Mr. Payback: An Interactive Movie
Mr. Payback: An Interactive Movie is a 1995 American science-fiction/adventure/comedy short film written by Bob Gale and co-directed by Gale and Charles Croughwell.[1]
Mr. Payback: An Interactive Movie | |
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Directed by | Bob Gale, Charles Croughwell |
Produced by | Mark Franco II, Jeremiah Samuels, Holly Keenan II [1] |
Written by | Bob Gale |
Starring | Billy Warlock, Leslie Easterbrook, Christopher Lloyd, Bruce McGill, Holly Fields II [1] |
Distributed by | Interfilm Technologies Sony New Technologies |
Release date | 1995 |
Running time | approximately 20 to 30 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $241,000[2] |
Designed as an interactive movie, it comprises slightly over two hours of footage, approximately 20 minutes of which is seen in each viewing.[3] It requires the audience to vote for various directions the story will take, using a joystick attached to the armrests of their seats.[4] A special LaserDisc-based machine in the projection booth was designed to make instantaneous edits as the story unfolded.[5]; The film took up four CAV LaserDiscs
The film stars an android (Billy Warlock) who, in a number of possible storylines, takes action by humiliating or attacking people who have committed crimes or have done wrong in the past. Gale and Christopher Lloyd, who had previously worked on the Back to the Future trilogy, worked on this film as well, and the music was scored by Michael Tavera, who had composed the music for the animated Back to the Future series.
The movie billed itself as "the world's first interactive movie," but it was predated by 1992's I'm Your Man.[6]
Plot
Mr Payback is a vigilante android who takes action against multiple criminals, troublemakers, and general nuisances, all of whom are the focus of their respective scenes. Whenever Mr. Payback encounters a criminal, the film's audience votes on three different ways that he can humiliate or punish them. These include;
Cast
- Billy Warlock as Payton Bach (Mr. Payback)
- Holly Fields as Gwen
- Bruce McGill as James Konklin
- Christopher Lloyd as Ed Jarvis
- Leslie Easterbrook as Diane Wyatt
- David Correia as Raoul Alvarez
- Victor Love as Lloyd Braxton
- Carol-Ann Plante as Cara Cook
- Michael Talbott as Car Jerk
- Brendan Ford as Park Vandal
- Gilbert Rosales as Bike Thief
- Eddie Deezen as Phil the Guard
- Robby Sutton as Moe
- Sasha Jenson as Larry
- Joseph D. Reitman as Dick
Critical reception
Mr. Payback received negative reviews from critics. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun Times gave the film a half-star out of a possible four, and called it "the kind of film where horrified parents might encourage the kids to shout at the screen, hoping the noise might drown out the flood of garbage."[9] He and Gene Siskel both commented that while the concept of combining film with interactivity has possibilities, they are not explored by Mr. Payback, which centers on bathroom humor and appeals to the audience's most sadistic urges.[10] Ty Burr of Entertainment Weekly tagged the film with an "F" grade.[4]
References
- "Mr. Payback (1995)". Yahoo! Movies. Retrieved 2009-07-21.
- http://fmvworld.com/mrpayback.html
- "The Real Interactive Movie". Next Generation. Imagine Media (4): 26. April 1995.
- Burr, Ty (March 10, 1995). "Vengeance Is Yours". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2009-07-21.
- "The Brady Bunch Movie, Just Cause, Billy Madison, Mr. Payback, 1995". Siskel and Ebert Movie Reviews. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
- Grimes, William. "When the Film Audience Controls the Plot". The New York Times. Retrieved 2016-12-14.
- "Two-Minutes Hate: Siskel & Ebert on Interactive Movies (1995)". YouTube. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
- "Mr Payback (1995)". YouTube. Retrieved 9 November 2019. Event occurs at 1:05-1:24.
- Ebert, Roger. "Mr. Payback". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2009-07-21.
- "The Brady Bunch Movie, Just Cause, Billy Madison, Mr. Payback, 1995". Siskel and Ebert Movie Reviews. Retrieved 28 July 2019. Event occurs at 9:43-13:35.
External links
- Mr. Payback: An Interactive Movie on IMDb
- Lovece, Frank (November 1995). "Views: Bob Gale". Audio / Video Interiors. (Article on Mr. Payback)