Illumination’s Chris Meledandri on ‘Super Mario’s’ Chris Pratt Casting Controversy, Importance of Theatrical Releases

Refresh for latest…: Coming in slightly above the estimates we reported on Saturday, Universal/Illumination’s Minions: The Rise Of Gru has boogied to an $87.2M weekend at the international box office. That lifts the offshore cume to $93.7M for $202.2M worldwide to date.

Anna Tingley If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. Prime Video is delivering the star power this month with the release of the much-anticipated “The Terminal List,” starring Chris Pratt. The entire first season of the action series arrived on the streamer today and is already No.

Chris Pratt has revealed he actually doesn’t like being called by his name Chris, and even says it’s not his name. Instead, the Jurassic World actor, whose full name is really Christopher Michael Pratt, prefers to be called by his nicknames, including Pratt and CP. The 43-year-old star, who recently welcomed his second daughter with wife Katherine Schwarzenegger, revealed that being called Chris ‘feels weird’, even by his friends.

Directed by Benjamin Renner from a screenplay by Mike White, “Migration” follows a family of ducks living in New England who try to convince their over-protective father to go on a vacation of a lifetime in the Bahamas. Illumination founder Chris Meledandri is producing.

Universal Pictures has pushed back the wide theatrical release for the Illumination film Migration from Friday, June 30, 2023 to Friday, Dec, 22, 2023.

Chris Pratt is reacting to all those viral conversations labeling him the “Worst Chris” in Hollywood.

Chris Pratt explained the importance of correctly and honorably portraying the military ahead of the drop of his new Prime Video series "The Terminal List." Pratt stars as a Navy SEAL in "The Terminal List" along with co-star Taylor Kitsch. Pratt's character returns home after his Navy SEAL platoon is ambushed to find his loved ones are in danger, according to the show's synopsis. The "Zero Dark Thirty" star explained how portraying a military character is different than a superhero in a recent interview.

Chris Pratt is opening up about being one of the Hollywood “Chris” actors and how he doesn’t like people calling him by his first name.

Universal and Illumination’s Nintendo movie Super Mario Bros about the famed videogame plumbers, kart drivers and squashers of turtles is zipping from its planned December 21 release date to April 7, which is Easter weekend 2023.

Chris Pratt is sharing some details about the highly anticipated film adaptation of the Super Mario Bros. video game, with fans having some mixed feelings about the actor voicing the iconic Italian character.The Hollywood star who recently detailed his experience on the set of ‘Jurassic World’ after achieving a domestic gross of $259 million, has revealed that his Mario voice will be “unlike anything you’ve heard.”“I worked really closely with the directors and trying out a few things and landed on something that I’m really proud of and can’t wait for people to see and hear,” the actor shared, explaining that there is a difference between being in a live-action movie and voicing a character.“It’s an animated voiceover narrative. It’s not a live-action movie.

Chris Pratt is defending his upcoming movie role.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle EditorAccording to Chris Pratt, his voice performance as Mario in the upcoming feature adaptation of the Super Mario Bros. video game will be “unlike anything you’ve heard.”Variety got the chance to catch up with Pratt at the Wednesday night premiere of his new Amazon Prime Video series “The Terminal List” (more on that later!) to talk about finding his voice for the film, which co-stars Charlie Day as Luigi.There’s been much internet discussion over Pratt’s casting in the animated film as the Italian plumber despite his non-Italian background, with critics expressing concern that his accent could potentially be offensive.

Chris Pratt‘s Italian accent for the upcoming Super Mario film will not be offensive, producer Chris Meledandri has claimed.The casting of Pratt as Mario and Charlie Day as Luigi was instantly met by criticism from fans, given that neither actor is Italian. But Meledandri has since attempted to quell those concerns.“We are collaborating with Chris and his experienced team to not just create a character-licensed film, but a new piece of entertainment which brings Super Mario Bros.

Chris Pratt is stepping out for the premiere of his new Amazon Prime Video series.

reports Entertainment Weekly. “When people hear Chris Pratt’s performance, the criticism will evaporate, maybe not entirely — people love to voice opinions, as they should,” says Meledandri.

As part of the opening day here at CineEurope in Barcelona, Illumination founder and CEO Chris Meledandri shed some light on everything from the upcoming Minions: The Rise of Gru to whether we’ll see a same-sex kiss in a future Illumination title and how one long-ago misfire helped inform his career.

The studio behind the upcoming live-action “Super Mario” movie is teasing Chris Pratt’s “great performance”.

Illumination founder and CEO Chris Meledandri is speaking out about the backlash surrounding Chris Pratt‘s casting as the iconic Nintendo video game character Mario.