Disastrous first Super Mario movie was ‘worst thing I’ve ever done’ for lead actor

The Super Mario Bros. movie has to be a success. So maybe people forget how horrible its predecessor Super Mario Bros. was. This isn’t a critique of the film itself, but rather the judgment of director Rocky Morton, star John Leguizamo, and especially lead actor Bob Hoskins. Not to mention viewers and critics when it was released in cinemas in 1993. The film is available on Netflix. First Super Mario film on Netflix: Mario actors follow the shoot years later

“The worst thing I’ve ever done? Super Mario Bros. It was a fucking nightmare”, Mario actor Hoskins explained to the Guardian in 2007. Morton described the shoot as “excruciating experience“(via SciFiNow), acting legend Dennis Hopper called him a”nightmare(via AV Club) and Leguizamo got so drunk out of frustration that that he almost killed co-star Hoskins, according to ScreenRant. What happened?

According to a Nintendo interview with Morton, script changes threw the film into chaos. Hoskins and Hopper referred to the directing couple Morton and wife Annabel Jankel as “control freaks” full of “arrogance“. 30 years later it is clear what chaos must have reigned on the set. And when the film finally came out, it was torn apart by audiences and critics (via Rotten Tomatoes).

Super Mario Bros. is set in New York, where plumbers Mario and Luigi (Leguizamo) are struggling to keep their heads above water. Because they want to save the young woman Daisy (Samantha Mathis), enter a dinosaur parallel dimension, in which the nasty King Koopa/Bowser (Hopper) is in charge.

Such bizarre adaptation ideas, a holey screenplay and wooden acting let the film fail many in the cinema. The pioneering production design alone received a lot of praise and may have ensured that the film has now developed a cult factor with some fans.

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The 10 biggest streaming films of 2023 on Netflix, Amazon & Co.

In this installment of our Moviepilot podcast, Stream Browsing, we take a look at the big movies coming exclusively to Netflix, Amazon, Disney+ and Apple TV+ this year. The result is a list of ten special recommendations.

From the sci-fi epic to the potential Oscar nominee, everything is included. The talents gathered are particularly impressive. In 2023 we can expect new movies from Martin Scorsese, David Fincher and Zack Snyder in the streaming space, while Gal Gadot, Leonardo DiCaprio, Henry Cavill and Chris Hemsworth will be in front of the camera.

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