STRAT-O-MATIC: THE MOVIE

 

“STRAT-O-MATIC: THE MOVIE” TELLS THE STORY OF
A GAME THAT BECAME AN AMERICAN INSTITUTION
 
Documentary filmmakers to be shooting at Strat-O-Matic 50th Anniversary Celebration/Opening Day in New York City to capture the love, passion and memories
 
Strat-O-Matic Fanatics invited to tell their personal Strat-O stories
 
 
GLEN HEAD, NY – JAN. 21, 2010 – Strat-O-Matic, the original and market leading fantasy sports simulation game, announced today that, timed with the company’s 50th Anniversary, Riotous Pictures will produce “STRAT-O-MATIC: THE MOVIE” — a documentary film that explores the world behind the board game that has ignited a passion for baseball and sports stats for millions of fans over the past 50 years.
 To capture the love, passion and everlasting memories that millions of people have for Strat-O-Matic, a production crew from Riotous Pictures will shoot the Strat-O-Matic 50th Anniversary Celebration/Opening Day on February 12, 2011 in New York City. They will interview Strat-O-Matic Fanatics for their memories, stories and anecdotes and capture all of the days events.
  “Strat-O-Matic: The Movie” tells the story of how Hal Richman, an alienated 11-year-old boy, created a baseball board game in his Long Island bedroom in 1948. That game went on to reshape the sports and gaming world, and gave rise to a unique incarnation of the American Dream: an old-school family business with a passion for sports, number crunching and a fanatical fan base. Relying in large part on input from loyal players, the documentary explores the world within the board game. From its creation through the birth of the computing age, it follows these game-changing products and its fan community as the company outlives all of its competitors and finds its unique place in the 21st Century. 
 In addition to being at the Strat-O-Matic 50th Anniversary Celebration/Opening Day, Riotous Pictures will also be attending a variety of other Strat-O events throughout the year including: the closed-door player rating meetings at the company’s Glen Head offices, Richman’s induction into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, and many more. 
Riotous Pictures was created to make movies for “the people formerly known as the audience.” Bringing old-school mastery and discipline together with the new energy of socially networked distribution and direct audience participation, Riotous is riding the crest of a paradigm shift that is daily redefining filmmaking and film watching and bringing the two together in unprecedented ways. The Riotous Pictures crew includes: Director/Producer: Michael Jovic, Producer: Andrea Swift, and Director of Photography/Producer: Eliana Alvarez Martinez.
The Strat-O-Matic 50th Anniversary Celebration/Opening Day will be emceed by long-time New York sportscaster and 35-year Strat-O player Bill Daughtry. Strat-O-Matic inventor Hal Richman will honor the Ultimate Strat-O-Matic Fanatic and provide a state of the company address. Other speakers and panels will include lifelong Strat-O player, former baseball star and current ESPN broadcaster Doug Glanville, who will also be signing copies of his New York Times best-selling book, The Game From Where I Stand – A Ballplayer’s Inside View, Glenn Guzzo, author of the book Strat-O-Matic Fanatics, John Dewan, founder of STATS INC., former pitching coach Rick Peterson, a Q&A with board game and video game researchers and developers, plus other celebrity Strat-O players and fantasy sports game icons.
 
About Strat-O-Matic
Strat-O-Matic was invented by 11-year-old Hal Richman in his bedroom in Great Neck, NY in 1948 because he became frustrated by the statistical randomness of other baseball board games.  He discovered the statistical predictability of dice would give his game the realism he craved.  Over the next decade he perfected the game at summer camp and then as a student at Bucknell University.  After producing All-Star sets in 1961 and ‘62, he parlayed a $5,000 loan from his father (and made a deal that if it didn’t work out he would work for his father’s insurance company) into the original 1962 Strat-O-Matic Baseball season game. Needless to say Hal never had to take a job with his father.
Strat-O-Matic, based in Glen Head, NY and on the Internet at www.strat-o-matic.com, produces the top selling sports board games and is the leading producer of realism/stats sports computer games. The company publishes baseball, football, basketball and hockey games to play both on and off your computer screen. “Strat-O” games are known throughout the sports community for their statistical realism and accuracy. The company has the world’s greatest sports game stat libraries with top-of-the-line seasons dating back to the early 1900’s.  On the Internet, the company has partnered with The Sporting News to create innovative fantasy/simulation games and previously with Sports Illustrated Kids to produce a line of new fantasy sports games for a younger demographic.  Recently the company released Strat-O-Matic Negro Leagues, the first sports simulation game to accurately reflect more than 100 Negro League players who never had the chance to show their skills in the major leagues. All Strat-O products are available in both board and computer game formats.
The company has a loyal celebrity following including a bevy of sportscaster and sports journalists like Bob Costas, Buzz Bissinger, Jon Miller, former MLB’ers Keith Hernandez, Doug Glanville, Cal Ripken; and sports super fans including Bryant Gumbel, Tim Robbins, Drew Carey and Spike Lee. More information is available at: www.strat-o-matic.com).
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