Mr. Payback: An Interactive Movie
| Mr. Payback: An Interactive Movie | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 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 | Sony New Technologies |
Release dates | 1995 |
Running time | approximately 20 to 30 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Mr. Payback: An Interactive Movie is a 1995 American science-fiction/adventure short film written by Bob Gale and co-directed by Gale and Charles Croughwell.[1] Designed as an interactive movie, it comprises slightly over two hours of footage, approximately 20 minutes of which is seen in each viewing.[2] It requires the audience to vote for various directions the story will take, using a joystick attached to the armrests of their seats.[3] The film stars an android (Billy Warlock) who, in a number of possible storylines, takes action by humiliating or attacking people who deserve it. 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.
Cast
- Billy Warlock—Payton Bach (Mr. Payback)
- Holly Fields—Gwen
- Bruce McGill—James Konklin
- Christopher Lloyd—Ed Jarvis
- Leslie Easterbrook—Diane Wyatt
- David Correia—Raoul Alvarez
- Victor Love—Lloyd Braxton
- Carol-Ann Plante—Cara Cook
- Michael Talbott—Car Jerk
- Brendan Ford—Park Vandal
- Gilbert Rosales—Bike Thief
- Eddie Deezen - Phil the Guard
- Robby Sutton—Moe
- Sasha Jenson—Larry
- Joseph D. Reitman—Dick
Critical reception
Mr. Payback received negative reviews from critics. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun Times gave the film a mere 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."[4] Ebert also commented on how movies should act on you, not the other way around. Ebert later called it the worst movie of 1995. Gene Siskel also disliked the film, thus leading to it obtaining two thumbs down on Siskel & Ebert; later on their worst of show for the year of release, he commented that the other option is to play a video game instead, rather than try to mix both of them together (since the latter will not work). Ty Burr of Entertainment Weekly tagged the film with an "F" grade.[3]
References
- 1 2 3 "Mr. Payback (1995)". Yahoo! Movies. Retrieved 2009-07-21.
- ↑ "The Real Interactive Movie". Next Generation. Imagine Media (4): 26. April 1995.
- 1 2 Burr, Ty (March 10, 1995). "Vengeance Is Yours". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2009-07-21.
- ↑ Ebert, Roger. "Mr. Payback". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2009-07-21.
External links
- Mr. Payback: An Interactive Movie at the Internet Movie Database
- Lovece, Frank (November 1995). "Views: Bob Gale". Audio / Video Interiors. (Article on Mr. Payback)