14 DAY TRIAL // A piece up on Guardian Unlimited tells the story of distinguished British actor Bob Hoskins (pictured left - click to enlarge) and how the man's worst experience on the set was (who would have guessed it?) the adaptation of Super Mario Brothers. Apparently, the bar was simply set too low for the movie, making it a total disaster on the set. Leaving aside that the interview counts more "F" words than prepositions, it's still a great read, shedding a lot of light on what show business is all about.
You thought acting was great huh? Do a movie, cash in, take a six months vacation to a nice warm place with a sunny beach and sip a drink with a little umbrella in it, right? That's not very far from the truth, as Bob Hoskins himself reveals: "You reach a point where the cameo is the governor. You go in there for a couple of weeks, you're paid a lot of money, everybody treats you like the crown jewels, you're in and out, and if the film's a load of s**t, nobody blames you, y'knowwhadimean. It's wonderful."
For the actor, yes - for the viewer, so and so. Basically, the reader is left to understand that even low budget films (or at least films with bars set not so high) still make a good buck for the actors. But is it easy starring in a film where the bar is set too low? No, not at all. In fact, it can be a "f***in' nightmare," as the British actor reckons. Yes, dear reader, Super Mario Bros. was just that for Bob Hoskins:
"The worst thing I ever did? Super Mario Brothers. It was a f***in' nightmare," said Hoskins. "The whole experience was a nightmare. It had a husband-and-wife team directing, whose arrogance had been mistaken for talent. After so many weeks their own agent told them to get off the set! F***in' nightmare. F***in' idiots."
Have you seen the movie? From its trailer - which I've made available for you to see below - everyone can understand it was a lot of fun making it, for both the directing team and the actors. Hoskins' interview begs the question: how many movies/movie adaptations do you reckon are this much fuss to make? Guess what they say about them in the trailers isn't always 100 percent true, now is it?