In a lot of ways I feel like I'm a not doing my job as an arcade fan for not making time to go see it when it was in St. Louis a few months ago. Had I known the internet controversy that was going to rise up because of the film, I would've been in the front row munching on some popcorn and enjoying the festivities.
Unfortunately, hindsight is 20-20 and I have to ride in on the back wave "old news" portion of the film's successes...
Watch This Episode on www.theStream.tv
With that said, Coin-Op TV, a live streaming video broadcast that tackles all things arcade related, has posted a great new episode last night that features the King of Kong Fistful of Quarters film producer Ed Cunningham. The show not only tackles the film's successes (which have been phenomenal for a documentary based on what is essentially a high score competition), but also the "issues" raised about the film by Billy Mitchell and Twin Galaxies.
Sure there are a few questions that aren't addressed that probably should have been, but overall it's great to see the opinions of the documentary's producer and why the vision of the film released was true to form from the perspective of the filmmakers.
For a bit of a backstory on the issues raised by Twin Galaxies and the people involved in the film that were portrayed "poorly", I recommend heading over to the Twin Galaxies' forums where Walter Day has posted the official Twin Galaxies' responses.
You can find his statements here. Unfortunately at the time of this posting only one forum post was updated which went over the issue of portraying Billy Mitchell as a champion refusing to give up his crown.
Another bit of interesting reading that I would recommend would be the Unofficial "King of Kong" thread that sprung up on Twin Galaxies as well. The amount of fact checking that occurs in the thread would impress even the most "hardened" journalists. However, there are some assumptions made that are a result of opinions that seem to be a bit motivated more by a point of view rather than actual facts. I would recommend trying to read through it with a relatively open mind before you attempt to take a side.
Once I get a chance to finally sit down and watch the film I'll be sure to post my own impressions. Regardless of how I feel about the end result, I have to say that seeing Donkey Kong and arcades in the spotlight - even for a short time - is a sign of great things. With everyone trying to turn back time and to hold on to just a fraction of their childhood, gamers who grew up in the 80's have a lot too look forward to with the success of the film, controversy and all.
