News

Submit News

Forums

Artwork

Justin Wong's Column

Marvel vs. Capcom 2

SSF2T HD Remix

Tatsunoko vs. Capcom

Street Fighter 3 Third Strike

BlazBlue CSX

Focus: Documentary about Mike Ross

Posted — July 17, 2010 at 7:35 a.m. PDT

Focus is a documentary about the 4th place EVO finisher, Mike Ross. It was put together by Steve Hwang, and will be released this fall. Here's the trailer and a little blurb from Steve about the film.

FOCUS is a documentary about Mike Ross, a professional video gamer known for being one of the world's top Street Fighter players. The film is a portrait of his summer, as he travels the country competing in events in order to prepare for the biggest tournament of his life.

Comments

PainKiller said on July 17, 2010 at 7:37 a.m.

waiting for when it release then....

mcpreaches said on July 17, 2010 at 7:51 a.m.

I hope the film is better then the trailer and that they fix the color issues. I hate it when people use the 5D as a point and shoot camera. I work in the doc world I just hope they have a good editor b/c this could be great.

TheZed said on July 17, 2010 at 7:56 a.m.

Am I the only one who is still waiting for 'I got Next' by Ian Cofino? He said he would have it done by winter 2009..

WorstGiefEVER said on July 17, 2010 at 8:05 a.m.

I AM NOT GAY (not that there is anything wrong with that) but Mike Ross is a handsome dude. Like Eric from True Blood.

Definitely not gay.

Ibuki said on July 17, 2010 at 8:39 a.m.

@4 im gay and i don't think any sf players are attractive, well actually a few of them are (like me for instance)lol.

Anyways most attractive guys dont play video games :P they can be out having sex instead.

4everceezy said on July 17, 2010 at 9:37 a.m.

MIke FREAKIN ROSS!

OomackattackoO said on July 17, 2010 at 9:39 a.m.

are any of these documentaries ever coming out?

Kurow said on July 17, 2010 at 9:47 a.m.

One of my favorite players :) and probably one of the best Honda players in the world!.

AC4A said on July 17, 2010 at 9:47 a.m.

What, did they drop Justin and go for Mike?

VegaBisonAbel said on July 17, 2010 at 9:48 a.m.

mike ross would be the better face of american ssf4 than justin wong

#10

BUTTLORD said on July 17, 2010 at 9:58 a.m.

lol@any of these documentaries every coming out. That's kind of what I was thinking. This one looks pretty damn good though, gotta say.

#11

CONSTvariable23 said on July 17, 2010 at 10:09 a.m.

@#6/drmario112:

"One of the world's top Street Fighter players" doesn't imply he's on the same level as Daigo or Justin Wong. It just means that anyone who's anyone in the SFIV/SSFIV scene knows about Mike Ross's Honda, which they do. And he's even more impressive for doing so well when his character has such glaring limitations, so there.

No, I'm not a fanboy. I don't even know what he looks like. But anyone who gets that far at EVO with E. Honda deserves more respect than that.

#12

GCLeague said on July 17, 2010 at 10:20 a.m.

Ehhh. I like Mike Ross, but seriously a Doc about him!?!?!?..

#13

Cinderkin said on July 17, 2010 at 10:26 a.m.

If you don't care about the doc then don't watch it.

I for one enjoy watching Mike Ross play. Evo this year was very impressive. I represent SoCal, and Mike Ross is a great Honda player.

Still waiting on that Justin Wong Doc though.

#14

Slash said on July 17, 2010 at 10:32 a.m.

Haha I bet the Asian chick in the front of the last shot is Gamerbee's girlfriend

#15

PeterTheBohemian said on July 17, 2010 at 10:54 a.m.

I'm pretty hyped for this film. Mike Ross is one of the more likable personalities in the scene and his Honda is great. All those who say he's not on the level of Justin Wong, guess what: Justin Wong lost to Gamerbee. Gamerbee lost to Justin Wong. Do the math.

As for "I GOT NEXT"

Feature length cut, Spring TWO THOUSAND ELEVEN http://www.igotnextmovie.com/about.html

WTF

#16

CMAyhem said on July 17, 2010 at 11:05 a.m.

a documentary about kayane would be way better
it would make a huge sucess =)

she's a gamer, CUTE and a champion.

fück mike ross lol

#17

Slash said on July 17, 2010 at 11:11 a.m.

@ #17 "Gamerbee lost to Justin Wong"

Do the English.

#18

archer said on July 17, 2010 at 11:21 a.m.

Shouldn't this have been titled "Believe" instead of "Focus"?

#19

shinobaka said on July 17, 2010 at 11:28 a.m.

@16

um that girl in the last shot is his friend...i was at evo, i guess you thought that because she didnt go crazy.... its because he was still in a uphill battle she knew better...

#20

Slash said on July 17, 2010 at 11:44 a.m.

@22

Did you mean Gamerbee or Ross's friend? Cuz I watched the video again and she kinda looks like the same girl in 0:52, but I'm not sure.

PS. Never gave props to the editing, very well done!

#21

Banzai said on July 17, 2010 at noon

@WorstGiefEver

I think this is the reason why someone made a documantary about Mike and not Justin Wong or Marn. I'm juz sayn'

#22

Struggs said on July 17, 2010 at 12:38 p.m.

Not gay either BUT Gootechs is sexy. There are some good looking sf players. Mike Ross is a good looking man, and so is LI Joe, nice smile.

#23

KingIS300 said on July 17, 2010 at 12:50 p.m.

LMAO at all these "I'm not Gay but I think this dude is sexy comments"...smh

#24

toobroken said on July 17, 2010 at 1:06 p.m.

Daigo is still the sexiest beast.

#25

MALDA said on July 17, 2010 at 1:12 p.m.

(This user was banned.)

#26

jhayze said on July 17, 2010 at 1:18 p.m.

why are this players getting their own documentaries?
jwong, gootecks, and now mike ross...?
whats so important in their life that it have to be documented and watched!?
if its a documentary about the world of street fighter community, yes maybe im gonna watch it, but if for just some 'named' player...GTFO!

#27

J said on July 17, 2010 at 1:18 p.m.

I like Mike.

#28

irrenmann said on July 17, 2010 at 1:22 p.m.

Congrats to Mike Ross. It's quite an honor to be featured in a documentary.

#29

AeriALs said on July 17, 2010 at 1:30 p.m.

#29 cuz you're gonna watch it, and ppl in the sf community won't watch a documentary about jhayze thats why.

#30

shakka said on July 17, 2010 at 2:53 p.m.

Are you serious !
hey guys, open your your eyes...
Evo 2010 was a joke...except for gamerbee, daigo and some other guys.
mike ross is not the best honda player in the world...Look at his zoning !
Mike ross is a good player only. on the psn live, xbox live, there are a lot of good players.
Look again mike ross games...it's not a pro, my english is not so good to demonstrate it.
But, if you know versus fighting, you see it fastly.
Good technique for sure...that's all :)
I imagine americans see heroes with their fighters but the level is poor.Except for justin wong...

Stop to be a fan...analyse the game, the fact, improve your game, you will see these things diferentely.
Cheers
Shakka

#31

Jarkyttaa said on July 17, 2010 at 3:09 p.m.

Looks like it could be ok, but I'm skeptical. The thing that sucks is that Mike has a pretty good personality and a pretty good story. Their angles are pretty bad and it doesn't look like they did make-up at all for Mike for the interviews. Not to mention that the typography at the end is 100% terrible.

Well, here's hoping.

#32

Sloth said on July 17, 2010 at 3:24 p.m.

Mike Ross = So Pro.

#33

f1ip said on July 17, 2010 at 3:45 p.m.

all these damn trailers about documentaries and stuff and none of them are even out yet.

#34

boulderabuser said on July 17, 2010 at 3:56 p.m.

He deserve all the praise he gets. In the US, he seems to be the perfect candidate that could defeat Justin Wong. I mean, we're talking about the man that defeated Gamerbee here.

#35

SpiceyChicken said on July 17, 2010 at 4:06 p.m.

Are ANY docs even done yet?

#36

Jarkyttaa said on July 17, 2010 at 4:43 p.m.

I think you guys under-estimate the time it takes to edit a cohesive documentary. It can easily take 1-3 years, especially if it's only one person editing, to edit out a full-length documentary, because the vast majority of your narrative is conceived in editing, unlike in fiction, where it is conceived before you start shooting.

#37

GSwag said on July 17, 2010 at 4:50 p.m.

mike what? Mike Ross? MIKE BAUSS

#38

Quezacoatl said on July 17, 2010 at 5:05 p.m.

Lol @ Metsu Shoryuken fail. How in the hell does a Honda gets hit by that crap?

#39

Amar said on July 17, 2010 at 5:24 p.m.

Mike Ross is cool and no doubt a beast but...
Has he ever taken first? I'm not saying he hasn't, but he seems to always be top 8 or a bit higher.

Maybe this is meant to be more than just for the SF community?

Maybe it's meant for outside of the community to show just how cool of people are in the competitive SF4 scene instead of having us all being assumed to be a bunch of scrawny, angry, virgin, nerds?
Just a hypothesis. I'm probably wrong. Maybe.

#40

Jarkyttaa said on July 17, 2010 at 5:29 p.m.

@Amar: That's assuming that only champions (in anything) have interesting stories to tell. I'd whole-heartily disagree with that notion.

#41

Lingxor said on July 17, 2010 at 5:40 p.m.

I BELEEB

#42

Amar said on July 17, 2010 at 5:46 p.m.

@ Jarkytta: That's assuming thats what I meant. That was actually an just open question. Has he?

An interesting story simply based of game-play? might be a stretch. I wouldn't want to see one on Daigo's game-play for that matter.

#43

Jarkyttaa said on July 17, 2010 at 6:10 p.m.

I assume it was either a friend of his making a documentary, or someone picked him because he's one of the top competitors in the U.S. that also has some level of charisma. No offense to Jwong or Marn, but I'd much rather be cheering for Mike Ross for an hour and a half to see him lose than try to feel empathy for Marn.

#44

4everceezy said on July 17, 2010 at 6:20 p.m.

Wow, theres mad haters. I 4 one enjoy watching Mike play. Everyone whos hating on here is probably a Justin Wong/Daigo fanboy...honestly. If u dont like the vid..dont comment on it and dont watch it. Period

#45

Ex_Ein said on July 17, 2010 at 7:16 p.m.

"on the psn live, xbox live, there are a lot of good players. "
..............
I'm not going to touch that beside quoting it

#46

PeterTheBohemian said on July 17, 2010 at 8:23 p.m.

I like how #33 says EVO was a joke, except for Gamerbee and Daigo, but Gamerbee lost to Mike Ross.

#47

jhayze said on July 17, 2010 at 8:34 p.m.

not hating mike ross but did he ever win a big name event?

#48

mcpreaches said on July 17, 2010 at 9:41 p.m.

@Jarkyttaa #39 It does not take 3 years to edit a feature documentary I cut 10 one hour shows in 8 months. The fact is most of these docs that I have been seeing are exactly the same. The sad part is nobody will take these seriously, b/c of the lack of story telling and quality. Yeah the fighting game community will like it, but the stories here are more interesting then just the surface level stuff that is being put out. I am new to the community but no to film making and I see great stories everyday in this community, I would really just like to see one really great trailer that tells more then just the same story over and over again.

#49

Gorav said on July 17, 2010 at 10:06 p.m.

I would see that

I bet the cheering was from when he beat GamerBee </3 :(

#50

Jarkyttaa said on July 17, 2010 at 10:11 p.m.

I'm not saying that 3 years is the least or even average amount of time it takes to edit a documentary, but I know many that have gone 2-3 years post-filming due to this or that and that it can be an extremely time-consuming process, especially if you can't settle on your narrative right away.

I'd also give the film-makers the benefit of the doubt that there might be something to their narratives other than "Hi, I'm [name], I play street fighter, now is 90 minutes of b-roll of me going to tournaments." I'm just super hesitant to judge any of these films based on their initial cut of their first teaser trailer.

#51

Adrock said on July 17, 2010 at 10:15 p.m.

Mike Motha F*****' Ross

i just ate 2 snow cones and 4 milkshakes!

#52

rarefuture said on July 18, 2010 at 2:37 a.m.

i assume that its mike ross' likable personality along with his skill in the game that makes him not only interesting to watch but to listen to. he is a pretty humble guy in my honest opinon. these qualities make him a good choice for such a documentary.mike along with gootecks and john rog just seem like down to earth ppl.( i know gootecks and john rog came outta nowhere but they needed mention as they sorta got me more interested in the more competetive aspect of street fighter.

#53

Throwryuken said on July 18, 2010 at 3:46 a.m.

I'm not gay but floe is super sexy!!!!!!!!!!!!

#54

shakka said on July 18, 2010 at 4:02 a.m.

"on the psn live, xbox live, there are a lot of good players.
..............
I'm not going to touch that beside quoting it"

You wrong... i talk about Good players like him...
For me, he is not a top player, just a simple guy... He defeated gamerbee but it was just scandalous. when you see the "mike ross" honda.All is possible with the rules of the american evo.

Tokido elimination was scandalous too.
Look at daigo. Daigo win all his match, win also all his money games at evo...But daigo loose at nagoya street battle...loose at the france stunfest...

@rowryuken : Floe :) this guy is a joke too...
One other last thing about ricky. He is a good player ok.
But, it's scandalous, when he pick chun lee to defeat vangief...HK chun lee, that's too easy for her... he plays rufus...not chun lee...

#55

Kurow said on July 18, 2010 at 4:04 a.m.

LOL! xD

#56

shakka said on July 18, 2010 at 6:55 a.m.

@ Kurow
"One of my favorite players :) and probably one of the best Honda players in the world!"
LOL ! Xd

#57

Gbraga said on July 18, 2010 at 7:41 a.m.

Looks great and I really want to watch it, but they have to release it on DVD or to download, King of Chinatown will be showed August the 3rd but since I'm not form US I can't watch at all.

#58

otter said on July 18, 2010 at 8:10 a.m.

"anyone who's anyone in the SFIV/SSFIV scene knows about Mike Ross's Honda, which they do. And he's even more impressive for doing so well when his character has such glaring limitations, so there."

The only glaring limitation SSF4 Honda has is the ability to lose.

#59

Zeidust said on July 18, 2010 at 10:35 a.m.

how about a documentary about a nobody who seemingly has to beat the odds by training for over a year. A collection of montages, other tournaments, and at the end of the film evo.

#60

Arrancar said on July 18, 2010 at 1:39 p.m.

yea this kat isnt good i bet some one felt sorry for him since hes black and made a movie about his "skill" heh black. the extras in the film are him smoking pot and eating chicken.

#61

MonkeyCha0s said on July 18, 2010 at 1:39 p.m.

wow zeidust. thats an awesome idea. that is brilliant. spread the word.

#62

hika said on July 18, 2010 at 5:24 p.m.

Whos the asian chick on 0:45 and 0:51?? They look at the same

#63

SmoothJK said on July 19, 2010 at 2:06 p.m.

Yawn @ trailers. I'll watch it when (IF) it ever comes out.

I regret ever contributing to "I Got Next." Sorry, but gamers as a whole are a very lazy and unreliable lot.

#64

BADerRules said on July 19, 2010 at 2:44 p.m.

ross is good but he's not a champion quality

#65

omegax9000 said on July 19, 2010 at 5:55 p.m.

@ 51 that guru up on stage lol i was like the only person cheering for team magical head butts

#66

MatteMetMask said on July 27, 2010 at 2:31 p.m.

that guy is rather cool^^ wanna see it badly

#67

bananainsaneface said on July 28, 2010 at 12:49 a.m.

I wonder what would have happened if Mike Ross got eliminated in pools would they have scrapped the film?

#68

Name	Viewers
Armshouse	368
PJS Winning	125
Gunmetal	58