Longoria admitted she was ashamed of not knowing Montañez’s story until she read the script. “I was like, ‘How do I not know this? He’s Mexican American like me. I love Flamin’ Hot.’ So it was like the flavor you knew, but the story you didn’t, and so I was immediately inspired and I thought, ‘Everybody should know this story. There are so many lessons we can learn from his life.”
what is an antipode?
two places diametrically opposite each other on the earth’s surface.
they are very rare.
what is the shortest route between them?
a straight line through the center of the earth.
i recently saw ‘vivan las antipodas’
released in 2011
directed by russian documentary maker
victor kossakovsky
who had a radical idea
to visit these places
and shoot four antipodal pairs:
argentina/china
spain/new zealand
chile/russia
botswana/hawaii
he filmed it in a way
that literally
turned the world
upside down
and back again
for 108 meandering minutes
i was blown away
by the beauty
of
the landscapes
the people
the animals
the music
the colors
the contrasts
the connections
some things are universal
life
death
money
sex
family
friends
community
survival
love
it was
quietly
stunning
and
it was
dizzying.
what do you get when you combine the 1980s, video arcades, the guinness book of world records, human drama, sabotage, corruption, power, cheating, trash-talking, genius, ego, and insanity?
why, you get ‘the king of kong: a fistful of quarters’ of course. one of my all-time favorite documentaries. this eccentric film, released in 2007, features ‘self-proclaimed legend’ in the world of video arcade games, billy mitchell, florida hot sauce magnate and the holder of the ‘donkey kong champion of the world high scoring’ record for 25 years, and the first perfect game scorer in the history of pac-man, as he is challenged by quiet and brilliant unemployed aerospace engineer/now science teacher from washington, steve wiebe, who has never won a thing in his life.
in this film, their long distance rivalry and ultimate challenge is played out right before our eyes and under the careful watch of walter day, creator of twin galaxies, and online gaming website gatekeeper. what follows is a classic tale of good vs. evil, davy and goliath, sheer will and karma, and the suspense never stops right up until the very last second.
watching this, i spent 79 fascinating minutes glued to the screen, laughing, crying, cheering and yelling, right along with it. and most of all, i love that it was categorized under ‘sports’ in the documentary world.
film quotes:
Walter Day: This rivalry is among the greatest: the Yankees and Red Sox… Hekyll and Jekyll.
“I wanted to be a hero. I wanted to be the center of attention. I wanted the glory, I wanted the fame. I wanted the pretty girls to come up and say, “Hi, I see that you’re good at Centipede.”
Jillian Wiebe (Steve’s wife) : Work is for people who can’t play video games.
image credit: picturehouse/dendy cinema
I didn't have my glasses on.... 