The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007) The King of Kong (original title)

Director:

Seth Gordon

Release Date:

28 February 2008 (Australia)

Genre:

Documentary | Biography | Sport

Tagline:

Don't get chumpatized.

Plot:

Diehard video game fans compete to break World Records on classic arcade games.

Plot Keywords:

Video | World Record | Video Game | 1980s | Arcade

Awards:

5 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Steve Wiebe	...	Himself - Donkey Kong Challenger (also archive footage)
Mark Alpiger	...	Himself
Adam Wood	...	Himself
Walter Day	...	Himself - World's Video Game Referee (also archive footage)
Steve Sanders	...	Himself - Author: Master's Guide to Donkey Kong (also archive footage)
Steven Krogman	...	Himself
Robert Mruczek	...	Himself - Head Referee, Twin Galaxies
Doris Self	...	Herself - Q*bert Contender
Todd Rogers	...	Himself
Brian Kuh	...	Himself - Donkey Kong Expert
Zack Hample	...	Himself
Billy Mitchell	...	Himself (also archive footage)
Barbara Mitchell	...	Herself
Jon Farley	...	Himself
Nicole Wiebe	...	Herself - Steve's Wife
Sandra Wiebe	...	Herself
Ryan Wiebe	...	Himself
Paul Pitkin	...	Himself
Mike Thompson	...	Himself - Steve's Friend
Jillian Wiebe	...	Herself
Derek Wiebe	...	Himself
Evelyn Mitchell	...	Herself
Mark Wright	...	Himself
Sam Haynes	...	Himself
Andrew Vogt	...	Himself
Greg Bond	...	Himself
Roy Shildt	...	Himself - 'Mr. Awesome' (also archive footage)
Dwayne Richard	...	Himself
Perry Rodgers	...	Himself
John Webber	...	Himself
Justine Barker	...	Herself
Joel Hedge	...	Himself
Donald Hayes	...	Himself
Craig Glenday	...	Himself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Steve B. Harris	...	Himself (uncredited)
Amanda MacKay	...	Herself - Host (uncredited)

Directed by
Seth Gordon

Produced by
Beau Bauman	....	consulting producer
Joshuah Bearman	....	contributing producer
Ed Cunningham	....	producer
Luis Lopez	....	associate producer
Ross Tuttle	....	contributing producer
J. Clay Tweel	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Craig Richey

Cinematography by
Seth Gordon

Film Editing by
Seth Gordon

Art Department
Ben Fry	....	additional graphic artist

Sound Department
Nathan Smith	....	sound re-recording mixer

Camera and Electrical Department
Staci Bernstein	....	camera operator
Ty Clancey	....	camera operator (as Tyler Clancey)
Charlie Crapella	....	camera operator
Ed Cunningham	....	camera operator
Brett Hammond	....	camera operator
Brent Hoff	....	camera operator
Bootsy Holler	....	camera operator
Luis Lopez	....	camera operator
Ross Tuttle	....	camera operator
J. Clay Tweel	....	camera operator
Greg Whiteley	....	camera operator

Editorial Department
Jim Bruce	....	additional editor
Ed Cunningham	....	additional editor
Luis Lopez	....	additional editor
Mato	....	color timer: film
Kostas Theodosiou	....	color correction
J. Clay Tweel	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Kripa Jones	....	composer: additional original score
Chris Robertson	....	music supervisor
Thomas Wilson	....	composer: additional original score
Thomas Wilson	....	music consultant

Other crew
Enrica Ferorelli	....	source: still photos
Christopher J. Keene	....	legal services
Paul Lavoie	....	digital production manager
George Nicholis	....	film publicist
Philip J. Strina	....	business & legal affairs: Picturehouse

Thanks
Duncan Birmingham	....	thanks (as Duncan Burmingham)
Heather Bergen Holme	....	special thanks
Steven Klein	....	thanks
Joel Relampagos	....	thanks
Mary Rohlich	....	special thanks
Doris Self	....	in loving memory
Monique Sorgen	....	special thanks
David Stern	....	thanks
Mike Thompson	....	very special thanks

Production Companies

• LargeLab (in association with)

Distributors

• Odeon Films (2007) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Picturehouse Entertainment (2007) (USA) (theatrical)
• New Line Cinema (2007) (non-USA) (all media)
• New Line Home Video (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Revolver Entertainment (2007) (UK) (all media)

Other Companies

• Diamond Time  music clearances
• Endeavor Agency  filmmakers representation
• Walter Day, John Sorflaten, and Lewis Wilson  additional footage provided by

Also Known As:

"The King of Kong" - USA (original title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for a brief sexual reference

Runtime:

79 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (No. 43504) | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Hollywood, Florida, USA

Company:

LargeLab

Trivia:

On August 7 2010, Bill Mitchell regained the Donkey Kong record with a score of 1,062,800. It took him 2hrs and 42min of playing. After passing Hank Chien's point level, Mitchell stopped playing rather than adding to his record breaking score. He remarked, "Some say I'm being cocky. Some say I'm being lazy. I say I'm being Billy Mitchell."

Goofs:

Factual errors: When Billy Mitchell is describing an analogy of top WWI fighter aces, he claims the top French ace shot down 24 enemy planes. In reality the top French pilot (René Fonck) shot down 75 enemy planes, He also claims the Red Baron shot down 87 enemy planes, when he only had 80 confirmed kills.

Quotes:

Robert Mruczek:Pattern recognition and memorization is key. If you do not know the next pattern coming up in a Tron Light Cycle Event, you will lose your life.

Movie Connections:

References Metroid (1986) (VG)

Soundtrack:

Tijuana Tarantella

A great film and a great documentary

I just got done seeing this film in Santa Monica and was so happy that it lived up to how great the trailer makes this film and the characters out to be. It was totally entertaining from start to finish and lives up to the obvious Rocky comparisons. And like Rocky this film deserves it time in the sun right now and hopefully a ticket to the Oscar dance next year.

And yes the film was carefully edited to make for some dramatic moments as all films are. It is after all entertainment. But nothing so much that it taints the great story this film tells. I can think of quite a few documentaries and films in the past few years that did the same thing. Fahrenheit 9/11, An Inconvient Truth, JFK and pretty much any story you see told on the news tonight. The truth is left on the editing room floor. AlphaPepper should probably change his login ID to Sour Grapes and remove his head from... well you know.

Billy Mitchell is no doubt a nice guy but is perfectly edited as the villain for this film. Steve Weibe is likewise edited to be the perfect underdog. All the other cast of characters in this film and some of their comments make this a film worth seeing. And without a doubt Steve Weibe's daughters "from the mouth of babes like" comment steals the whole show in the end.

In the end this is just a great story about two men Steve Weibe and Billy Mitchell fighting for title of King of Kong. I hope this film gets picked up for larger distribution so more people can enjoy it like I did.