There’s been lots of fan films based on video games over the years—I’ve written about fan productions based on Lara Croft, Halo, Metal Gear Solid and Max Payne on this blog alone, and there’s plenty more out there, from Pac-Man to Resident Evil. Now you can add Super Mario Brothers to the list. No, really.
According to the University of Georgia’s independent newspaper, Red and Black, some students there are bringing Nintendo’s favorite siblings to life for a class assignment with the upcoming live-action short, Level 84. Expected to run about 12-15 minutes, the fan film is a life’s calling for the young crew; Producer/Senior Ashley Kruythoff described the movie as something that is “more than a project and is more like a personal endeavor, because this is what we want to do with the rest of our lives.”
Cigar-chomping Hollywood execs managed to botch a Super Mario Bros. feature film back in the early Nineties (“Who’s really hot with the kids? Hmm—I know! Get me Bob Hoskins, John Leguizamo and Dennis Hopper!“), so how will the students’ version be different?
Writer/Director/Senior Zack Goulet envisions a modern spin on the traditional ‘Mario saves the Princess’ game plot, and the result, he said, will be “dirty, gritty, and have elements of both The Bourne Ultimatum and Saving Private Ryan. Every action film has some cheese at the heart of it, but we are trying to make it not so cheesy.” I’m sold already, simply based on this guy’s sense of humor—and if he’s serious, heck, even better.
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