2/19/92 (Sci-Fi--Bennett/Runté) Script Discussion

[Redstar]

Here's the OFFICIAL forum for discussion of the 2/19/92 Parker Bennett & Terry Runté Script.

Overview: Heavily inspired by the genre-aware sensibilities of Ghostbusters and its star Bill Murray, writers Parker and Terry envisioned a world that didn’t take itself too seriously despite the serious implications oozing from the city sewers.

Their initial opening for the film saw Mario as a sleazier, more Bill Murrayesque-type character. However, once Parker and Terry discovered that Bob Hoskins was being sought for the role they realized they needed to rewrite the character as someone older and more likable. The script would soon after be rewritten to feature a more family-friendly tone and completely new characterizations.

This proved a smart move as the new first act really takes the time and care to establish sincere characters. Likewise, the world of Dinohattan feels just as real with its mishmash of world architecture and fashion inspired by both reptilian sentiment and more clever game references (coin-stuffed phone booths and the "Donut Land donut shop" stand out) than later drafts would care to work out.

Unfortunately, a rushed third act comprised of thematically-inappropriate game references and an uninspired climax unravels an otherwise promising take on the games. With the studio pressing to get the film into production as quickly as possible, Parker and Terry were ultimately let go before they could revise the final act in further drafts. Ironically, they would later be brought back to rewrite, add and polish scenes for a film still struggling to balance tone with pacing.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Click HERE to download the original 7-page opening, HERE for their full draft script or HERE to read our other early scripts!

[1upmushroom]

LOL at "They're gonna make her watch an entire golf tournament and then they're gonna kill her!"

But honestly if they used this script, albiet they polish it a bit I think the critics would have at least praised its style of humor and at least has a couple more game references.

I like this one and the fantasy one too.

[Redstar]

LOL at "They're gonna make her watch an entire golf tournament and then they're gonna kill her!"

If anything else, this draft at least had some witty lines.

I would have a lot more to say about this script, but I actually wrote the script page overviews as well as contributed to the detailed synopses. My feelings towards tone, pacing and content should be pretty clear in those, though I may re-post my initial thoughts... if I can find my PM to Phlibbit!

[MovieCritic2000]

I just went through the revised first draft script by Parker Bennett and Terry Runte, dated on February 12, 1992. I won't be making a review of it because it simply is not worth it, the whole script is a mess.

The two of them seem to be completely wrong for this kind of theme. I get the impression as if two Heavy Metal guys were given the asignment to write a story for Super Mario Bros.: we got prostitutes, priests fighting with knives, punks, a pointless golf tournament, Luigi stabbing a prison guard with a wishbone into the eye...More often than not, I was wondering myself: what is this?

I can see that Ed Solomon was brought in to the project as a "script doctor" for their draft; you can sense that he gave their story at least some balance and measure, as well as his trademark 'buddy-buddy' comic touch, since he penned that great comedy "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure". Solomon made Mario and Luigi much more likeable, giving a sense of bond and comradeship among them. He also saved the opening Brooklyn segment in the 1993 movie, which was fun, yet even he was not able to compensate the strange 'punk' setting of the story in the Dinohattan tangle.

If I could choose, I would have definitely given the first 1991 fantasy script the green light over this version. Even the 1991 mafia subplot had somehow more charm than Eddie in this 1992 version. Still, here and there even Bennett and Runte sparkled with an ocassional good idea, such as the "what's a drivers license?" joke, the Statue of Repression with a burning book in its arm and the "They must have fixed this place up" line, whereas I at least liked how Mario and Luigi were introduced while fixing the plumbing in that restaurant, while the staff was not able to wash the dishes because of them, which is quite logical for such a situation.

[Redstar]

Your overview is completely fair and I understand you not wanting to review the script in more detail; in fact, I agree and wouldn't want you to waste your time! Simply giving it a chance is all that I would ask for.

The first Dick/Ian script is likewise a waste of time due to the complete lack of humor, though it is a step in the right direction. I suggest at least checking out their second script, which at least has the benefit of being action-packed as well the most solid structurally. It has something to offer and might be reviewable as a send-up to action films of the time.

[MovieCritic2000]

Well, at least I finally got to understand some "loose ends" in the movie. For one, it depicts what happened during that missing scene in the De-evolution chamber and why Koopa was constantly de-evolving at times into a reptile. However, as a whole, the movie is an improvement to this early draft script.

[Serum]

I just finished reading the 2/19/92 draft, and I have to say: This is, hands down, the definitive "Super Mario Bros" script!

It's darkly humorous, bleak, violent, racy, sexy, vulgar, political and full of everything that would have made the movie the highest grossing (albeit the highest budgeted) movie of all time! This is the mature, R-rated Mario I've been looking for. Sure, the script has some kinks, but if they had gone with this and made some minor changes here and there, it would have been an amazing film that would have rocked the fanbase to its knees. This script shook the very foundations of the Mario universe, if made into a movie it would be a shining example of what an action movie should be.

This is even better than George Romero's unproduced screenplay for "Resident Evil," which is one of the best screenplays never made into a movie.

Let's run down some of the great stuff from the script:

Mario is the brave one, Luigi is more of a coward-- just like the video-game mythology dictates.
Koopa is a psychotic, ruthless and amoral dictator with multiple personality syndrome-- very classy.
Daisy is heavily expanded upon, as are the Marios histories and the history of the 'sub-dimension.'
The entire third act is an action-packed thrill ride! Much better than the finished product.
The Goombas are expanded upon, as are the ideas behind 'de-evolution.'
The scene where Luigi stabs a guy in the eye with a wishbone is edgy and fits in with the script.
Wendy-O and Morton make official appearances as newscasters!
Iggy and Spike are greatly expanded upon-- they're much more likable in this version.
Extreme references to the games, particularly the flame throwers with tennis balls full of jet fuel.

...and much more, there's just so much to like about this script, sure there's plot-holes, but had they revised this script only, they could have easily filled them.

Read it!

[Redstar]

I just finished reading the 2/19/92 draft, and I have to say: This is, hands down, the definitive "Super Mario Bros" script!

I wouldn't go that far, but I definitely agree that this script had just so much going for it that you have to wonder why exactly they chose to dump Parker and Terry rather than work their issues out through further revisions. At the very least, this script has the definitive opening. No one else seemed to care to craft Mario, Luigi or even Daisy as such sincere characters.

Mario is the brave one, Luigi is more of a coward-- just like the video-game mythology dictates.
Koopa is a psychotic, ruthless and amoral dictator with multiple personality syndrome-- very classy.
Daisy is heavily expanded upon, as are the Marios histories and the history of the 'sub-dimension.'
The entire third act is an action-packed thrill ride! Much better than the finished product.
The Goombas are expanded upon, as are the ideas behind 'de-evolution.'
The scene where Luigi stabs a guy in the eye with a wishbone is edgy and fits in with the script.
Wendy-O and Morton make official appearances as newscasters!
Iggy and Spike are greatly expanded upon-- they're much more likable in this version.
Extreme references to the games, particularly the flame throwers with tennis balls full of jet fuel.

...and much more, there's just so much to like about this script, sure there's plot-holes, but had they revised this script only, they could have easily filled them.

Read it!

I think all of that (and more!) is so easily enjoyed simply because the script took the time to set up the characters and their relationships. Not being able to relate to or care for the characters is the movie's one failing; everything else is pretty dang enjoyable.

After reading this script I bet you have a ton of new ideas you'd like to incorporate into your own take on the movie/games, right?

[Serum]

I wouldn't go that far...

Oh, I would, this script is better than anything I could ever come up with, sure I'd change bits and pieces, but on the whole it's genius.

After reading this script I bet you have a ton of new ideas you'd like to incorporate into your own take on the movie/games, right?

I certainly do, I may have to rethink my entire third act based on this script's ending-- this script's ending is so much more...poetic.

[Redstar]

We've just now updated with Parker and Terry's original 7-page opening for their script, which featured a more "Bill Murreyesque" take on Mario envisioned for actor Bruno Kirby. As such, I've revised the overview for their full draft as seen on both the Scripts page and in this topic's original post.

Feel free to discuss this new opening in this topic, as well as the originally provided full draft!

[Serum]

Bruno Kirby would have made a good Mario, though I still think the originally-cast Danny DeVito backing out of the project was their biggest loss-- as much as I love Bob Hoskins, I think Danny DeVito is the absolute most perfect choice for Mario.

[Redstar]

Bruno Kirby would have made a good Mario, though I still think the originally-cast Danny DeVito backing out of the project was their biggest loss-- as much as I love Bob Hoskins, I think Danny DeVito is the absolute most perfect choice for Mario.

From what Phlibbit and I have heard, Bob Hoskins was always the choice for the role of Mario... At least for the sci-fi production. I think DeVito may have been the choice for the original fantasy production, but even then we can't really be sure. We just haven't had confirmation yet.

In either case, I feel that Bruno Kirby would have been the perfect choice for Parker & Terry's original Ghostbusters-influenced take on the project, though his Luigi would have needed to be cast with exact chemistry in mind.

[Serum]

Bruno Kirby would have made a good Mario, though I still think the originally-cast Danny DeVito backing out of the project was their biggest loss-- as much as I love Bob Hoskins, I think Danny DeVito is the absolute most perfect choice for Mario.

From what Phlibbit and I have heard, Bob Hoskins was always the choice for the role of Mario... At least for the sci-fi production. I think DeVito may have been the choice for the original fantasy production, but even then we can't really be sure. We just haven't had confirmation yet.

In either case, I feel that Bruno Kirby would have been the perfect choice for Parker & Terry's original Ghostbusters-influenced take on the project, though his Luigi would have needed to be cast with exact chemistry in mind.

I'd heard that Bob Hoskins wasn't brought in until almost the last minute, but whatever. Another interesting thing I've heard is that Dustin Hoffman expressed interest in the role of Mario because his kids are big fans of the game, and, in a book I read, Game Over: Press Start to Continue, it is said that Tom Hanks (Toy Story, Philadelphia) offered to play the part of Mario for five million dollars.

I think Tom Hanks would have made a good Luigi, being he was younger at the time, but Dustin Hoffman as Mario? I see why they didn't pick him for the part, because then they'd have to cast someone like Sean Penn as Luigi and Helena Bonham Carter as Daisy... and the movie is existential enough as it is.

[Serum]

I just realized this screenplay is twenty years old, today. Times flies, and this script has aged like a fine red wine.

[Redstar]

I just realized this screenplay is twenty years old, today. Times flies, and this script has aged like a fine red wine.

I commented on this via our Facebook page.

Last Sunday was the 20th 'anniversary' for Parker Bennett and Terry Runte's original sci-fi script. The script to this day remains our favorite vision for for the project. Give it a read on our site and enjoy what could have been.

[SethRex]

I finally gave this draft of the script a read since I'm on a Mario thing at the moment. It really is a very good version of the film. I'd have loved to see this filmed. And yeah they could have touched up on the third act.

[Serum]

I finally gave this draft of the script a read since I'm on a Mario thing at the moment. It really is a very good version of the film. I'd have loved to see this filmed. And yeah they could have touched up on the third act.

The third act is what sold it to me! I thought this had the strongest finale of any incarnation of any of the Mario scripts out there.

[Redstar]

I finally gave this draft of the script a read since I'm on a Mario thing at the moment. It really is a very good version of the film. I'd have loved to see this filmed. And yeah they could have touched up on the third act.

The third act is what sold it to me! I thought this had the strongest finale of any incarnation of any of the Mario scripts out there.

The climax is good, but the third act itself is what falls apart and really needed reworking. Not only is it badly written but it also has very little in common with the first and second acts in terms of theme and tone.

[Serum]

The climax is good, but the third act itself is what falls apart and really needed reworking. Not only is it badly written but it also has very little in common with the first and second acts in terms of theme and tone.

The third act is confusing, albiet good, if not a little too ambitious. It probably would have been considered "unfilmable" in 1992, but by 1996, it would have been easy. Amazing how technology advances in a matter of weeks, months and years.

[Redstar]

I have updated the Scripts page to now include the original revision (2nd February) of this version of the script, which we had previously provided as only a seven-page opening. We didn't realize that more had been written until Parker provided the full script at the May screening in L.A.

Although the overall sequence of events remain the same as the previously provided script (19th February), this revision is a full six pages longer with several notable differences that change the tone and pacing of the entire adventure. These include the fact that Luigi and Daisy are already in a relationship rather than having just met and the two brothers splitting off not just once but twice once in Dinohattan. Mario even leaves Luigi behind in Koopa's clutches to retrieve the rock from Scapelli, who he had offered it to in payment rather than Luigi keeping it.

Overall, it just goes to show how much can change in a matter of days. Much of this extraneous material was cut in favor of the more streamlined script that we've read and loved before. This revision is still well worth the read.

[Serum]

Very nice, the 2/19/92 Bennett/Runte draft is absolutely my favorite of all of them.

[Phlibbit]

I just love how much headway we made into the development of the script for SMB. Most films just don't get this kind of attention or get quite as much publicly revealed.