Some people love the 1993 original Super Mario Bros. movie, some people hate it. Regardless of what you think of that film, the production behind the scenes was complete and utter chaos. There are so many crazy behind-the-scenes stories I want to tell, but in this article, I’m going to focus on the script.
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In a recent interview with Variety, co-director Rocky Morton spoke about the script, saying, “Two weeks before the first day of principal photography, the script was completely rewritten. The producers forbade me to talk to the writer. But I called it a night because I was building all these amazing sets and monsters and prosthetics. And I said, “You need to know what I’m building and what to keep in the script, because we’ve already spent all this money on these things.” When the producers found out I’d made this call, they got absolutely ballistic with me — they tore me apart. And it scared me.
Morton continued, saying, “Naturally, all the actors signed off on our original script, and when the new script came, Annabel and I had to justify the new script. We had to pretend it was great and get the actors to accept it.
Well, the actors weren’t happy at all with all the rewrites that were being done. In 1992, the Los Angeles Times went to the set of the film and what they found was a real nightmare. The report explained: “In the caravans squatting on the marshy ground, the day’s script changes are tossed, unread, into drawers. Why bother reading the latest rewrites? sigh Hopper and co-star Bob Hoskins.”
When you talk to Dennis Hopper, who played King Koopa, was informed of the directors’ decision not to tell the press about their work in regards to the film, and responded by saying, “Don’t directors give interviews? This is the smartest thing I’ve heard from them. This is the only smart thing I’ve heard that they actually did.
Damn, he wasn’t holding back his true feelings at all! While in the trailer with the press, Hopper is brought the final rewrites and when they arrived he said, “I suspect it will probably be rewritten. The script had probably been rewritten five or six times by the time I got here. I don’t really worry anymore. I go in and do it scene by scene. I guess it won’t hurt my character.
Hoskins, who has been waiting all morning for the directors to be ready to shoot, added: “All these rewrites get frustrating, so I don’t do too much research. The trick is: don’t take the job too seriously, just introduce yourself and go about your day’s work. That’s all.”
When new script pages arrive Giovanni Leguizzamo, who played Luigi, said at the time: “New pages. Every day is a new page. It’s like waiting for the news. What the hell happened yesterday? And here it is: all new, all alive. 24 hours: ding, ding, ding.
As you can see, the actors just seemed to accept the hell they’d been in with all the rewrites, and they were just moving on and getting paid. However, co-producer Frederick Caruso, who previously worked on The Godfather and Bonfire of the Vanities, believed it was normal. He said: “It’s not unusual to have a lot of script changes and especially with this film in particular because it comes from a video game that has no story. Everything we’re doing is made up and comes from the flow of what we’re shooting. All games have characters.
How the hell did this guy become a film producer!? This is not how making movies is supposed to work! It’s such a disorganised, messy, expensive and time wasting way to do things! It’s so frustrating that Hollywood continues to be run by these idiots.
The report went on to say, “The directors are improvising the story as they slowly progress, and are entering week eight of a 12-week shoot that ended up being three weeks longer. At least nine writers worked on the script, which has now become as dense as the nearby Wilmington phone book, rainbow-colored with rewritten pages. The only missing page color is the one from the original draft. There are no blank pages left.
Fiona Shaw, who plays the Queen of Koopa, said the first script she got was “witty,” but none of that witty script made it to the final film. It’s a shame.
by Joey Paur
Source: Geek Tyrant
Lloyd Grunewald is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. He is a talented writer who focuses on bringing the latest entertainment-related news to his readers. With a deep understanding of the entertainment industry and a passion for writing, Lloyd delivers engaging articles that keep his readers informed and entertained.
