Some frequently asked questions about The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters

How did you find this story?

Ed Cunningham (Kong's producer) met Steve Wiebe through mutual friend Mike Thompson around the time we were finishing a previous project, New York Doll, while visiting Seattle. Wiebe hadn't yet been to Funspot in Weirs Beach, New Hampshire, but the possibility of such a trip was on the horizon. Seth Gordon (Kong's director) had visited the wonderful, magical arcade that is Funspot every summer when he was a kid during family reunions at Lake Winnepasaukee, New Hampshire, and knew what a lush and rich world was to be found there. After meeting Steve Wiebe, Seth was concerned about whether his story could work for a film. We knew other stories in the classic arcade world were very compelling, however, and some googling revealed that all roads led to Billy Mitchell, who either held the record on all the major titles, or knew the history, or both. When we met Billy, he was captivating: so smart, so charismatic, and a veritable encyclopedia of gaming history. One subtle curiosity emerged during those interviews: a black hole in Billy's recreation of the history of the records on all the titles was the (seemingly intentional) omission of Steve Wiebe from Donkey Kong history. This was obviously very interesting, and as we pursued five or six stories simultaneously on a number of titles (Pac-Man, Ms. Pac Man, Dig Dug, Centipede, Q*bert) we kept our eye on Kong to see what would emerge. What transpired was beyond any of our imaginations.

How long did you follow this story?

As you may know, the saga continues, and will probably go on for many years to come. Even as our deadline for printing the film approached, we continued to track what was going on all over the classic gaming world, so to date, we have been at this project in varying degrees for nearly 3 years. Actual filming and editing took place over a 2+ year period, and because of the number of cameras we shot with, and the rich environments of many places we found ourselves in, we ended with over 350 hours of raw footage. With the amazing help of Luis Lopez and Clay Tweel, we faithfully retold the story as we witnessed it.

Who is Tim Sczerby?

While our movie focuses on the rivalry between Billy and Steve, one other gamer has a very high-score in the Twin Galaxies database on Donkey Kong, Tim Sczerby. After repeated investigations into the validity of Tim's score, and after finding one dead end after another in our Twin-Galaxies-assisted attempts to reach Mr. Sczerby, we determined that his consistently disputed record was impossible to verify and did not merit inclusion in the film. The experts on the subject of Donkey Kong, especially Brian Kuh, always referred to Billy Mitchell as the reigning champion and maintained that his unrivaled skill put him on top of the record holder chart.

Has Billy Mitchell seen the film, and if so, what is his reaction to it?

Though we have offered Billy Mitchell the opportunity to view our film multiple times both in public and in private -- including a special, private screening before it had been seen anywhere in public -- he has always turned down these offers. We would love to hear what he thinks of the film after he gets the chance to see it.

What is the Wiebes' reaction to the film?

Though they acknowledge that the film caught some not so flattering moments of Steve's parenting skills, Nicole and Steve have said they are very happy with the film and have routinely joined us at screenings to participate in question and answer sessions.

Do any other machines besides Donkey Kong have a "Kill Screen"?

Yes. Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., Burgertime, Dig Dug and a few other classics have a "Kill Screen." The “Kill Screen” is an unintentional end to the game that occurs when the machine runs out of or encounters a bug in the programming code. Billy Mitchell is credited with first discovering the “Kill Screen” on the official arcade version of Donkey Kong back in July, 1982, as the first board of level 22 (117 screens into the game). Mr. Mitchell first demonstrated the "Kill Screen" publicly in November, 1982 at the famous LIFE Magazine photo shoot. The "Kill Screen" is an important factor in the pursuit of the Donkey Kong record, because the game is so random-no two are ever the same.

Setting the record on Donkey Kong involves accumulating as many points as possible (point-pressing) before getting to the end of the game. The key is to maximize the points on each board on the way to the game’s end. Billy and Steve have developed ways to jump more barrels, smash more fireballs and push all 4 screens farther than anyone else in the world.

Where is Billy's hot sauce sold?

Billy Mitchell's internationally distributed hot sauce, 'Rickey's', comes in a variety of flavors and can be purchased a variety of ways. The sauce is sold at Rickey's restaurants in Hollywood, Florida, as well as various Sam's Club, Price Club, and Costco warehouse stores. For more information on Rickey's World Famous Hot Sauce, please see www.800hotsauce.com. (By the way, the sauce is fantastic.)

Have Billy and Steve ever met?

Yes. They were in the same room twice while we were following the story. Though we weren't yet following the Donkey Kong rivalry in 2004, Billy and Steve are reported to have met, shaken hands, and played a couple of levels on an unofficial Donkey Kong (the game was part of a multi-cade cabinet that has many games including Kong on its internal PC, hence not a machine on which a record could be set), at the Classic Gaming Expo.

Who is the King of Kong?

We hope you'll come out and see the film (see it many times while you're at it) and tell us your answer to that question.

You can reach us at:

thekingofkongmovie@yahoo.com