LEGO Masters week 4 exit interview
Posted by MeganL,
LEGO Masters USA episode four is a wrap, so to speak. This week's challenge was "Movies", where each team had to build a scene that told a story from a certain genre of movie. There was a twist in the middle, but for those of you who haven't seen the episode yet we won't talk about it until after the break.
Each week we'll be bringing you an exit interview but to avoid spoilers for those of you watching on catch-up or via some illicit website in other countries we won't reveal their names above the fold.
Catch up on episode 4, see the contestant builds, and read the exit interview of the eliminated team after the break.
The twist halfway through the show was that after the first period of building, teams had to pivot and incorporate a second genre of movie into their builds.
This twist was provided by guest stars Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, makers of The LEGO Movie.
This week's winning team was Boone and Mark with their monster movie with a romantic twist. The West Coast strikes again!
Unfortunately, one team had to go home, and this week it was Manny and Nestor. They were given the tough challenge of incorporating a fantasy element into the Western scene they built as the first part of the challenge.
Manny graciously spent some with us (as well as along with The Brothers Brick, BZPower and True North Bricks) for an exit interview.
How did you first get into LEGO?
When I was three, turning four years old, my mom and dad bought me the LEGO Castle from 1986. After that it was just history. My parents bought me LEGO every Christmas, every birthday, and for 30 years it has been the same thing. They’re still buying me LEGO, even as an adult. It all started when I was four years old.
You mentioned your first set was a castle from 1986. Do you remember which castle?
Um… it was LEGO System, a grey castle from ’86-’87. I forgot the name of it, but it was the first LEGO set that a received as a kid.
Could it have been Black Falcons Fortress? It was grey and had a black turret in the back.
You know what, you’re probably right. I think that was it.
Did you go through a “dark age” as an adult where you stopped building and then got back into it?
Good question. I’ve been asked that before, and the answer is yes. I’d say college, when I was interested in other things besides LEGO. There was a time between ’02-’05 where I wasn’t really into LEGO. I was a senior in high school, going into college. I got my girlfriend pregnant, then I had my daughter. So, yeah, there was a “dark time” in which I didn’t buy LEGO, or I wasn’t as enthused with LEGO as in other periods in my life.
What brought you out of your dark age?
Again, I had a daughter, so it was only right to bring LEGO back out. You know, that childhood toy that I had, it was only right to introduce that to my daughter. That’s what did it, I had my daughters, and that brought me out of that “dark age” of not playing with LEGO.
Have you ever been to a LEGO fan convention, or are you planning on going to one in the future?
I attended BrickFair in New Jersey back in 2015. I plan on attending Brick Fest Live in Philadelphia in April and I think Brick World is in the works in Chicago. I’m also planning to attend BrickFair, Virginia in August and BrickFair, New Jersey in October.
Has building LEGO always been a team effort with your dad?
Me and my dad also have a different relationship outside of LEGO. We own a RV servicing company. As far as LEGO is concerned, we get together on weekends or family events. When there is a birthday or a holiday, my parents usually keep a bin of LEGO out for their grandchildren. I’d also say that on weekends we engage with LEGO and we get together and make it a family thing.
What has the reaction been like from your friends and family to you being on the show?
Good! Everybody’s surprised, everybody’s happy and proud that I made it on the show. In the whole casting process, I’m sure 20 people didn’t apply. I’m pretty sure thousands of people applied. From that, being selected and being given the opportunity, I am surprised and I’m proud of myself for being able to accomplish this. That also goes for loved ones, family, friends. You know, everybody truly supported me throughout the whole thing. Everybody’s proud and very happy for me. And, they’re very happy for my dad. They’re proud that we were able to do something in our family. Everybody’s really happy with it.
What was your interaction like with the other contestants on the show?
We actually had a close relationship. I had a close relationship with Mark and Boone. Mel and Jermaine were great. But, as far as everybody, all the contestants, we had a great relationship. We really didn’t step on each other’s toes. We let each other live and express ourselves in the best way. Everybody was very accepting and very loving. I’d say we had a great relationship. Me and my dad, we got along great with everybody, especially the production team and cast. I think we all got along pretty well.
What was your favourite food that they had on the show for you?
You know what? I can’t pronounce half the lunch menu that they served [laughs]. The food was phenomenal, but I can’t pronounce half of it because it was too fancy, or too gourmet. But it was delicious. The food was awesome. I enjoyed it and so did my dad. I think we both shared plates, and we both picked at each other’s plates.
What would have been the perfect challenge for you on LEGO Masters?
To be honest, through the casting process, we were asked to build Santa’s workshop in New York City. When I presented this to my dad, he showed me a picture of the New York Washington Square Park. I told him, “I’m going to build that; we’re going to build that.” He thought we couldn’t because of time. We only had a day or two to build it. I’d say I’m the type of person that if you present a picture to me or you give me any idea, I will build it in LEGO. There’s no “no” in there.
If anything, I excelled even more within each challenge. I actually did listen to the Brick Masters, Jamie and Amy, and I applied [their advice] within all the challenges. Given the opportunity to continue competing, I would have dominated. But, in terms of me on the show and the challenges that I did, I believe that I did great. I wish I would have done the Mega City challenge. I wish I would have gotten to that part of the show. But anything that has to do with building, or anything that has to do with any technical functions, like power functions, I would have excelled at. Give me a picture, and I will build it with LEGO basically. [laughs]
In the Movie challenge, if you could have picked the second theme to go with your Western genre, what would you have picked?
We did the take of reaching for the popcorn a few times. The first time we reached the popcorn I grabbed Western. Then we had to do a second take, and they asked us if we were comfortable grabbing a different genre or grabbing the same one. My dad asked me, “do I want to stick with Western?”, and I said, “yeah, we’re gonna stick with Western.”
That's a good question, thinking about it now, if I were to have picked something different. I don't think so. I think my mind was already made up on Western the first time that I picked up the popcorn. I really wasn't expecting the twist, you know? We did awesome with just the first movie theme, but the fantasy was a nice treat – it gave the creator the ability to enhance the story and the movie in whichever way you want it. If I were to have picked a second genre, I would have gone with Thriller, but that would have been too easy, you know?
Chris Miller and Phil Lord (writers and directors of The LEGO Movie) selected your second theme for the challenge. What was it like interacting with them, Will Arnett, and the other guests on set?
It was a delight. Having those directors there. I mean, they are the LEGO Red Carpet. They created The LEGO Movie, so to actually be in their presence was a treat. I think it’s safe to say that for everybody who was on set. To have those two members of the LEGO community there and to be in their presence – it’s a big deal. Taking their advice and criticism, obviously you know it’s good criticism. So, having them and all the other guests was just amazing. Will Arnett, the host, he was a delight too – a real funny guy. I remember his kids were there on set too; and seeing that and how he interacted with his kids was a great feeling.
What would you have done differently in the challenges you participated in?
What would I have done differently? Not get blindsided so much by the cameras and the lights and all that, you know? I think there was a time in the first day or two or three, that I was just blindsided by everything. I didn't focus enough, and I was too busy trying to please my dad, listen to my dad's advice, directing my dad, and having him helping me out.
So, I think I would have just concentrated a little bit more. I believe we excelled with Adventure Mountain. We put a whole lot of us into that challenge. If anybody heard Brick Master Amy, she said put a lot of you in your builds on the first challenge. We had the Puerto Rican kiosk, and we had the waterfall because of family. We’re heavy on water, we love the ocean and stuff like that.
Same thing with the last episode. Rusty Trails, was a combined effort between me and my dad. I think I would have just focused a little bit more on the instructions of what the Brick Masters wanted and what the challenge really entailed. Again, this is LEGO, and this is creative, and we are LEGO artists. So, to be honest, I wouldn't have done too much different. Just focused a little bit more and concentrated on what I was doing and building.
What was the most difficult aspect of the challenges aside from the time limit?
Listening to my dad. [Laughs]
I would say if you were planning to build something with a certain element. You can plan something with certain parts, but once you get to that brick pit, and those pieces are no longer there, things tend to get real scary after that. So, that was the most challenging part throughout the whole building process. If you were building something, and you finally decided to change your plans and wanted to build something else, you needed to go find those pieces and hope that they were there so you could do what you wanted to do. If the pieces weren’t there, then you had to figure out how to do it to the best of your ability.
What advice would you give to a future LEGO Masters contestant?
Be imaginative, be creative with LEGO, and you know – the possibilities are just endless. LEGO isn’t something that you just stop – you always come back to LEGO – whether you have a dark age or not, you always come back. So, if you have that creative mind, to create and make, do it. Don’t put any limits on yourself and the possibilities are endless with LEGO! So, to any future LEGO Masters out there – just keep building with bricks – don’t stop or have a dark age! [Laughs.]
What is your number one takeaway from LEGO Masters?
My number one takeaway from LEGO Masters was growth. That’s the best thing about LEGO, it is a very creative toy; an ingenious toy with which you can create, break down, and re-build. What I got out of this, especially doing it with my father, was a closer bond with my dad. I got to see my dad in a new way. What I got out of it, again, was growth. Growth with the relationship with my father, growth in the relationships with the rest of the castmates and production team. Experiencing all that for the first time, and doing it with my dad, definitely got me prepared for other things in life. I’m really, really in debt and really thankful.
Where can we follow you and your future LEGO creations online?
@viva_lego on Instagram. That’s primarily where I have all my LEGO creations and all my MOCs. That’s actually how they picked me up for the show. That’s it, that’s the only social account that I have.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Me and my dad – again, we had such an amazing time. Trying to be part of the show was amazing. To be honest, for all who are listening, I wouldn't have been able to do it with anybody else. The relationship that we have as father and son is just so dynamic, and I wouldn't have been able to be on the show or done the show if it wasn't for him. So again, this was a team effort, even though I am the enthusiastic fan and my dad is a part time builder. But again, both of us together on the show, we did our best, we had an amazing time. We just enjoyed every moment of it. We couldn't thank LEGO enough for providing all those LEGO bricks. We had a good time.
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25 comments on this article
Sad to see them go! Two awesome guys!
WOW! Great builds, guys.
Great to see them and their genuine love for each other.
Will definitely follow him on his Instagram.
Now I wanna' know what foods they had inbetween the build challenges!
Too bad they (apparently) didn’t take any inspiration from Cowboys & Aliens, or BraveStarr, or Galaxy Rangers, or that episode of Star Trek: Enterprise.
While watching the episode, when they got the twist my first thought was that their brick-built cowboys looked kinda like cyborgs anyway, so they had a little advantage and they should at least be safe from elimination.
I think that this was a tougher challenge due to having to come up an idea for the initial challenge & then tweaking it with the second theme in the challenge. It was fun to watch though. Love the show!!
I agreed with the judges that the sci-fi additions to their build felt like they didn't fit and were a bit rushed. A shame to see them go, they were really good. Ah well, on to next week.
I really thought Sam & Jessica had the weakest build, followed by Flynn & Richard. It truly surprised me to see Manny & Nestor get sent packing; their build was pretty solid. I think the judges focused too much on the “twist” and not on the overall challenge.
I feel Manny’s misinterpretation of what was meant by Fantasy movie genre caused them to rush the alien piece they added. Time that was wasted that could have been spent perfecting their spaceships and integrate things better.
@MaxA: In general, I'm pretty impressed with the way that the judges' decisions seem to put as heavy emphasis on how each build satisfies the challenge theme as on its technical or visual achievements.
If the judging were simply going to be based on who can generate the nicest-looking models, the prize could pretty much be given out as soon as casting was finished, just by evaluating the builders on their existing portfolio of creations.
But the show format is geared towards not only finding builders who can make awesome stuff, but who have the creativity and versatility to apply their existing skill sets to overcoming specific obstacles they may have never been faced with before or anticipated facing in the future!
Anyway, yesterday I finally was able to catch up on episodes I missed while out of the country for the two and a half weeks prior. Really excited to see what happens next, and some of the challenges and builds definitely have my own imagination racing!
I’m sad that they got sent home. I love the idea of a father son LEGO building duo.
Someone's tower is gonna fall next episode!!!!
I thought Flynn and Richard should have gone home. Weak "mystery" element.
I agree with @Peter1999, the mystery element just wasn't strong enough. Aaron and Christian's build was my favorite, but they didn't incorporate their themes the best.
@Aanchir said:
" @MaxA: In general, I'm pretty impressed with the way that the judges' decisions seem to put as heavy emphasis on how each build satisfies the challenge theme as on its technical or visual achievements.
If the judging were simply going to be based on who can generate the nicest-looking models, the prize could pretty much be given out as soon as casting was finished, just by evaluating the builders on their existing portfolio of creations.
But the show format is geared towards not only finding builders who can make awesome stuff, but who have the creativity and versatility to apply their existing skill sets to overcoming specific obstacles they may have never been faced with before or anticipated facing in the future!
Anyway, yesterday I finally was able to catch up on episodes I missed while out of the country for the two and a half weeks prior. Really excited to see what happens next, and some of the challenges and builds definitely have my own imagination racing!"
I’m fully in on them judging based on the theme and not just technical skill. However, in this case, I think they focused not on the overall theme, but just the TWIST of the theme. The theme was movies. The mash-up was the twist. In my opinion, that should have been used as a tie-breaker, but not as the deciding factor in sending a team home.
Some teams got a pass with some very mediocre builds and creativity. One team straight up copied another team’s idea. Expecting a team to be able to make the second genre as integrated and cool as the first was unrealistic. In fact, wasn’t it the unicorns who didn’t even finish their original build and basically got saved by the twist?
I’ve been mostly on board with the judging, they just made an error this time. That’ll happen.
If the preview for next week has spoiled the results of the episode, I'm going to be VERY upset!
If that's the case, I need to stop watching when the previews start.
I’m really starting to question the judging of this show. The twist in this episode was brutal and very unfair for some of the contestants. Like others have said, I feel the emphasis of the judging has been more of the twist of the challenge (similar to how well the models “explode” in ep. 2) rather than the actual quality of the builds themselves. Honestly, the last few winners were not very deserving because of this judging aspect.
I love Jamie, but he’s not a likeable judge. Amy’s ok, but neither of them interact with the contestants very well. Will Arnett more fills this role, but he’s awkward and cringe worthy at times.
Like others have said, I wish to focus was more on the builds and the techniques and challenges faced in building them, rather than the drama. While I will say that most of the contestants are decent builders, I feel the casting was more focused on diversity (which don’t get me wrong isn’t a bad thing).
Let’s be honest, if they were just judging on building skill, it would be one of three teams every week: Tyler & Amy, Christian & Aaron, and Mel & Jermaine. lol
Though, this week I was a little underwhelmed by C&A. It was a decent built, but a little pedantic for someone of their abilities. Still an awesome build, but it would not surprise me if they said they’d built that exact piece before.
@MaxA: I find your top three teams interesting. While I agree with Tyler & Amy and Christian & Aaron, I disagree about Mel & Jermaine. I would have included Boone & Mark instead as their builds are far more detailed using a variety of cool techniques. Mel & Jermaine are good builders but, for me, focus more on size than quality. I'm definitely rooting for Boone & Mark but won't be surprised if Tyler & Amy pull off the win.
@mroper295 said:
" @MaxA: I find your top three teams interesting. While I agree with Tyler & Amy and Christian & Aaron, I disagree about Mel & Jermaine. I would have included Boone & Mark instead as their builds are far more detailed using a variety of cool techniques. Mel & Jermaine are good builders but, for me, focus more on size than quality. I'm definitely rooting for Boone & Mark but won't be surprised if Tyler & Amy pull off the win."
Truthfully, I would have put M&J as a distant third, but they’ve had some highlights. I could have said B&M. They are similar in skill to M&J. Really, it’s a two team race in my mind... but I wanted to list a third. lol
"I feel the casting was more focused on diversity..."
Hmmm, ya think?
As far as building aptitude and skill, it’s Boone & Mark, Flynn & Richard, Tyler & Amy, and Christian & Aaron. The rest are not in the same league by any stretch.
The winning team will be determined by the team with the most imagination and luck.
@gelkster:
We were just talking about this show at a post-event dinner a couple weeks ago. One thing that came up was the selection process, as one of the people at the dinner could have landed a spot on the show but they reportedly felt they had enough white guys for the season and wanted to get more diversity in the first batch of contestants. So how bad will it look if _all_ of the diversity gets wiped out in consecutive episodes at the start of the season?
@PurpleDave said:
" @gelkster:
We were just talking about this show at a post-event dinner a couple weeks ago. One thing that came up was the selection process, as one of the people at the dinner could have landed a spot on the show but they reportedly felt they had enough white guys for the season and wanted to get more diversity in the first batch of contestants. So how bad will it look if _all_ of the diversity gets wiped out in consecutive episodes at the start of the season?"
Yeah, basing their selection of competitors on identity politics rather then exclusively on skill is really working out for them, isn’t it?
I have to wonder if they’re self-aware enough to realize the irony of discriminating against skilled applicants because of skin color and gender?
@MutoidMan said:
"I have to wonder if they’re self-aware enough to realize the irony of discriminating against skilled applicants because of skin color and gender?"
Well, at least that's only an issue on this one particular TV show about building with Lego. If it were to grow exponentially elsewhere that could become a real problem. =D
@MutoidMan:
That's not really what I was saying. First and foremost, this is a TV series. In the end, all that really matters is that people watch it, and they get to collect advertising dollars based on the show's ratings. The wider the appeal, the more people will watch it. Starting out the first season with 20 white males is a sure way to get many idle viewers to tune out, which could lead to the show getting cancelled. Nearly every reality show of this type offers a fair spread of diversity for this very reason. I mean, for a show like Survivor, there's really nothing the contestants can offer the show but their identity and personality, so it's pretty easy to make sure that no season ends up feeling like they cloned one contestant and slapped disguises on them.
But the way they went about pulling candidates for this series puts the show at a distinct disadvantage. They started out by looking for the all-around best builders they could find. Since the hobby is dominated by white males, they got (shock of shocks) a bunch of white males. Lots of them got weeded out just based on comparative skill levels, or non-telegenic personalities (if you freeze up when a camera is pointed at you...). So, having achieved that part of the casting process, it sounds like they moved on to the diversity portion. With a much smaller pool to draw from, they would naturally have a harder time packing the show with equally skilled builders. As a result, you'd expect the ones they do pick to be at a disadvantage against the best they came up with before they started imposing demographic restrictions. And normally that wouldn't be a huge problem, except that if the show can be divided cleanly into the episodes were the "diversity" contestants are wiped out, and the episodes where the "post-diversity" contestants vie for the top prize, it's going to look _really_bad_. It'll open up the question of whether they picked the second group of contestants based on building skill, or just personality.
The two major problems they're facing in this regard are that this hobby really isn't as diverse as the general population, and that even if you find someone who would be an excellent contestant there's no way you can force them to be on the show. Of all the AFOLs I've actually met in person, I'd say Simon Liu is probably the one I would back to go the distance, even if his "partner" is just a parts-gopher (but imagine how cool it would be if they got _two_ Iron Builder veterans teamed up). But he's Canadian, and I don't know if this is restricted to American citizens. Like Tyler, he's someone who has competed in Iron Builder, so he's proven that he can come up with a variety of unrelated models with some sort of restriction while working under a deadline. He also won Brickworld Master the first year he went to Brickworld, so there's objective proof that he can make visually impressive models. And he's been featured in videos, so you can actually see how he handles having a camera shoved in his face. Even without knowing who any of the other contestants would be, I would expect him to be a top contender.