Editing Cereal Killerz


'''''Cereal Killerz''''' is a 2004 American documentary film about professional [[paintball]], directed by [[Patrick Spohrer]] and produced by [[Monkey With a Gun Productions]]. The film profiles ten professional players competing in major tournaments during the early 2000s, combining interviews, personal stories and competition footage.[1][2]

Unlike Spohrer's earlier documentaries, ''[[Push (paintball film)|Push]]'' and ''[[Sunday Drivers]]'', which concentrated on professional teams and tournaments, ''Cereal Killerz'' is structured around individual player biographies.[2]

The film premiered during the 2004 [[National Professional Paintball League]] (NPPL) Commander's Cup in San Diego, California, with its debut screening held at the La Paloma Theatre in Encinitas.[1]

== Production ==

''Cereal Killerz'' was the first major release from Monkey With a Gun Productions, established by Patrick Spohrer and his wife Bonnie following Spohrer's earlier collaboration with [[Bryon Benini]] through Division One Productions.

Spohrer had previously directed ''Push'' and ''Sunday Drivers'', which documented professional tournament paintball through competition footage, interviews and scenes away from the field.

For ''Cereal Killerz'', the filmmakers adopted a different structure, concentrating on the careers and personalities of individual professional players rather than following a particular team or tournament season.[1][3]

Filming took place across the [[Millennium Series]], NPPL and [[Paintball Sports Promotions]] (PSP) professional circuits.

The production combined interviews with tournament footage shot using both video and motion picture film, continuing the visual approach established in Spohrer's earlier documentaries.[1][2]

== Featured players ==

''Cereal Killerz'' features ten professional paintball players from American and European teams.

The players profiled are:

* [[Oliver Lang]]
* [[Alex Fraige]]
* [[Chris LaSoya]]
* [[Bob Long]]
* [[Rocky Knuth]]
* [[Max Lundqvist]]
* [[Ron Kilbourne]]
* [[Matty Marshall]]
* [[Davey Williamson]]
* [[Fred Halmone]]

The complete ten-player list is preserved in the original DVD's commercial description.[4]

Each profile combines interviews and footage documenting the player's professional competition, providing an account of their playing style, experiences and participation in tournament paintball.

The documentary also includes footage from major international tournaments during the development of professional seven-player and X-Ball competition.[2]

== Premiere and release ==

''Cereal Killerz'' premiered during the 2004 NPPL Commander's Cup, the final event of the professional Super 7 season.

The tournament was held at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California.

The premiere took place at the La Paloma Theatre in nearby Encinitas, a cinema originally opened in 1927.

Contemporary WARPIG reporting identified the film as the first major release from Monkey With a Gun Productions.

The screening sold out, attracting an audience of more than 400 spectators.[1]

The film was subsequently distributed on DVD through paintball equipment retailers, including specialist businesses in the United States.

== Soundtrack ==

Music was an important component of ''Cereal Killerz'', with recordings used to accompany player introductions, interviews and tournament action.

The soundtrack included punk rock, post-hardcore, alternative rock and instrumental music from independent artists.

On 25 February 2005, a member of [[PbNation]] published a soundtrack list transcribed from the film's end credits.

The discussion identified twenty recordings and their corresponding player segments. Patrick Spohrer subsequently participated in the discussion through the MonkeyWithaGun account, confirming an additional song that had been omitted from the original credits.[5]

=== Track listing ===

The following table reproduces the twenty recordings identified in the contemporary soundtrack transcription, in their reported order.

{| class="wikitable"
! No.
! Song
! Artist
! Featured sequence
|-
| 1
| Intro
| Bay Root Productions
| Opening credits
|-
| 2
| Reaction
| From Ashes Rise
| Opening montage
|-
| 3
| Intermission
| Viva Death
| [[Chris LaSoya]] introduction
|-
| 4
| I Am the Best at Ruining My Life
| From Autumn to Ashes
| Chris LaSoya
|-
| 5
| Sing a Song
| Statistics
| [[Matty Marshall]]
|-
| 6
| Leave Your Name
| Statistics
| Matty Marshall
|-
| 7
| Circular Memories
| Statistics
| [[Fred Halmone]] introduction
|-
| 8
| Reminisce
| Statistics
| Fred Halmone
|-
| 9
| Alive Out of Habit
| From Autumn to Ashes
| [[Rocky Knuth]]
|-
| 10
| The Killing Spree
| Elseworth
| [[Bob Long]]
|-
| 11
| (A Flashback)
| Statistics
| [[Davey Williamson]] introduction
|-
| 12
| Lights Go Out
| Strike Anywhere
| Davey Williamson
|-
| 13
| Amidst the Dust and Debris
| Bay Root Productions
| [[Alex Fraige]] introduction
|-
| 14
| Shoot the Moon
| Face to Face
| Alex Fraige
|-
| 15
| On and Out
| Elseworth
| [[Ron Kilbourne]]
|-
| 16
| Superhero
| Onelinedrawing
| [[Oliver Lang]] introduction
|-
| 17
| Wicked Games
| Chronic Future
| Oliver Lang
|-
| 18
| Chairman of the Board
| Statistics
| [[Max Lundqvist]] introduction
|-
| 19
| Audition
| No Motiv
| Max Lundqvist
|-
| 20
| Livin' Small
| Onelinedrawing
| Closing credits
|}

''The song titles, artists and sequence descriptions are based on a February 2005 transcription of the DVD credits and subsequent community discussion. The track numbers follow that transcription rather than independently verified chapter timestamps.''[5]

=== Additional identified recording ===

An additional recording by Statistics was identified during the February 2005 discussion.

A viewer asked about the song playing near the conclusion of Matty Marshall's profile, which was absent from the published list.

Patrick Spohrer responded under the MonkeyWithaGun username, identifying the recording as:

{| class="wikitable"
! Song
! Artist
! Album
|-
| The Grass Is Always Greener
| Statistics
| ''Leave Your Name''
|}

Spohrer explained that the song had been omitted from the soundtrack listing in the film's credits.[5]

The published records therefore identify twenty credited soundtrack recordings and one additional recording confirmed by the filmmaker.

=== Music releases ===

Several recordings in ''Cereal Killerz'' originated from albums released by independent record labels during the early 2000s.

Albums represented in the soundtrack include:

* ''Nightmares'' by From Ashes Rise
* ''The Fiction We Live'' by From Autumn to Ashes
* ''Leave Your Name'' by Statistics
* ''Exit English'' by Strike Anywhere
* ''How to Ruin Everything'' by Face to Face
* ''The Volunteers'' by Onelinedrawing
* ''Lines in My Face'' by Chronic Future
* ''Daylight Breaking'' by No Motiv

In February 2006, a PbNation discussion identified a soundtrack playlist made available through the Monkey With a Gun website.

The playlist provided information about commercially available recordings rather than a separately released official soundtrack album.[6]

== Reception and legacy ==

''Cereal Killerz'' continued the documentary approach established by ''Push'' and ''Sunday Drivers'', but shifted the emphasis from team competition towards individual player biographies.

Its profiles captured a period of professional tournament paintball when players increasingly competed across separate American and European professional circuits.

The film's contemporary reception included a sold-out premiere attended by more than 400 spectators.[1]

The documentary subsequently became part of the catalogue of Monkey With a Gun Productions.

In 2009, Spohrer released ''[[Cereal Killerz 2]]'', which retained the player-profile format while featuring ten different professional competitors.[3]

The sequel premiered at the 2009 PSP World Cup and introduced extensive slow-motion footage recorded using high-speed cameras.[3]

== Availability ==

''Cereal Killerz'' was originally distributed on DVD through paintball equipment retailers.

The film has subsequently been made available through [[Major League Paintball]] PLUS as part of its Monkey With a Gun documentary collection.

The streaming version has a running time of 1 hour, 5 minutes and 50 seconds.[2]

== See also ==

* [[Patrick Spohrer]]
* [[Monkey With a Gun Productions]]
* [[Push (paintball film)]]
* [[Sunday Drivers]]
* [[Cereal Killerz 2]]
* [[Heroes for a Day: The XSV Story]]
* [[Paintball media]]
* [[History of tournament paintball]]

== References ==

# [https://www.warpig.com/paintball/tournament/nppl/2004/sandiego/ WARPIG, "NPPL Commander's Cup 2004". Contemporary tournament coverage documenting the premiere of ''Cereal Killerz'' at the La Paloma Theatre and the sold-out audience.]
# [https://www.mlpbplus.com/packages/cereal-killerz-1-2/videos/mwag-cereal-killerz-web Major League Paintball PLUS, "Cereal Killerz". Official streaming listing describing the film, featured players and running time.]
# [https://www.warpig.com/paintball/resources/videos/mwg_ck2/ WARPIG, Bill Mills, "Cereal Killerz 2 DVD Review". Retrospective history of Monkey With a Gun Productions and the original film, with information about the 2009 sequel.]
# [https://ansgear.com/monkey-with-a-gun-dvd-cereal-killerz/ ANSgear, "Monkey With a Gun DVD - Cereal Killerz". Archived commercial DVD description listing the ten featured professional players, music labels and director.]
# [https://www.pbnation.com/showthread.php?t=862433 PbNation, "Cereal Killers Music Tracklist", 25 February 2005. Contemporary soundtrack transcription and discussion, including Patrick Spohrer's identification of an additional Statistics recording.]
# [https://www.pbnation.com/showthread.php?t=1411191 PbNation, "soundtrack", 16 February 2006. Discussion of the Monkey With a Gun soundtrack playlist and the absence of a separately released official soundtrack album.]

== External links ==

* [https://www.mlpbplus.com/packages/cereal-killerz-1-2/videos/mwag-cereal-killerz-web ''Cereal Killerz'', Major League Paintball PLUS]
* [https://www.mlpbplus.com/monkey-with-a-gun-paintball-documentaries-1 Monkey With a Gun documentary collection]
* [https://www.pbnation.com/showthread.php?t=862433 Original soundtrack transcription and filmmaker discussion, PbNation]
* [https://www.warpig.com/paintball/tournament/nppl/2004/sandiego/ Contemporary premiere coverage, WARPIG]

[[Category:Paintball films]]
[[Category:Paintball media]]
[[Category:Paintball history]]