Bob Hoskins hates Super Mario Bros. film

Hoskins as Mario Bob Hoskins sports a resume that most actors would envy. Best known, perhaps, for "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?," he also played key roles in "Brazil," "Mona Lisa" and "The Cotton Club."
He has appeared in nearly 100 films and television shows -- but there's one he'd like to erase from that list: 1993's Super Mario Bros.
The Guardian spoke with the 68-year old actor, peppering him with a series of questions about his career, politics and life moments. And he doesn't hesitate to give his feelings on the role that forced him to slap a comically large mustache on his mug and say lines like "Come and get it, lizard breath!" while maintaining a straight face.


It's hard to blame him. The film, which boasts a humiliating 13 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes, took its share of liberties with the famed game series.
Mario and Luigi are plumbers, yes, but they live in Manhattan and are chasing Princess Daisy -- not Peach -- who wears a necklace made from a meteor fragment that can free a race of reptilian, sewer-dwelling creatures. King Koopa, her kidnapper, hides her not in a castle, but rather in the garbage-infested underworld of Dinohattan.
It's even more confusing when you watch it. The film is essentially a nonstop reel of early 1990s special effects, with bits of nonsensical dialogue and Princess Daisy screaming "Luigi!!!" used as filler. 


SPOILER ALERT: In another ridiculous twist, Luigi gets the girl.
Hoskins' dislike of the notorious film runs deep. In 2007, he told Contact Music that working on the movie was a "nightmare" due in large part to the husband-and-wife directing team of Rocky Morton and Annabel Jankel, "whose arrogance had been mistaken for talent." Ouch.
Hoskins likely isn't the only actor who would prefer to see the movie disappear. Others who carry the stain of this cheese-tastic masterpiece on their resume include John Leguizamo, who played Luigi, and the late Dennis Hopper, who had the unfortunate luck to accept the King Koopa role.
Time Magazine has listed the film as one of the worst video game movies of all time -- but that hasn't stopped it from attracting a cult following. Even worse, it hasn't stopped the film industry from generally following the same formula of Super Mario Bros. when it makes movies based on games: ramping up the special effects budget and hoping no one notices they had a third grader write the script between classes.

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Maradona Attacks 'Corrupt' FIFA Chiefs

                                                                                                  

- Football legend Diego Maradona has accused world governing body FIFA of being corrupt and run by greedy officials who have made millions from the sport.The 1986 World Cup winner delivered the broadside at his first press conference as coach of Dubai-based club Al Wasl on Saturday, as he reflected on the recent FIFA presidential elections in which incumbent Sepp Blatter ran unopposed.Blatter's main opponent, Mohamed Bin Hammam of Qatar, was suspended ahead of the vote along with fellow FIFA executive Jack Warner following accusations of bribery."There is a lot of corruption involving FIFA officials and they are all millionaires because of football," the former Argentina player and coach said."I wonder if Blatter has ever kicked a football in his life, and yet we have been under the control of such people who have refused to give up power in FIFA."Why don't they all just relinquish their positions, take the money they have made and leave the running of the sport in the more capable hands of former football players?"Maradona, a controversial figure who was sent home from the 1994 World Cup for using drugs, said he had never liked the FIFA establishment."I don't support corrupt people and I will never be on their side. I have always been asked by them to support the FIFA family. But what family are they talking about? This sport belongs to us and they have never ever asked us to be part of the development process," the 50-year-old said."They have too much power and this has made them so arrogant and proud. This is not what a genuine football lover needs from such officials. After all football, is the biggest sport in the world."We will continue doing what we are doing so that these corrupt people go away. They are too old and since they have made so much money at the cost of football, they should simply take it all and go away. Please leave football alone."Maradona, who turned up more than an hour late for the media briefing, added that FIFA had stifled his attempts to form a players' union."What did FIFA do? They worked against us to ensure the union never saw the light of day," he said.Meanwhile, FIFA is investigating Argentina's 4-1 defeat by Nigeria on Wednesday as part of a wider investigation into match-fixing, according to a report in Britain's Daily Telegraph on Saturday.The paper said there was evidence of irregular patterns as referee Ibrahim Chaibou of Niger allowed three extra minutes of injury-time in addition to the five already awarded before Argentina scored from a penalty."FIFA can confirm that this match between Nigeria and Argentina was one that we had an active interest in, and forms part of a wider ongoing investigation," it said in a statement to the Telegraph.The Nigerian Football Federation released a statement denying the accusation on Saturday."We are concerned at attempts by unscrupulous elements to play down the feat that our national team performed by beating Argentina," general secretary Musa Amadu said."This match was shown on many television stations, including ESPN, and in front of a crowd of 50,000, and we are certain that Nigeria's Super Eagles deservedly won that match, playing to the rules, and clearly outplaying our opponents."

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