Obnoxious teen sensation Justin Bieber - or, at least, his people - wanted to use the iconic Super Mario Bros. theme in his upcoming movie. Curiously, Nintendo said "nothankyou.jpg".
Love him or hate him, this kid is one of the biggest things in entertainment right now, and "Never Say Never", his movie/promotion vehicle due to be released later this year will undoubtedly be one of the biggest flicks of the year. At least in terms of money made.
Why, then, is the "film's" director John Chu complaining "aw C'mon Nintendo! Y won't u let us use the Mario theme for 15 secs in the @Justinbieber movie...talk about free advertising passed up. Oops."
You could argue that, having let the Scott Pilgrim movie use the Zelda theme last year, they're being picky with which properties are associated with their brand. Or that Chu is being punished for his atrocious use of "text speak".
Then again, this is Nintendo we're talking about. The same Nintendo who thought this was a good idea.
So who knows! Maybe company president Satoru Iwata just hates Canadians.
Nintendo Says Never To Justin Bieber's 'Never Say Never' Movie [MTV]