King of Kong Film Adaptation Still Rolling Along

Tom Goldman

Crying on the inside.
Aug 17, 2009
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King of Kong Film Adaptation Still Rolling Along



King of Kong is a wonderful documentary, but more traditional filmmakers have an eye on it as well.

King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters [http://www.amazon.com/King-Kong-Fistful-Quarters/dp/B000XQ4HR8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1286074035&sr=8-1] is easily one of the greatest documentaries of all time, and its popularity led to speculation that it would be adapted into a feature film. According to King of Kong's director Seth Gordon, that film is going to happen and is progressing along nicely.

Gordon tells Game Informer: "The adaptation is still in the works at New Line and the script is well on its way." However, Gordon and others do have "concerns" that the documentary's original tale, which wasn't scripted, can be properly expressed through a written narrative.

"I feel that the documentary was a really fortunate moment in time where we were able to capture a pretty extraordinary story that unfolded in a way that none of us could have predicted," Gordon says. "How do you adapt that without somehow compromising it?"

If you've ever played a videogame with a slight glimmer of enjoyment, you should have watched King of Kong by now. It's the story of a battle for the world record score in Donkey Kong, which is more cutthroat a competition than one might expect. Filled with a lovable cast of characters like everyman Steve Wiebe, his devious nemesis Billy Mitchell, and one aspiring record holder that really wants to share Donkey Kong's "kill screen" with everybody around, it'd be interesting to see how King of Kong translates into a scripted movie.

For example, who on the planet would have enough hair power to play Billy Mitchell? And how does one get across the emotion that King of Kong's subjects put into playing a game where a giant ape throws barrels?

If anything, the film could have an advantage by revealing more of the story than the documentary could cover. After King of Kong, the Donkey Kong world record switched hands multiple times between Mitchell and a surprise third challenger, before finally ending up back in the hands of Steve Wiebe [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/103629-Donkey-Kong-World-Record-Reclaimed-by-the-Nice-Guy]. I'd like to see another documentary covering an extended tale like this personally, but as Gordon says, he captured a moment in time that can't be replicated, so maybe the upcoming film can still give fans more of what they want in a different way.

Source: Game Informer [http://gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2010/10/01/king-of-kong-adaptation-is-still-in-the-works.aspx]

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Blind Sight

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May 16, 2010
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Go Steve Wiebe! Honestly though, I love Mitchell, I'm pretty sure he was almost trying to come off as evil as he could in that documentary.

Enough hair power isn't what I'm concerned about, I'm more wondering if anyone else can pull off that American flag tie as well as Mitchell can.
 

zelda2fanboy

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Oct 6, 2009
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I wish they wouldn't make this. What's the point, other than mimicking another movie or making fun of it? However, if I were going to cast it, I'd get Billy Bob Thornton for Billy Mitchell and Ed Helms for Steve Wiebe,
 

Baldr

The Noble
Jan 6, 2010
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I don't know, Billy Mitchell comes off as an a-hole in the documentary due to editing and such, from what I understand Mitchell and Wiebe are friends and Mitchell really isn't an a-hole.
 

AvsJoe

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May 28, 2009
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Wait, WHAT?
[sub]Can you tell this is the first I've heard of this?[/sub]
 

ENKC

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May 3, 2010
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So, having told the real story, what purpose is then served by fictionalising it?
 

icyneesan

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Feb 28, 2010
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>King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters is easily one of the greatest documentaries of all time

And yet I've NEVER heard of it ?___?
 

bakonslayer

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icyneesan said:
>King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters is easily one of the greatest documentaries of all time

And yet I've NEVER heard of it ?___?
It was much more popular than was expected, and yes, it is definitely one of the greatest documentaries of all time and something that anyone who is passionate about video games and video game culture should watch. Just like a musician should watch Spinal Tap, a game enthusiast should watch King of Kong. (Besides that King Kong is real and Spinal Tap is accidentally real)

Another great documentary (Well, docu-drama) for every geek to watch: Pirates of Silicon Valley.
 

Jared

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Jul 14, 2009
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ENKC said:
So, having told the real story, what purpose is then served by fictionalising it?
Because Hollywood love to take history and mould it into something totally different ><
 

TheIr0nMike

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Do we really need another film based on a documentary. The only time one has been as interesting as the original documentary is with Party Monster.
 

Ghengis John

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guy 1:"Hey scott pilgrim really killed in the box office didn't it?"
guy 2:"No, no it didn't"
guy 1:"Right, so the gamer demographic is a powerful new thing we can push into theatres."
guy 2:"No, they're too busy with their game, sir"
guy 1:"So let's make a film based on a documentary that a lot of people have already seen"
guy 2:"why would they want to re-watch the same story with paid actors?"
guy 1:"Only this time we'll load it with special effects, pop culture references and a gripping drama about hospital bills, over due rent and a teetering romance."
guy 2:"This sounds very formulaic"
guy 1:"This'll be HUGE!"
guy 2:"Do you hear anything I tell you?"
 

The Rascal King

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Ghengis John said:
guy 1:"Hey scott pilgrim really killed in the box office didn't it?"
guy 2:"No, no it didn't"
guy 1:"Right, so the gamer demographic is a powerful new thing we can push into theatres."
guy 2:"No, they're too busy with their game, sir"
guy 1:"So let's make a film based on a documentary that a lot of people have already seen"
guy 2:"why would they want to re-watch the same story with paid actors?"
guy 1:"Only this time we'll load it with special effects, pop culture references and a gripping drama about hospital bills, over due rent and a teetering romance."
guy 2:"This sounds very formulaic"
guy 1:"This'll be HUGE!"
guy 2:"Do you hear anything I tell you?"
Don't be so quick to poop all over this party. Maybe they'll give a quirky tone that movie goers just eat up today. Like having Zach Galifinakis play as Steve Wiebe and Jemaine Clement as Billy Mitchel.

Wait, that's a terrible idea. I rather this film be good than be a box office success (like Scott Pilgrim, might I say)
 

Ghengis John

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Don't get me wrong. I genuinely loved Scott Pilgrim. It was totally a movie made for me in every way right down to the inclusion of Metric and Broken Social Scene. But if you asked me to bet money on another movie going for the same demographic, I wouldn't.