Just got back from a trip to Miami to interview Jack Thompson, attorney and one of the most outspoken people on video game violence in the U.S. Thompson, among other things, was involved in the banning of 2 Live Crew’s “As Nasty As They Wanna Be” and Ice T’s “Copkiller” in the early 90’s, and also one of the first to file lawsuits against game developers such as Id Software and Rockstar Games, citing their part in incidence involving school shootings.
Needless to say, the fellow is controversial, and so I was asked by my friend and filmmaker Danny Ledonne to be segment producer to on Ledonne’s new film - “Playing Columbine”, centering on videogame violence, free speech, and chiefly, the game “Super Columbine Massacre RPG” - a not-for-profit game distributed on the web, as social commentary, and created by Ledonne himself. Because of Ledonne’s involvement in developing a game that is a center of controversy itself, he pegged me to be the one to seek interviews with people that might not be willing to talk directly to him. Earlier last week, I also interviewed Roger Kovacs, the person responsible for making Ledonne’s idenity public on the Internet, after the game’s release. It’s a big topic, but I feel really lucky to have been given the opportunity to help on the project and interview one of the most significant figures in the videogame industry today.
I had never been to Miami before, and planned a rather circuitous trip, bringing me in from Colorado at 1 a.m., where I rented a car and gear in Miami, stayed up all night, interviewed Thompson in the morning and then headed back to CO that afternoon. It was a crazy trip, that did allow me to see a lot of Miami, having to move between the airport, Coral Gables, and some rental house in the middle of nowhere - and especially stay up all night. You can see some weird stuff, if you have to be up all night in Miami. I won’t go into details. But I can say there was a lot of mambo music, a strip club the size of a Home Depot, and one really serendipitous playing of Will Smith’s “Miami” on the radio. Also a trip to the “Ukulele Bar”, which I couldn’t not stop at.
Jack is a fascinating guy, who while being reviled by the gamers and developers the world over, was completely courteous welcoming me into his own home for the interview, and is exceptionally well-spoken. There are holes and perspectives in all arguments, but Thompson’s interview was certainly, if nothing else, fascinating. A trailer for the film, including an excerpt from the interview with Thompson, is viewable at www.playingcolumbine.com.