Advance to Hollywood! My on-camera MONOPOLY interview with documentary filmmaker, John Wellington Ennis.

Imagine my surprise upon receiving an email from a young, accomplished, and well-respected independent filmmaker from Beverly Hills. Now, imagine how I felt after reading that he wanted to sit down and interview me, on film, about my knowledge and enthusiasm for the game of Monopoly. I just about flipped my board! But seriously, I was more skeptical about the whole thing at first, than I was excited. I mean, why would this Hollywood filmmaker want to talk with me about such a commonplace game in our regular, everyday pop culture?? However, after some correspondence with Mr. John Wellington Ennis, I finally understood where he was coming from. It's simple, really. See, what interested John in the first place was my original post on Monopoly I wrote back in July of 2009. He said he not only liked how informative it was, he also really liked my enthusiasm for the game and thought that my energy could be good for his film.

So that explains why John was interested in talking with me, but it doesn't tell the whole story... The bigger picture in John's film, PAY 2 PLAY, consists of using the game of Monopoly in a symbolic way to help illustrate "the cycle of how political campaign costs breed corruption, making candidates beg, borrow, and steal." It also "shows how" we can "take back the election process and hold corporations accountable." And it also happens to be a sequel of sorts to his previous, critically acclaimed doc, Free For All!, which detailed the corruption of the 2004 U.S. election.

John, behind the camera, and li'l ol' me in front of it.
Man, are those camera lights bright!



Needless to say, I was pretty nervous come interview hour, never having done anything like it before in my life! But I must say that John was so professional and so good at directing me that I almost instantly felt at ease in his hands. I had a total blast talking about one of my favorite board games of all-time! I just hope that I didn't make a total fool of myself on film, you know? I have yet to see any part of what John shot, so it'll be quite interesting when I finally do get to see it...

The project is in post-production as I write this, and in desperate need of funding to complete. So if you're at all interested in donating to this wonderful cause, please, check out the information below. You can also click on the attached link to view a preview of the film! You should really look into it, whether donating, or not, because john is a brilliant, witty filmmaker who infuses his work with plenty of intelligence and humor. I'm telling you, I believe in this guy. And I'm not just saying all of this because he's putting me in his documentary, but rather I think his films are good enough to actually make a difference.



Here's another shot, from a different angle, of John setting up his
camera equipment. FYI - I only LOOK calm, cool, and collected...

























Yet another shot of the set up, however, I think John
might've already begun asking me questions, here.





At this point, the main interview was over and John was curious
to see what different variations of Monopoly I owned, so I
busted out a few and set 'em up for the camera. John was such
a cool guy, I sorta wished he had the time to stay and play an
actual game... Of course, that easily could've taken hours!



It's a wrap!
Me, and John Wellington Ennis after a successful afternoon shoot.



~ All photos taken by Tommy Kovac, and property of Anthony See ~

Board Games That Don't Bore Me: Monopoly

Some people find Monopoly boring, but I don't. It has always seemed fun to me! Well, for as long as any game I've played has actually lasted. In fact, I don't think I've ever played a game of Monopoly to its very end... Not for lack of trying, mind you. See, I've had the misfortune of being surrounded by people in my life who find it VERY boring and don't have the patience required to play it all the way through. Much to my dismay!





"Let's see... Boardwalk, with 1 house and 1 hotel is...
WAIT! Who let you build both a house AND a hotel
on this property?! You're in violation of Monopoly
building codes, sir!"




Contrary to popular belief, Monopoly was NOT invented by Charles B. Darrow. He only revised and improved upon a much cruder early version of the game, and then managed to strike a deal with Parker Brothers in 1935. It was originally created, and then patented under the name, The Landlord's Game, by a woman named Lizzie J. Magie in 1904. She spent many, many years trying to get it off the ground, but to no avail. Her main intent for the game was for it to become popular as an educational tool, not just a way for her to get rich. So, I don't think it bothered her too much that it didn't make her a millionaire. What DID bother her, was that she felt cast aside and unrecognized as the game's real inventor, convinced it was due to the fact she was a woman. And, back then, she was probably right! Women were the victims of sexism quite often, in those days. Not that it doesn't still exist, today...





If only you could spend this pile of "cash" at the mall...
Then again, in today's economy, it would probably only
get you a sweet roll at Cinnabon and a smoothie drink
at Orange Julius!





A virtual rainbow of real estate!




I think what I like most about this game is all of the accoutrements. There's something about getting a Title Deed card for every property you purchase, and they're fun to keep organized in neat rows of matching colors. Alongside the railroads and utilities, of course! Exchanging the money is quite pleasing, too. The bills are nice colors, and the print design for them is cleverly simple yet functional. Then, once you own a monopoly, it's time to BUILD! I just love those little green houses and red hotels. But let's not forget one of the best things about this game... The player tokens! I prefer the old classic ones over any of the modern replacements. And I always choose either the dog or the race car. I guess that the top hat would come a close third, but neither the wheelbarrow, cannon, flat iron, thimble or horse & rider ever get my selection. There is a train token, too, but not in any of the editions I have. That one would probably trump the whole lot of 'em, if I had the option! All together, I'd say that I find Monopoly to be a very satisfying tactile experience in addition to being a visual delight. I particularly find the game board itself to be a good example of elegant simplicity at its best! That might seem a bit over-the-top to you, but I get excited about these things.





A study in green.
Pretty, but I would arrange all of the houses
in a STRAIGHT line!



As if I wasn't enamored enough with the classic design of this game, I've also recently discovered a couple of excellent reinterpretations that I want to share with you. The first one is a different take on the game board, a Helvetica Revival version by graphic artist Florent Guerlain. And the other one is a beautiful repackaging that was imagined, as well as created, by graphic artist Andy Mangold.






Helvetica Revival Monopoly, by Florent Guerlain






Monopoly Repackage (closed box), by Andy Mangold






Monopoly Repackage (open box), by Andy Mangold






Monopoly Repackage (out of box), by Andy Mangold




Pretty great, huh? I love it when artists mix things up like that. I just wish that I could own one of each of those! They're certainly leagues better than most variations, like Cat-opoly, Wine-opoly, or the dreaded Pink Boutique edition.

Thanks for "playing" along with me! Maybe, someday when we all have a few hours to kill, we can get together and play an entire game, from start to finish?


All images via Google Image Search