Wordplay
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Patrick Creadon
Tyler Hinman
Merl Reagle
Daniel Okrent
Mike Mussina
Bill Clinton
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
A journey into the world of Will Shortz, the crossword puzzle editor at The New York Times. Known to millions as National Public Radio's "Puzzle Master," Shortz has spent his entire lifetime studying, creating, and editing puzzles, and has built a huge following along the way. Meet Shortz's diehard fans--including President Bill Clinton, Senator Bob Dole, "The Daily Show's" Jon Stewart, filmmaker Ken Burns, the Indigo Girls, and Yankee's ace pitcher Mike Mussina--and discover why over 50 million Americans do crosswords every week. Also introduced are several world-class crossword solvers who are followed to Stamford, CT, as they compete at the 28th annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament (ACPT). Hosted and directed by Shortz, the tournament is the nation's oldest and largest crossword competition. Competitors travel from all over the world to attend, and vary in age from teenagers to octogenarians. Over the course of one long, snowy weekend, almost five hundred competitors will battle it out for the title "Crossword Champ." The competition is based on both speed and accuracy, and one wrong (or blank) square guarantees that someone else will be taking home the trophy.
Director
Patrick Creadon
Cast
Tyler Hinman
Merl Reagle
Daniel Okrent
Mike Mussina
Bill Clinton
Ellen Ripstein
Will Shortz
Ken Burns
Jon Delfin
Jon Stewart
Al Sanders
Bob Dole
Crew
Matt Beals
Skip Blumberg
Doug Blush
Ken Burns
Bill Clinton
Michael Creadon
Patrick Creadon
Patrick Creadon
Patrick Creadon
Patrick Creadon
Jon Delfin
Bob Dole
Jeff Garcia
Peter Golub
Tyler Hinman
Alex Kobbs
Tracy Mcknight
Julia Mcmorrow
Mike Mussina
Caitlin O'malley
Christine O'malley
Brian Oakes
Brian Oakes
Daniel Okrent
Christopher Powers
Merl Reagle
Ellen Ripstein
Al Sanders
Jon Stewart
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Miscellaneous Notes
Released in United States Summer June 16, 2006
Released in United States on Video November 7, 2006
Released in United States 2006
Released in United States January 2006
Released in United States June 2006
Shown at Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Film Festival April 28-May 7, 2006.
Shown at SILVERDOCS:AFI/Discovery Channel Documentary Festival (Special Screenings) June 13-18, 2006.
Aired in USA on PBS on October 16, 2007 as the 9th season premiere of the "Independent Lens" documentary series.
IFC Films acquired North American rights to the film, with The Weinstein Company getting home video rights via its DVD deal with Genius Products (owner of Wellspring), at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival for a reported sum of $1 million.
Limited Release in United States June 16, 2006
Released in United States Summer June 16, 2006
Released in United States on Video November 7, 2006
Released in United States 2006 (Shown at Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Film Festival April 28-May 7, 2006.)
Released in United States January 2006 (Shown at Sundance Film Festival (Independent Documentary Competition) January 19-29, 2006.)
Released in United States June 2006 (Shown at SILVERDOCS:AFI/Discovery Channel Documentary Festival (Special Screenings) June 13-18, 2006. )
Limited Release in United States June 16, 2006
