Among this year's Academy Award nominees for 'Best Animated Feature' is Disney's Wreck-It Ralph, a story of an old school arcade game character seeking greener pastures within other games.
Walter Day, the veteran video game referee and apparent inspiration for Wreck-It Ralph's arcade owner Mr. Litwak, said on Sunday, Jan. 13 that he was pleased at the Oscar nod for a film that he feels honored by.
"I am so deeply honored in being the basis for a character in a film that starts a new genre in movies," Day said. "Video game stories in an animated setting are going to become a bigger deal because the video game culture is such a big part of the overall culture of our time."
Prior to the film's release, fans of Day noted the similarities of the Mr. Litwak character on his Facebook pages, bringing the Iowa resident to what he described as mixed feelings.
"First thing I thought was 'I better call my lawyer'," Day jokingly said. "With the mustache, that was me in 1982. It's a fun and surprising distinction. I'm pretty flattered by it, but it's kind of over my head. I don't know what I can really do with that. It's not like people see me on the street and call me Mr. Litwak."
Day is no stranger to the movie scene, appearing in cult classic The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters and documentary film Chasing Ghosts: Beyond the Arcade. The Mr. Litwak character is also not the only film character inspired by Walter Day. Upcoming comedy film Noobz also pays tribute to Day, who walked the red carpet for the film's Los Angeles premiere last June.
The Academy Awards take place on Sunday, Feb. 24.
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