Written by O’Boyd
Another example of why the Sony hacked emails aren’t all bad news.
Buzzfeed.com broke the story that Sony Pictures and Nintendo are close to a deal for an animated feature-length film. The news was based on emails from Sony Studio Chief Amy Pascal on Oct. 23 from producer Avi Arad, who will apparently lead the film.
From the email:
“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]”
Pascal reportedly then forwarded the email to TriStar Pictures head Tom Rothman.
“Avi closed Mario brothers,” she wrote. “Animated.”
From Buzzfeed:
The deal represents only the first step in a very long road to a green light for an actual feature film. Animated films especially go through a long and rigorous script development process before a movie starts production. The emails also did not indicate any filmmakers attached to the project, although Pascal does at one point suggest Genndy Tartakovsky, who directed the 2012 Sony Pictures Animation feature Hotel Transylvania and created the Cartoon Network series Dexter’s Laboratory, Samurai Jack, and Star Wars: Clone Wars. “[I]ts soooo perfect for him,” Pascal wrote. (A rep for Tartakovsky tells BuzzFeed News, however, that the filmmaker “is not involved.”)
On Oct. 24, Arad thanked Sony Pictures Animation President of Production Michelle Raimo Kouyate for a gift basket she sent him filled with Mario Bros. merchandise.
From the email:
“Thank you Avi!” Kouyate responded. “Let’s build a Mario empire!” Kouyate also sent a photo of the basket to Pascal, and said, “I can think of 3-4 movies right out of the gate on this. So huge!”
Cinema Corner 