There was a Mario movie once. It was awful. There was also a Zelda cartoon. Same story. So you can understand why, when Hollywood comes-a-knockin' these days, Nintendo are quick to reply with "nothankyou".
Asked by the LA Times whether there's still interest in doing things with the rights to Nintendo franchises like Zelda, Mario and Metroid, Nintendo of America's president Reggie Fils-Aime replies "All the time."
"The message is,'Thank you for the interest.' There have been certain [people] that we have talked in more detail with. But I think in the end, because we are a content company and are passionate about our franchises, it will be few and far between that actual deals are done to bring our franchises to life in a different way. These are our children."
Notice he doesn't rule it out. Indeed, he says discussions have been serious from time to time, like when John Woo wanted to do a Metroid movie. But on the whole? Yeah, I don't think we'll be seeing a Zelda or Mario movie anytime soon.
Which is strange. I can see a Dreamworks Mushroom Kingdom movie in my head, clear as day, and while it's not brilliant, it's making millions.
Nintendo North America President Reggie Fils-Aime is a power player in the video game industry [LA Times]