‘I am the proud father of mario the animated film [sic],’ producer Avi Arad told Sony Studio Chief Amy Pascal in an email dated Oct. 23, 2014, with the subject line ‘Mario.’ Arad then forwarded Pascal separate images of him with Mario Bros. creator Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata, the latter of which included the message, ‘Happy ceo, lets get together, it’s the mother load [sic].’ Pascal forwarded that email to Tom Rothman, who heads up Sony Pictures subsidiary TriStar Pictures. “Avi closed Mario brothers,” she said. ‘Animated.’ On Oct. 24, Arad sent an email to Sony Pictures Animation President of Production Michelle Raimo Kouyate thanking her for a congratulatory basket she sent him filled with Mario Bros. merchandise. ‘Thank you Avi!’ Kouyate responded. ‘Let’s build a Mario empire!’ Kouyate also sent a photo of the basket to Pascal, and said, ‘I can think of 3-4 movies right out of the gate on this. So huge!’