendo-related details. According to leaked e-mails between producer Avi Arad and Sony higher-ups, Arad had landed the rights for Sony Pictures Animation to produce an animated film based on the popular Super Mario Bros. series:
“I am the proud father of mario the animated film [sic],” producer Avi Arad told Sony studio chief Amy Pascal in an email dated Oct. 23, 2014, with the subject line “Mario.” Arad then forwarded Pascal separate images of him with Mario Bros. creator Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata, the latter of which included the message, “Happy ceo, lets get together, it’s the mother load. [sic]”
Further e-mail correspondence allegedly included images of Arad with Super Mario Bros. creator Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata, suggesting that the deal had been closed and Nintendo was satisfied with the arrangements. As the e-mails were dated from just two months ago, it’s extremely unlikely that further details on the project will emerge until the film is green lit – if any details even do eventuate. No other staff was attached to the project, although Sony studio chief Amy Pascal suggested director Genndy Tartakovsky – who had previously directed the studio’s Hotel Transylvania – to handle the project. A Tartakovsky-directed Mario Bros. movie? Now that’s a pipe dream.
Nintendo has previously kept its properties away from the silver screen, but after director Shigeru Miyamoto’s recent Pikmin films and the company’s increasing focus on merchandising, a feature film version of one of their games isn’t too difficult to imagine – even if it does involve them working with Sony.
