‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’ Drops Trailer At New York Comic-Con: Mushroom Kingdom, Here We Come

Ethan Shanfeld Not much is known about Nintendo’s upcoming “Super Mario Bros.” movie, but Keegan-Michael Key revealed to Variety that his character Toad has a musical moment in the film. When asked if Toad shows off his singing chops in the animated movie, Key said, “He does. I got to improvise a song in ‘Super Mario Bros.,’ which was an absolute blast. That was just a stick of fun, that whole thing.” Regarding Toad’s voice, Key said, “I was working on the voice with my partner and trying to find the voice through the internal journey of the character. And then with the directors [Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic], we sprinkled some things in, we moved it around.”

Variety Audio Honors, presented by Wondery, are the next generation of storytellers, and have been selected in recognition of their innovations in audio storytelling by a committee of distinguished audio industry professionals, chaired by award-winning podcast creator, producer and new host of NPR’s “It’s Been a Minute,” Brittany Luse. The Gotham/Variety Audio Honors are set to take place in person as a luncheon and a staged presentation in New York City on Oct. 14. “As an organization dedicated to celebrating and nurturing independent creators, we are proud to recognize these brilliant, innovative, and groundbreaking audio storytellers,” said Jeffrey Sharp, executive director of the Gotham Film & Media Institute. “As audio content reaches a pivotal point of engagement and innovation, it is crucial that we launch new platforms of recognition, such as The Gotham/Variety Audio Honors, to celebrate the most daring creators in our industry.”

Paramount+ today debuted the official mid-season trailer for season one of its original animated kids’ series, Star Trek: Prodigy. The trailer was introduced by executive producers Kevin and Dan Hageman, during the “Star Trek” universe panel at New York Comic Con.

Emma Stone didn’t receive a warm welcome while attending the first post-season game for the New York Mets.

Third time is the charm? The Super Mario Bros. Movie has been a major topic of conversation ahead of its release — from the mysterious plot to lead actor Chris Pratt‘s accent in the film.

James McAvoy speaks on stage during the His Dark Materials interview at New York Comic Con 2022 on Thursday (October 6) in New York City.

Mindy Kaling and Constance Wu sat down at HBO Max’s Velma panel during New York Comic Con 2022 on Wednesday (October 6) in New York City.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Samuel L. Jackson, Laurence Fishburne, Whoopi Goldberg and Zendaya are just some of the stars who appear in Elvis Mitchell’s “Is That Black Enough for You?” Netflix documentary. Mitchell’s doc bows this weekend at the New York Film Festival. Mitchell, a film critic who has written for LA Weekly and The New York Times takes on the role of writer, director and narrator as he traces the history of Black representation in cinema. The documentary examines Black cultural achievement in the 1960s and ’70s and debunks the notion that Black cinema in that period only meant Blaxploitation films.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Bethenny Frankel says she’s had enough of scammers on TikTok using her voice, image or content to sell counterfeit products. The entrepreneur and star of “The Real Housewives of New York” filed a federal lawsuit against ByteDance’s TikTok, the hugely popular short-form video app, alleging that TikTok has ignored her requests to remove unauthorized content that misappropriates her likeness. The lawsuit, which seeks class-action status, demands unspecified monetary damages and a permanent injunction barring TikTok from misusing the “personas, voices, content and/or likenesses” of Frankel and other potential members of the class. “Despite demands on TikTok to remove and police this corrupt conduct, TikTok has ignored such demands, and even taken countervailing positions,” Frankel’s lawsuit says. “Aside from not being compensated, the reputation and brand of Ms. Frankel and Class Members are being damaged and tarnished through unauthorized associations with counterfeit goods and other products that they do not support.”

The conversation around Chris Pratt’s casting as the voice of Mario in Illumination and Nintendo’s upcoming The Super Mario Bros Movie was well underway before Thursday. But it hit a new gear after the first trailer – and first listen of Pratt’s interpretation of the video game icon — was released at New York Comic-Con. It hits theaters April 7, 2023.

Ethan Shanfeld Fresh off the viral news that Velma is officially a lesbian in the latest “Scooby-Doo” movie, the Mystery Inc. member is getting more love in Mindy Kaling’s upcoming adult animated series set at HBO Max. During a Thursday panel at New York Comic Con, Kaling revealed the star-studded cast of “Velma,” which features Sam Richardson as Shaggy, Constance Wu as Daphne and Glenn Howerton as Fred. Kaling will voice Velma. The voice acting cast also features Jane Lynch, Wanda Sykes, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Russell Peters, Melissa Fumero, Stephen Root, Gary Cole, Ming-Na Wen, Ken Leung, Cherry Jones, Frank Welker, Fortune Feimster, Yvonne Orji, Sarayu Blue, Nicole Byer, Shay Mitchell, Debby Ryan, Kulap Vilaysak and Karl-Anthony Towns.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Kimiko Glenn (“Orange Is the New Black”) and H. Michael Croner (“Craig of the Creek”) have been cast as voice-over co-stars in Disney Branded Television’s upcoming animated series “Kiff,” which will premiere in 2023 on the Disney Channel. Scroll down for a first look at the series. Glenn will play Kiff, described as “an optimistic squirrel whose thirst for life takes her on countless adventures through her town.” Croner will voice Barry, a bunny that Disney calls Kiff’s “naive and lovable bestie.” South Africa-based creators Lucy Heavens and Nic Smal are behind “Kiff,” which was set to be unveilved, with casting news and teaser trailer, on Thursday at New York Comic-Con.

Shawn Mendes hits the red carpet for his new movie premiere, Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile!

William Earl The Gotham Film & Media Institute (The Gotham) announced today the launch of The Gotham/Variety Audio Honors, presented by Wondery, a groundbreaking initiative dedicated to recognizing the boldest voices in the ever-expanding world of audio storytelling. The honorees have been selected in recognition of their innovations in audio storytelling by a committee of distinguished audio industry professionals, chaired by award-winning podcast creator, producer and new host of NPR’s “It’s Been a Minute,” Brittany Luse. The Gotham/Variety Audio Honors are set to take place in person as a luncheon and a staged presentation in New York City on Friday, Oct. 14. “As an organization dedicated to celebrating and nurturing independent creators, we are proud to recognize these brilliant, innovative, and groundbreaking audio storytellers,” said Jeffrey Sharp, Executive Director of The Gotham Film & Media Institute. “As audio content reaches a pivotal point of engagement and innovation, it is crucial that we launch new platforms of recognition, such as The Gotham/Variety Audio Honors, to celebrate the most daring creators in our industry.”

“I was so inspired by my colleagues at Titmouse New York taking the first step to finally allow animation workers in New York to have a collective voice! I’m calling on Late Night Cartoons to voluntarily recognize our Union because all of the amazing, hardworking, passionate people who are my coworkers deserve to have benefits, protections, and fair treatment like any of our peers represented by the entertainment unions in LA,” said drawn animator Lynn Fong in a news release. Late Night Cartoons, Inc.