Something Expensive to Collect

A while back I noted the announcement on the Twin Galaxies website that a series of collectible "memorabilia" cards was going to include Billy Mitchell, infamous gamer of the century and subject of much controversy since The King of Kong. Well, the Orlando Sentinel ran a recent spot about them, and what turned out to be more interesting was the Donruss Americana II set that was released on July 16th, at a mere $40/pack of 4, or about $150 for a box of 16. Yowzer! I was expecting something like $60/box, and not a "box" of 16 cards. After recovering from the initial shock, I had to look into what this Americana series was all about.

"With the release of Americana, Donruss seamlessly taps into the world of Hollywood and pop culture to create a one-of-a-kind release that succinctly captures the flavor of our rich and storied show biz history...."

These aren't your run-of-the-mill bubblegum cards. Some of them have actual autographs, some of them have bits of actual clothing worn by their subjects. Many of the stars are a tad before my time (Edward G. Robinson, for example) but I do know the names, and many are more contemporary (Patrick Stewart, John Cusack, and...yeah, Bigfoot the monster truck, autographed with a tire print). They're actually really interesting and if I had the spare cash lying around (and even though I don't, the temptation is there), I'd probably start collecting these.


The Ebay market for these is quite active. I'm torn between being practical, buying whatever singles I'm interested in, and the element of gambling on unknown packs. It's harder to justify such a gamble at $40/pack, but the mystery is half the fun! I'm afraid I'm going to have to spring for at least one pack, and I guarantee it won't have the ones I want. That's just the way packs work, they know.





PS - Paging Dr. Horrible! There will be a 4th Act to Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, said Whedon at a Comic Con panel discussion. That, and some sort of video blog contest to join the league of evil.

The Funspot Tournament, Part 2

OK, so where was I? Oh right, at the 10th annual International Classic Videogame & Pinball Tournament, talking to Billy Mitchell via Walter Day's phone. Whaaaaaaat?!

He was definitely in fine Billy Mitchell form from the get-go. I asked how it was going, and he straight away let me know that it was going really, really, really great, pretty much as good as I could possibly conceive, if I hadn’t heard (and yes, I had heard rumors to that effect). He’d seen my casting call, and wanted me to know, in no uncertain terms that his wife should not be played by a bimbo. She’s actually got multiple degrees including a teaching degree I believe, and all in all sounds like quite an achiever. I let Billy know, in no uncertain terms, that I view Jennifer Tilly as a great actress (Bride of Chucky), a dangerous Texas Hold'um player, and definitely not a bimbo! (If there’s any bimbo in my casting selection, it's Colin Farrell.)

We also found some common ground regarding the difficulty of attending events like this with kids. I know some of you will instantly cry "BS!" but after experiencing the rigors of just being spectators with two very well-behaved children in tow, I can only imagine trying to actually focus and play for scores (and kudos to Steve Wiebe for pulling that off!). Just because I can relate though, doesn’t mean I couldn’t come up with 15 reasons why he SHOULD HAVE come!

While I adore the film, and love rooting for Steve Wiebe, I guess I'm just too laid-back to consider anybody an actual villain (if I thought Steve was actually losing sleep over any of this, I might feel differently). Or maybe he's just the villain I love to hate. Either way, I get a kick out of Mitchell's persona, which may be leaning ever-so-slightly towards arrogant, but is undeniably entertaining. Of course, I haven’t yet been subject to the wrath of Billy Mitchell, and I liked Darth Vadar too. Until he turned out to be Hayden Christensen. Ugh. If Billy turned out to be Hayden Christensen, I’d have hung up immediately.

I think he takes all this nemesis stuff in stride, and honestly, I think he totally does it on purpose (draws controversy, that is…kind of like the Kirk/Picard issue). He told me that when he was discussing the movie with somebody, who started to kind of trash-talk him, he said that it was obvious that if the guy felt that strongly, the movie must have been well done to evoke an emotion of that nature. Which it wouldn't have done if it were about two nice guys. That’s what I’m talking about, and I appreciate a story that can provide that. It’s possible I’m evil too, though. I did display some elements of griefer back in my WoW PvP days.

So during this conversation, the hot sauce topic came up, because apparently closer to the beginning of the tournament (Thursday and Friday) there had been commemorative bottles of Ricky’s to be had, and alas, being a late arrival on Sunday, I’d missed out on that. Billy was nice enough to offer to send me some in the future. Now, what he doesn't know yet is that actually, I'm a buffalo wings FIEND, and have yet to encounter a boneless buffalo wing hotter than I can handle (the suicide hot ones at John Harvard's are pretty good, but the habanero ones that Chilis has right now…come ON guys, don’t throw a word like habanero around unless you mean it). I'm looking forward to seeing where this Ricky's rates, in scoville-ville. Bring it on!

Eventually I realize that I've been talking to Billy for probably longer than I ought to be, given that I'm monopolizing Walter's phone (he's a busy guy - there's a tournament going on and all) and so I say goodbye for now, hand it back with a grin and a big thank you, and head back in. My son's a little out of sorts by this time…ok, a LOT out of sorts, audibly so, and my husband looks half relieved/half annoyed to see me. "What kept you?!?!" he says.

"Well, I was on the phone with Billy Mitchell."

"Oh. Well…alright then." Aside from “I tripped in the parking lot and broke my leg,” I think that was one of the few responses I could have given just then that would have made things OK.

About this time I took a breather, played some Dig Dug (nothing fancy, just to the 9th board or so), and realized, “Oh cripes, I’ve been carrying around the cover insert for The King of Kong all day to get it signed, and I totally forgot about it!” Luckily, I ran into Joel again after this revelation, and he did the autograph thing. Then we wandered over to THE Kong machine, which was right next to one of my childhood favorites, Timber (hey, I grew up in Montana, what can I say?). Chris kicked off a game of Dr. Mario that lasted a looooong time, as in we took the kids downstairs after a while, let them play whack-a-mole and some other games, went back up to check…nope, still playing…went back down, got a drink…maybe you should try his cell?...nope, he’s not picking up – I don’t know what his score was, but he’s always been really good at that one, he probably gets to the Dr. Mario kill-screen multiple times on the same quarter.

I caught up with Walter again later in the afternoon, and he introduced a couple world record holders for various games – I mean, you couldn’t swing a dead cat in there without hitting a world record holder. We got to hang out with the record holder for Elevator Action and hear Walter talk a bit about transcendental meditation. This is a very interesting topic, and I don’t fancy I would do it justice trying to paraphrase what he said, but I do plan to check it out. As we joked at the time, anybody with kids could use some re-centering and stress relief.

There was a lot more I intended to ask, but before I knew it, he was being pulled away on another mission of great urgency, to help organize all the big names in the building for a group photo finale out front. He said if I was able to stick around for a while longer, I’d be able to get some great shots! (Sadly, the kids had other plans for us.) Before he raced off, I did pull a final fanboi maneuver, asking if he could autograph my cover insert. Which he did, because he really is a nice sort.

I hope to talk to Walter and others I met there at greater length in the coming days. I don’t think he’d argue (and has in fact stated) that there have been mistakes made through the course of Twin Galaxies’ existence, mistakes that have been dragged into the limelight and turned around to bite their masters. But if somebody hadn’t started keeping track of video game scores back then (and boy must it feel like it’s more trouble than it’s worth sometimes!), there might never have been a 10th annual International Classic Videogame & Pinball Tournament, and you probably wouldn’t be reading this, because my favorite movie of the year would never have happened.

And thus our day was at an end, and it was time to go. As we drove by, I could see several arcade machines outside, and a crowd starting to gather. We were almost able to stay long enough to catch the group photo, but those meddling kids just weren’t going to let it happen. So instead we drove away with an awakened sense of nostalgia, a little regret at missing so much of the tournament, and I with a renewed sense of determination to acquire a Ms. Pac-Man tabletop and Theater of Magic pinball machine for our basement.



BUT…






Billy? Steve? I hereby put you both on notice; your days are numbered:

PS - July 4, 2008 - You can read about the 48 new world records achieved at Funspot X at the Twin Galaxies website. There was a Donkey Kong kill-screen, among other things!

The Funspot Tournament, Part 1

Act 1: They Meet

So this past weekend was the 10th annual International Classic Videogame & Pinball Tournament at Funspot. Guinness was on tap (heee) to document any official records, and I was bound and determined to be there, too! The caveat was that if it was to happen, our two toddlers were going to have to come along for the ride. So on Sunday, around 10 AM, we loaded them into the car, picked up our good friend Chris, and headed north.

The Funspot Angle

When we first got there, it was a little overwhelming. This is it? We're really here, at the Funspot? The place is HUGE, much bigger than it looks from the outside. We started in the lower level, which contained a bowling alley and tavern on one side, and a kiddie area with little bumper cars and kid-style rides and games on the other. My daughter had a BLAST on all that stuff, and it was nice to know that there was something there for her too.

And then we went upstairs. Oh MAN, it was unbelievable! There was a whole row of pac-man series games, and almost every arcade game I loved as a teenager. I mean Crossbow, they had it, and Timber, Moon Patrol, Spy Hunter, Qix…I would go so far as to say they had a plethora of games. There were these weird surreal moments, like when I was walking past Wonderboy and heard the sounds coming out of that game, it was a complete auditory trigger, like suddenly being 18 again, just for a flicker. Almost like the Butterfly Effect movie. It's hard to describe, but it literally brings you back.

I really wish I'd had more time to play the games (and the presence of mind to take more pictures!), but I did get to visit some of my old favorites - Crossbow, Dig Dug, Gauntlet, and Timber.

I'm just so thrilled to know that there are still places like this around, and thanks to everyone at The American Classic Arcade Museum there who makes this bastion of classic arcadia possible. I’m told they had even more machines there this year than the year before, so it seems they're still adding games. Please, Funspot, can you get Kiwi Kraze (The New Zealand Story) for when we go next year? I never did get much farther than the whale boss at the end of the first stage, and I'd love to try again!


The King of Kong Angle

I’d just like the record to reflect, I am NOT a King of Kong groupie! Err…well, maybe I am. I admit, that’s what drew us to Funspot in the first place, and I was very much hoping to see some of the faces from the movie. I didn't see anyone I recognized for quite a while, though I was pretty sure I'd seen Brian Kuh walk by (he’s local, so I fully expected to see him there), and that guy there eating pizza in the café looked a lot like Todd Rogers. It wasn't until after lunch, though, that Chris said, "Hey, I think I just saw the Xybots guy!" I said, "Where??" and naturally, the reply was, "Playing Xybots around the corner." Duh.

We stealthed on over, and sure enough it was true. I didn't really know what to do (I often wuss out on this stuff in person), so my husband basically just walked up and said, "Hey, aren't you the Xybots guy?" Thanks, honey! He was indeed Joel Hedge, the Xybots guy.

He was really nice, and talked with us for quite some time about Xybots, Funspot, and so forth. The subject of "the wall" came up, and I hadn't seen it yet, so he took us over to see it. "The wall", really is more "the hall" as it is quite expansive, incorporating both sides of the upper entryway (there is actually a third section I didn’t capture). And a very large portion of it belongs to Brian Kuh.

You know when you have a really, really favorite pair of pants, or maybe a shirt? I'm talking an article of clothing that is just so "you" that it feels like it was made for you, you regard it as almost on par with your actual friends, and you just want to wear it all the time? I mean, like, you'd wear it every day if you could get away with it? Brian, you totally get where I’m coming from! (j/k...Brian actually achieved all those records on the same day!)

So towards the end of my conversation with Joel, we noticed Walter Day walk by. I'd corresponded with him a bit before the tournament, and had been looking forward to meeting him. So I made a mental note of where he'd gone, and shortly thereafter, Joel headed off for some more gaming, so I went to try and track down Walter. Now I had the perfect greeting line all prepared, I was going to walk right up to Walter and slyly say, “So, I hear you’re good at centipede…” Alas, the best-laid plans of mice and men often go astray. I caught him on his way in the other direction with two official-looking people (tournament registrants, I believe), and only managed to choke out a "Hi, Walter?"…which was enough to make him pause, at least, and I introduced myself. I was psyched that he did know who I was, but asked if he was busy. He said yes, at that moment, but that he'd try to catch me later.

Right after that, I saw this Brian Kuh fellow in the hallway, and, buoyed by my recent success, decided to go ahead and speak up. He was indeed Brian Kuh, and though he refused to reveal the secrets of retiring at 30, he was amiable enough (I think he's used to being recognized), and said he'd check out my remake casting choices (really, I've got to find Steve Buscemi an understudy, because Brian's WAY young for Steve to pull it off I'm afraid). I asked how the tournament was going, and he said that unfortunately he’d lost a high score (and now I can’t remember on what, curse my swiss cheese memory!) but overall it was going well. We didn’t talk for too long, and I figured it was about time to check on the family, who I’d sort of left to fend for themselves.

What happened next was utterly serendipitous. Colin was starting to voice his displeasure again (i.e., prepping a tantrum), and I said, hey, let me go grab him a bottle out of the car. As I walked out the entrance, I passed Walter, on the phone. He paused and said he'd be free in just a minute, and I said, great! I went to the car, got the bottle, and as I was coming back, Walter gave me the universal sign language signal for "hold on a second" (you know, the pointy finger in the air). He says to the caller on the other line, "Billy…" and my internal monologue went, no way…are you kidding me? as I realized what was unfolding. "Billy, I'm about to do an interview with someone here, but I thought she might like to say hello."

Next thing I know, I'm on the phone with Billy Mitchell.

TO BE CONTINUED... (tomorrow!)

PS - OMG, Robert Mruczek posted the following sequel teaser on the official boards...had to share:

Casting The King of Kong Remake

As if once wasn't enough, New Line is doing a fictional remake of The King of Kong! It's listed at IMDB, but you need premium membership to get any info. (Oh, come ON, guys, you're killin' me!) Fine, then, we don't need your stinkin' info, we'll make some up!

So over on the official King of Kong boards, there's been a little discussion going on about what Hollywood actors could fill the roles of the various people featured in The King of Kong. I've been giving it some serious thought, because it seems rather challenging, and I'm ready to present my conclusions. I included the real people below for comparison where I could get them. I'll fill in the rest later, but unfortunately, my copy of The King of Kong is on loan to a friend. And now, the results of that trial...


Steve Wiebe
I was really stuck on this one for a while, but my best friend, Kanadani (who also created the awesome new header you see up there - thanks, Kanadani!) NAILED IT with Nathan Fillion.




Steve Wiebe, Nathan Fillion from Firefly (and Slither, which I just revisited this past weekend)... and yeah, I threw Christian Bale in there too, because I wouldn't complain. Just sayin.

5/29: G4's Attack of the Show aired an interview segment with Steve where he mentions that Greg Kinnear, Jason Bateman, and Nathan Fillion are being considered for the role of Steve Wiebe. He's cool with any of those. I am too, but I still think Nathan is BY FAR the best choice.

Billy Mitchell
This may be the toughest casting choice of the entire film, though the BBC is evidently way ahead of us here. You want somebody who can pull of larger than life attitude (and Fabio-grade hair) convincingly. Rumor has it that Ben Stiller may be interested, and I could definitely see that working. On the other hand, Colin Farrel always has a plan...



Walter Day
James Cromwell might be able to take a stab at this, though he's perhaps a bit tall.



Unfortunately, two strong contenders have muscled James Cromwell out of this role (his agent will hear about this!). Strader on the Picturehouse forums recommended Roberts Blossom, the old guy from Home Alone, and Robert M. recommended Steve Smith, of the Red Green Show.


Roy Schildt



If Ahhhhhnold isn't available, let's go with Matthew McConaughey, but only the version straight from Reign of Fire...

Robert Mruczek


Jon Heder. Just pretend that figure skating movie never happened.


Brian Kuh


Steve Buscemi may be way too old to play this role, but I can literally hear him doing it, and it would be perfect.


Steve Sanders



Nicolas Cage. They both have that laid-back sort of likeability to them. Understudy: Ian Ziering of 90210 fame.


Evelyn Mitchell
The role of Billy Mitchell's wife belongs to Jennifer Tilly.




Nicole Wiebe


I'm tapping Hillary Swank for this one. Why not, right? She's totally cool.


Mark Alpiger - the guy who plays Crystal Castles (Crystal) with his feet


Aaron Ruell, aka Kip Dynamite. If not this role, he belongs in there somewhere!

UPDATES

Here are a few more for the mix.

Doris Self
Robert Mruczek over on the official forums suggested Linda Hunt for the role of Doris.

Greg Bond (the Mappy champion)
Kanadani threw me another great choice, for the role of Greg Bond - David Koechner, from Anchorman.

WHAMMY!

Todd Rogers
An addition that would really make this movie complete would be Ron Jeremy in the role of Todd Rogers...or Steven Segal if Ron's busy on another Surreal Life season.

Joel Hedge
After meeting the Czar of Xybots at Funspot X, and given the sizeable contribution he made to the DVD extras, I wanted to add him to the remake mix! One Keith Gordon is our choice here.

Other people who belong in there somewhere

Uncle Rico (Jon Gries)

McLovin!!!! (Christopher Mintz-Plasse)


Neil Patrick Harris (as himself)

Alright, New Line, get to it! If anybody has additional suggestions, let's hear them!

I <3 The King of Kong

It’s my current mission in life to make you see The King of Kong. If a movie ever deserved word of mouth, it’s this one. And so far, nobody I’ve watched it with is disappointed.

In a nutshell, The King of Kong is about a fight for the top score on the classic arcade game, Donkey Kong. I’ve played Donkey Kong, and I SUCK at it, but everyone who’s ever dropped a quarter into an arcade machine should see this movie. Or even if you haven't. It deserves an Oscar. Go throw it in your Netflix queue right now.

I’m not sure my friends are quite as fanatical about the film as I am, but I’m an utter gamer geek. As a kid, I had a book on Pac-man strategies and dreamed of pulling off the “donut dazzler.” As an adult, I swear one day I will have a Ms. Pac-man table-top machine in my basement. I started off with the Magnavox Odyssey II and the Atari 2600, and have fond memories of many a birthday party hosted at Aladdin’s Castle. I would sit on my bed, eating bacon bits and reading the latest Nintendo Power, and get excited about every trip to the grocery store, knowing that Crossbow and Wizard of Wor awaited. The King of Kong is the documentary I was born to see.

I recommend you watch the movie before really delving into what the story is all about, it’s so much more interesting to be drawn into it gradually, to watch it unfold without knowing the ultimate end. That’s how I watched it, and afterwards I declared it the feel-good movie of the year. Then I watched the extra footage, which you will also need to do. Another great thing about this scenario is that it’s not over (do NOT go to http://www.billyvssteve.com/ until you’ve seen the movie, if you can help it).

Another thing, if you get G4 tv, you CAN catch the world tv premier on June 1. Then afterwards you'll go out and buy it.

There’s a narrative remake of this movie being done for New Line by the director, Seth Gordon. I dug up a really excellent interview with him on that at http://thefilmlot.com/interviews/INTsgordon.php. I'm not sure how I feel about a remake. As the interview points out, the real-life characters are stranger than fiction here. Oh for sure, I'll go see it though! I'll have to do some thinking about what Hollywood actors ought to reprise those roles. Again, I advise you to see the film first before reading that full interview. Spoiler alert!

The creators of this documentary did a fantastic job of polarizing the rivalry of these two classic video game players, and making you care, and that's why this film succeeds. They'll tell you how the story was there to begin with, but like Michelangelo chipping away at a block of stone to reveal the work of art within, it took skill to weave the tale for us in such a compelling manner. You can see the results if you visit the official forums. Unlike many of the forum posters there, I appreciate Billy for what he’s done for this film, though I’m wrestling with an extreme inner conflict at the moment. To buy the hot sauce, or not to buy the hot sauce? I’m torn, I don’t know if principles allow me to cross that line and contribute to the evil empire...

But back on the subject of emotion, this story wouldn’t be remotely as entertaining as it is if Billy weren’t the way he is. Would Steve Wiebe be as endearing if he were up against some other equally likeable guy? Hell no. Every hero needs a foil. So really, I consider Billy the villain I love to hate. As was the case with Watership Down’s General Woundwort, I’m guessing it’s a monument that would not displease him.

Oh and by the way! If you pay attention to the end credits, you'll see two shots of Asheron's Call 2. That's one of the games I worked on, and actually implemented a handful of quests for prior to its closure in December of 2005. I was there to the final second, playing music with the community members of Thistledown as the servers winked out. /shout out from Ramen to my AC2 peeps!

Read about other geekumentaries in my Top 10 Geekumentaries article.