For those who care there is a documentary film at sundance this year regarding Twin Galaxies and the geek fest that was the 1982 video olympics. Rumor has it that there is a classic old school game room that has been set up someplace in Park City in conjunction with the film. I'm waiting for an email with an address from a friend with inside connections (maybe even tickets :) ). Currently the tickets are standby only or $2500 for a B pass. If the tix fall through I'll probably give the Broadway screening a try for standby as it only a couple of blocks from my office. Anyone have tix already?
 
BTW sorry I missed lunch a couple weeks ago. I had to make a last minute trip to Logan for a family member.
 

 

   
The last place you'd expect to find the video-game capital of the world is Ottumwa, Iowa--but in 1982, this tiny town's Twin Galaxies arcade served as the shining beacon of pixilated pop culture, attracting the best of the best in the highly competitive world of arcade video gaming.

It was no fluke that eccentric arcade owner Walter Day became the official scorekeeper for the video-gaming industry, a mammoth task that he and head referee Robert Mruczek still oversee today via the Twin Galaxies international scoreboard. The arcade itself closed its doors in 1984, but not before Day gave some of the very best players to ever wield a joystick their 15 minutes of fame. Officially recognized as the "video game player of the century" is Billy Mitchell, who in 1999 became the first and only person to achieve a perfect score in the game of Pac-Man (3,333,360, in case you are wondering). He and other gaming superstars are an arcade owner's worst nightmare, able to play for hours, sometimes even days, on a single quarter.

Culminating with the nationally televised 1982 Video Game World Championships, director Lincoln Ruchti takes us on a wild ride through the lives of the first arcade celebrities, resulting in an eye-popping collage of retrogaming goodness. While the perspective on video gaming that Ruchti gives us is insightful, the colorful characters that he unearths along the way are this film's true treasure.— Adam Montgomery
 
 Executive Producer : John Panichello
Producer : Michael Verrechia
Cinematographer : Lisa Wiegand
Editors : Eddie Brega, Lincoln Ruchti
 

Screening Times

Monday , Jan 22 11:30 AM Prospector Square Theatre CHASI22PD
Tuesday , Jan 23 9:30 PM Holiday Village Cinema IV CHASI234N
Thursday , Jan 25 3:15 PM Holiday Village Cinema III CHASI253A
Friday , Jan 26 6:45 PM Broadway Centre Cinemas V, SLC CHASI26BE
Saturday , Jan 27 10:00 AM Holiday Village Cinema IV CHASI274M
 

Director(s) Bios

Lincoln Ruchti
Arkansas native Lincoln Ruchti earned dual degrees in English and telecommunications at the University of Florida and received his master's degree in film production at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. Before Chasing Ghosts, Ruchti directed of a number of shorts, including Drum Major Cunningham, Rest Home, and Upper Deck. A casual gamer, Ruchti is currently ranked 25th in the world for the 1974 arcade classic Wheels.