September 26, 2021
Here's the Scoop...
Universal Pictures announced Thursday that Chris Pratt will lead the voice cast of an animated Super Mario Bros. movie from Illumination. Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Jack Black, Keegan Michael-Key, Seth Rogen, Fred Armisen and more also star.
Pratt will voice Mario, the plumber who must rescue Princess Peach (Taylor-Joy) from the Koopa Kingdom in the Nintendo video games. Day voices Mario's brother, Luigi.
Black will voice Bowser, the big boss of the original video game. Key voices Toad, a mushroom person who is one of Mario's allies.
Mario originated as the protagonist of the video game Donkey Kong. Mario returned as the villain of Donkey Kong, Jr.
Mario and Luigi got their own game, Mario Bros. in which they exterminated turtles and crabs from pipes. Super Mario Brothers was a side scrolling platform game that launched its own video game franchise that continued with each more advanced Nintendo console.
Donkey Kong will appear in the movie, too, with the voice of Rogen. Armisen plays Cranky Kong, Kong's grandfather who appears in later game sequels.
A live-action Super Mario Bros. movie was released in 1993. Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo played Mario and Luigi, with Dennis Hopper as the villain.
The film was a box office failure and criticized by fans of the game for being mostly unfaithful. Illumination produces the animated Despicable Me, Minions, Sing and Secret Life of Pets franchises.
Universal will release Super Mario Bros. in the holiday season of 2022.
Be Well,
Steve
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'Tiger King 2' among new true crime shows on Netflix
Tiger King 2, a sequel to the popular docuseries Tiger King, is in the works at Netflix.
The streaming service shared the news Thursday alongside a teaser for its slate of new true crime shows.
Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness, a docuseries about former exotic animal park owner and convicted felon Joe Exotic, premiered on Netflix in March 2020. Deadline said the sequel will be released this year.
Eric Goode and Rebecca Chaiklin will return as directors and executive producers on Tiger King 2, with Chris Smith and Fisher Stevens to also serve as executive producers.
Exotic, born Joseph Maldonado-Passage, was sentenced to 264 months in prison in January 2020 after a court found him guilty of 21 charges, most stemming from wildlife charges concerning his care for the big cats he held in captivity.
Two of the charges were in connection to his murder-for-hire plot to kill animal rights activist Carole Baskin, who also appeared on Tiger King.
In July, an appeals court ordered for Exotic to be re-sentenced after he appealed his prison sentence as too long.
Netflix's other projects include The Puppet Master: Hunting the Ultimate Conman, a three-part series for release in January 2022; The Tinder Swindler, a new series coming in February; Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King, a film about Gerry Cotten for release in 2022; and Bad Vegan, a series about Sarma Melngailis coming in 2022.
'Muppets Haunted Mansion': Muppets take over Disney ride in new trailer
The Muppets are offering a new take on a classic Disney theme park ride in the new trailer for upcoming special, Muppets Haunted Mansion.
Gonzo must spend the night inside the spooky residence, which is filled with ghosts and other supernatural creatures in the clip released on Thursday.
Kermit the Frog portrays a ghost while Miss Piggy takes on the role of spell casting witch Madame Leota from the Haunted Mansion ride.
Will Arnett as The Ghost Host, Taraji P. Henson as The Bride, Yvette Nicole Brown as The Hearse Driver and Darren Criss as The Caretaker also star.
Co-stars include Chrissy Metz, Alfonso Ribeiro, Edward Asner, Jeannie Mai, Danny Trejo, Sasheer Zamata, Craig Robinson, Skai Jackson, Pat Sajak, Geoff Keighley, Justina Machado, Kim Irvine and John Stamos.
Muppets Haunted Mansion is coming to Disney+ on Oct. 8. The special is a part of Disney+'s annual Hallowstream event, which will also see the premieres of Lego Star Wars Terrifying Tales on Oct. 1 and anthology series Just Beyond on Oct. 13.
Watch It Now: Muppets Haunted Mansion - Trailer
Melvin Van Peebles, filmmaker and actor, dead at 89
Melvin Van Peebles, an influential director, actor and father of filmmaker Mario Van Peebles, has died at the age of 89.
Melvin Van Peebles died at his home with family on Tuesday, his son and the Criterion Collection confirmed on Twitter.
A cause of death was not disclosed.
"Dad knew that Black images matter. If a picture is worth a thousand words, what was a movie worth? We want to be the success we see, thus we need to see ourselves being free. True liberation did not mean imitating the colonizer's mentality. It meant appreciating the power, beauty and interconnectivity of all people," Mario Van Peebles said in a statement.
"In an unparalleled career, Van Peebles made an indelible mark on the international cultural landscape. He will be deeply missed," the Criterion Collection said.
The Criterion Collection also announced that Melvin Van Peebles' film Sweet Sweetback's Baadassss Song will be screened at the New York Film Festival this weekend. Criterion Collection will additionally be releasing a box set of his films and his play Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death will return to Broadway next year.
Melvin Van Peebles is also known for the films Watermelon Man and Identity Crisis, the latter of which was penned by Mario Van Peebles, who also starred.
He penned and starred in the film Panther, which was directed by his son. Mario Van Peebles also directed his father in Love Kills and Redemption Road.
Other acting credits for Melvin Van Peebles include roles in films True Identity, Boomerang, Last Action Hero, Terminal Velocity, The Hebrew Hammer and on television shows Sonny Spoon, In the Heat of the Night, Dream On, Living Single and Homicide: Life on the Street.
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Owen Wilson to host Season 47 premiere of 'Saturday Night Live'
NBC announced the first four guest hosts and musical artists for Season 47 of Saturday Night Live on Wednesday.
The French Dispatch actor Owen Wilson will host the season premiere Oct. 2, while country star Kacey Musgraves is set to sing.
The following week, reality TV personality Kim Kardashian West will host and pop singer Halsey will provide the musical entertainment.
No Time to Die villain Rami Malek is booked to host Oct. 16 when rapper Young Thug will perform.
Former SNL cast member and Ted Lasso Emmy winner Jason Sudeikis will host on Oct. 23 and singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile will sing.
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