The Mario movie producer Chris Meledandri seems to think that everyone’s problem with Chris Pratt is him not being Italian American.
A lot of people do not want Chris Pratt, Guardians of the Galaxy star, to be the voice of Mario. The internet has some strong opinions as to why they don’t want him to be Mario. Which includes the fact that he is a member of a church that is notably homophobic.
But for some reason, the Mario movie producer Chris Meledandri just doesn’t seem to get why people don’t want Pratt. He’s defended Pratt previously. And has done so once again, in which he demonstrates he clearly doesn’t get the criticisms in the slightest.
what did the mario movie producer say?
“When people hear Chris Pratt’s performance, the criticism will evaporate, maybe not entirely — people love to voice opinions, as they should,” said Meledandri in a report from Deadline. “I’m not sure this is the smartest defense, but as a person who has Italian-American heritage, I feel I can make that decision without worrying about offending Italians or Italian-Americans. … I think we’re going to be just fine.”
What Meledandri has demonstrated here is that he thinks everyone’s problems with Pratt’s casting is that he isn’t Italian American. Which couldn’t be further from the truth. So no, that probably isn’t the best line of defence that Meledandri could have gone with.
Meledandri did also touch on Illumination’s relationship with Nintendo, calling it “the fulfilment of a really important objective. Nintendo is one of the companies we respect and hold in high esteem; this collaboration I think is unprecedented in its closeness.”
Whether it’s a good thing or not that Nintendo is working so closely with Illumination or not remains to be seen. The company can be very particular over the presentation of its characters. And placing someone like Pratt in the cockpit of its most popular character doesn’t seem like the greatest amount of care has been put into the casting.
At least Charlie Day as Luigi is good.
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Featured Image Credit: Dick Thomas Johnson/ Nintendo
Source: Deadline