On the documentary itself, and controversial video-gamer Roy "Mr. Awesome" Shildt:
AVC: You thought it was going to be a more direct documentary about video gaming?
BM: The truth is, I never knew it was even going to be about Donkey Kong, I thought it was competitive video gaming as a whole. But the truth is, none of us are ever mean. None of us are ever vindictive, and we've never had a mean-spirited movie or story or film done about us, so this was a first. All of us, a couple of us in particular, for 22 years now, have avoided interaction with Mr. Awesome, and it was clearly stated, "I'll do what you need me to do, or we can talk about whatever you want me to talk about, I'm not going to talk about him. And if you're going to include him, I'd just rather not participate." And it was openly said, "No, we aren't going to," and "Not a chance," and they did anyway. Oh, well. That's really the main crux as to why I decided to distance myself from participating in any promotions or anything like that. As far as the movie, it's a lot more fun to play the bad guy, believe me. Are you married, or do you have a girlfriend?
AVC: Girlfriend, yeah.
BM: Well, let's pretend like she watches soap operas. She'll tell you her favorite person is the really bad girl or bad boy. So, it's kinda fun.
The incredible, unbelievable story of Mr.
Awesome.
Ed Cunningham: I met Steve four days after the guys showed up at his house to check out his machine. So it was a really opportune moment, but you know, Steve's just kind of a regular guy, and we didn't know if we could hang a whole movie on him. And then we went down and met Billy and I was like, "Oh my God, this guy's awesome." He's just an amazing, amazing guy. We were chasing about four or five different stories, there was a great story going on with Ms. Pac-Man, with this Jamaican immigrant who worked for his dad's construction company in Queens. But every time we showed up, something strange and fascinating was happening with Donkey Kong.
AVC: Billy says his greatest concern was the inclusion of Mr. Awesome in the film. Presumably there's more to their history than the movie goes into.
EC: The movie pretty clearly states that Roy is jealous of Billy, has been since the mid-'80s, and will go to the ends of the earth to try to hurt him. In a 35,000-foot statement, that's the story.
SG: Although not physically harm him.
Conspiracy theories and Mr. Awesome.
On the planned feature film:
AVC: Apparently, Seth Gordon and Ed Cunningham are working on a feature-film version of the story. Did you know anything about that?
BM: The contract that I have with them says clearly: No Mr. Awesome. After the movie released at Sundance, maybe like in February, I began to know things about it. That's when I said, "Well, wait a minute. You said he wasn't going to be in it." And, the theory is, "Oh, no. That contract's not for the documentary. It's for the remake." So, yeah, I know there's a remake, and supposedly the agreement I have with them says that I don't want to be a part of anything that has to do with, um, different things…
AVC: So if they came to you and said, "We're doing a remake. And we want to have a character named Billy Mitchell, and it's about—"
BM: They already have the paperwork to do that. I signed the paperwork to do that before the documentary came out, and I was duped. I suppose they'll get away with it.
AVC: That's not something you'd have enough interest to go to court about?
BM: Actually, I've had some very strong legal opinions on directions that they feel will be very effective. And I suppose eventually I'll sit down and give it serious thought. But for the moment, to be honest, I don't really put my thoughts or time to it. Again, it's a fun part of history. And unfortunately, there's about a half a percent of a tenth of the population that somehow gets worked up over the movie. [Laughs.]
Ed Cunningham: Our goal would be to keep [a feature-film version] in the same tone as the doc. That's one of the reasons we were so excited to end up at New Line, because they have that same vision for it, that it won't become this broad, kick-in-the-groin comedy. So that's our goal. The ending in the doc is fairly complicated, and you have to consider when you go to a scripted version, you have to be open to the idea that it may change some. As far as Billy reclaiming the record, I don't know how that's going to be dealt with.
AVC: And you already have permission to portray Billy in a feature film, right?
EC: Yeah, we have his life rights. [Laughs.] Complicates things, doesn't it?
AVC: Billy's understanding of this is that the exclusion of Mr. Awesome applies to a feature film. Is that true?
EC: It's not our position to talk about the legal side of things. That would be completely beyond our scope to comment on.
SG: But I think we can generally say, the degree to which Billy wants to remove Mr. Awesome from the historical record, in every form, is definitely true. [Laughs.] Is that fair, Ed?
EC: Totally fair.
On what the filmmakers learned:
Ed Cunningham: It's been an incredible lesson on how, when people have a vested interest, the truth is always going to be slanted toward their opinion. We've tried a couple of times to sit down and hash out everything we learned through this process factually, and it's nearly impossible. If you want to have some very intense reading, go on some of the blogs and read any entry from [video-game referee and King Of Kong participant] Robert Mruczek and his claims on what happened and how. It's so mind-boggling, the level of detail that people have gone to, to try to say what the truth is or isn't. It's really a fascinating study. There's truth everywhere.
Seth Gordon: Yeah, the Rashomon of it. What's fascinating is how high the stakes are for such a thing. They put so much effort into something that to most of us seems relatively inconsequential. What's worth getting upset about, really?
Amazing 2003 MTV interview with Billy Mitchell.
A little more Billy being Billy:
BM: Hey, you didn't ask any real tough questions.
AVC: I didn't know we were doing an interview today!
BM: Well, you're not intimidated by the movie, are you? You don't look over your shoulder and think that I'm there?
AVC: [Laughs.] Are you right behind me?
BM: No, but I will be. Again, I see the value of Hollywood, I really do. I don't think it's necessary for—you can read the interviews, you can be at the Q&As—I don't see the necessity, when the game is over, to do things they've done that are mean-spirited.
AVC: Are you selling more sauce since the movie came out?
BM: Well, let's just say I haven't hit $50 a week yet. I do talk to a lot of people, and when I have a review or something sent to me, like when somebody sends me yours, sometimes you can just click on it and send an e-mail. Sometimes there's a phone number. I never ever, not once, miss contacting, saying thanks, saying "That was funny," or whatever the case is. Sometimes the reviews are funny. Sometimes they're insightful, and I learn things that I otherwise didn't know. Very often, I get responses back, and they're usually: "Well, I didn't mean to offend you." You're not offending me, you're reporting what's just on the screen. That's the way it is. More often than not, it leads to a conversation without an interview. But I'm very cautious, as you can hear in my voice, I do not speak ill of people. It would come back to bite me, and in 25 years, I've never done a negative interview, and I'm not going to do one.
AVC: Well, thanks for all the insight, I appreciate it. And we're looking forward to the sauce as well.
BM: Well, ask some tough questions the next time!
AVC: If I'd known we were going to speak today, I would have thought of some.
BM: Hang in there. If you're ever down here, you can stop and say hi.
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