Rock Paper Scissors - The Documentary

"A combination of Halloween, Mardi Gras. Really a Star Trek convention with binge drinking and much better looking women."

This weekend is the 2008 Rock Paper Scissors World Championships here in Toronto (I'm not kidding either, there's $13,000 in prize money). Along with that comes a screening of my friend Mike McKeown's film Rock Paper Scissors - The Documentary.

Mike worked on this for years (as did a couple other friends) and I've been waiting to see it for awhile. Here is the synopsis:

"The Walker brothers wanted to turn a child's game into a good-natured competitive sport, but when Rock Paper Scissors fanatics converge on the World RPS Championships, they're caught between big business, talk show pundits, Playmate mascots, and a battle of good versus evil that asks the question, "Can purity beat commerce?"

Rock Paper Scissors is a verité style documentary that follows the story of the Walker brothers and the evolution of RPS into a legitimate sport of skill and strategy, worthy of training and competition. Starting from humble beginnings with only the love of the game as their motivation, the Walker brothers reach a crossroads during the film as they're approached by corporate sporting giants Fox Sports and ESPN to back the sport with an official world circuit culminating with the annual world championships. The story is a classic Greek tragedy waiting to unfold.

As we navigate our way through outrageous characters, hilarious strategies and heated competition, one thing becomes absolutely clear -- RPS is much more than a game, it's a lifestyle. While it may sound like a mockumentary, these people are definitely real."

Hope to see you there...