King of Kong goes big screen.

If you haven't seen King of Kong: Fistful of Quarters, then you really need to. Yes, the idea seems really silly and stupid, who the fuck would ever really care so much about having the highest score in Donkey Kong? Billy Mitchell and Steve Wiebe, that's who! The whole "who cares?" question begins to wear thin when you consider just how insane their accomplishments are and the perks that they get for holding such obscure titles.

Billy Mitchell was honored by Namco president, Masaya Nakamura, at the 1999 Tokyo Game Show for being the first person to ever get a perfect game in Pac Man. Also consider that Steve Wiebe (pronounced "wee bee") has been invited to the 2008 E for All Expo, Microsoft's MIX08 at the Venetian Casino in Vegas, appeared as himself on the TV show Code Monkeys, and has done several talk show appearances. Yeah, it seems silly as shit until you find out these guys are getting paid to fly out to Vegas, Tokyo, etc. to go to these events and play a shit-ton of Donkey Kong. Couple that with the awe that these accomplishments aren't as easy as some might think.

Steve Wiebe is one of only two people in the world to have gotten to the Donkey Kong "kill screen" at a public event. Only two people in the world have broken a million points in Donkey Kong at a public event. Those two people? Steve Wiebe and Billy Mitchell. Think about that for a second and then take into account that Donkey Kong has been around since 1981. Mainstream acknowledgment of competitive gaming can be traced back to 1983. So, it's not like nobody has tried. Before Steve Wiebe's attempt, the second highest Donkey Score was established in 2001. Billy Mitchell's pre-Wiebe leading score was established in 1982.

King of Kong, obviously has come and gone. It's on DVD and it had its short theater run. Now, the story of Steve Wiebe, a laid off Boeing engineer, battling the notorious Billy Mitchell is being made into a narrative film. IE: a normal movie, not a documentary.

Yesterday we talked with Seth Gordon, who directed The King of Kong as well as the upcoming Four Christmases and is set to direct the narrative remake, and got a few updates from him about changes they'll make and the status of the project.

Gordon explained that "from the moment we first thought, people might want to see [the documentary], and therefore we might be seeking a theatrical release, it became clear that a narrative remake for it was what film studios
would really be interested in." He adds that because there's no money in documentaries, New Line always had their eyes set on the remake rights. So after New Line picked it up, the first step was to get the documentary transcribed. "That was the first pass of the script in a sense, but then we hired a real writer to come in and take that content and shape scenes." That writer is Michael Bacall, a well-known actor who recently took up screenwriting
and also penned Edgar Wright's upcoming Scott Pilgrim.

Those who have seen the doc know that there is already a great story from within the film to pull from, so in essence, not that many changes really needed to be made. "There's going to be less of the talking heads," Gordon says at first. "And we couldn't be everywhere for the making of the documentary, so some stuff had to be done that way. So we'll show the moments we weren't able to be present for, but in terms of the story, it's going to be a very similar story - about Wiebe losing his job, rediscovering Kong, thinking he's the best in the world at something only to have it taken away by a guy who won't let go of his title." Thankfully this all makes sense and it doesn't sound like too much of a departure from the original.

"We're going to try, if we can, to really reference and use the documentary where possible," Gordon adds. "To me it's about not compromising the original, if we can help it." Sounds like this is actually being treated very well - so when will it all finally come together and be given the official greenlight? "They have made a really strong, aggressive commitment to it — because it's also New Line, they know that all my time has been invested in [Four Christmases]. So I imagine it's something that'll be able to start up again pretty soon." Based on that comment, it sounds like this will be Gordon's next project after he finishes up press for Four Christmases. I can't wait to see who they cast as Steve Wiebe and Billy Mitchell!
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I can't wait, either. Billy Mitchell may be the current Donkey Kong lead score holder (he later beat Wiebe's record again), but Steve Wiebe is the true King of Kong.