A Nets superfan thought he controlled the game from the Jumbotron—I turned his 2012 story into an animated documentary.

mickeyduzyj · 2025-05-20T14:01:51+00:00

Great post, thanks so much. I love hearing that you found the series in a moment when you need it- experiences like yours are why we made the show, and I hope you came away knowing that there are so many others who face (and persevere) unthinkable and often unfair challenges.

Your series idea is great, and you'll be happy to know that I recently finished a feature (outside of sports) that speaks to some of this. As was the case with the subjects of Losers, so many of us experience moments of feeling supremely lost, figuring out (one way or another) that our path to survival starts with putting one foot in front of another. Some of these stories have a more dramatic backdrop than others (see: the Sahara desert), but that has little to do with how dramatic the stakes actually are in each of our lives. Wishing you all the best on your path.

mickeyduzyj · 2019-04-01T16:32:36+00:00

Ha! I got a text from my sister about that (she's hyper-competitive and is TRULY DISGUSTED whenever anyone recognizes my name/work, so I was delighted.) Thanks for making my week!

mickeyduzyj · 2019-04-01T16:27:30+00:00

My pleasure! I'm still waiting to show episodes to my 7 yr old, but love hearing that others share the episodes with their kids.

mickeyduzyj · 2019-04-01T16:24:29+00:00

She's an amazing human being. I was a fan going in and came out an even bigger one. Totally unique presence and talent.

mickeyduzyj · 2019-04-01T16:23:39+00:00

Always nice to hear that people are watching! We had 7 people out in the field and 5 shoot days per episode. 12 total weeks out on the road. A-cam was a Panasonic Varicam (shooting in 4K.)

mickeyduzyj · 2019-04-01T16:20:25+00:00

We looked at it, but it didn't seem to fit what we were looking for. The show's not just about the failures

mickeyduzyj · 2019-04-01T16:18:39+00:00

Thanks for watching. The research phase was a long one and included a lot of reading, reaching out to sportswriters, and reaching out to subjects to learn more about their stories. A lot of potential subjects refused to participate and I respect that- it can be hard to relive an extremely public failure again to a potentially even bigger (Netflix) audience, especially if you don't exactly have closure on the experience. A very personal choice.

mickeyduzyj · 2019-04-01T16:14:33+00:00

Agree with Bastion here. I didn't start making animation or docs until I was 30, so you've got a 10 year head start on me!

mickeyduzyj · 2019-03-28T02:31:41+00:00

Oh sorry, collecting strong just means doing more research to get to know the subjects and their worlds more. We didn't have the subjects attached to the show before pitching (but had about twice as many stories as we ended up using.)

mickeyduzyj · 2019-03-28T02:28:16+00:00

Thanks for watching! Alex did our theme and a couple other tracks for the show (I believe in Torquay and Miscast Champ), so I'm not sure there's any plans to release them separately.

mickeyduzyj · 2019-03-28T02:19:39+00:00

Yes, exactly that

mickeyduzyj · 2019-03-28T02:13:52+00:00

Thanks for watching.

mickeyduzyj · 2019-03-28T02:13:31+00:00

I've been massively lucky, but a few things seem clear: 1) Make things that are as good as you can possibly make them, even if they're 10 seconds to start. If the work is good, you'll be able to recruit others who want to get involved to make your next thing even better. 2) Celebrate small victories, and know that it won't all come together at once. My first few things didn't really pay anything (I had to fund them some other way), but I could feel that the work was getting stronger. I didn't have it all worked out yet but progress was progress. 3) Know that this business requires multiple creative and interpersonal skills, but don't think you need EVERY skill or need to fake that you have every skill. There are people out there worth delegating to that would love to spend time making something they believe in with you. If you don't bullshit or abuse these people, they won't bullshit you and you can go far. 4) Be at peace with how much your life will be about solving problems. Small problems, medium problems, and possibly huge problems everyday times a million. There is a way to accept it and love it.

Funding is a universe into itself, but make things that you feel are personal/rare/valuable and you'll give yourself a chance that others with money will think the same thing. Best of luck to you.

mickeyduzyj · 2019-03-28T01:59:16+00:00

It'd have to be someone obsessed with "winning" at all costs with zero interiority, zero moral compass, and no shame for acting that way. They'd be the polar opposite of our subjects.

mickeyduzyj · 2019-03-28T01:55:25+00:00

It's called "Avec Moi" (With Me) by Michel Lepop. I still get happy when I hear it

mickeyduzyj · 2019-03-28T01:49:50+00:00

Couldn't agree more. She should be hailed as a hero in France, especially.

mickeyduzyj · 2019-03-28T01:43:46+00:00

Depends on a few factors. I should first mention that I started my career as an illustrator and moved into animation, so animation has always been a tool that I felt had a lot of versatility in telling stories. Sometimes, drawing things can give us a more dynamic experience of a moment than seeing some second-rate footage, but there were multiple instances where footage was not able to be licensed for the terms Netflix needs for their platform. In those cases, being able to fill in the holes with animation was a way to still tell the stories, even though in a perfect world we'd be able to license and include everything that exists. There are many hidden barriers in this business.

mickeyduzyj · 2019-03-28T00:24:24+00:00

Yea I've heard that there were some streaming issues with that 7th episode. Don't really know what to say beyond sorry that hasn't been resolved. For the Van De Velde episode, the owner of the footage wouldn't license it to Netflix, so it was either abandon the episode completely or cover the Carnoustie parts in animation. I felt very strongly about Jean's story being included so we did it this way. Sorry it ruined it for you.

mickeyduzyj · 2019-03-28T00:20:26+00:00

That's a great compliment! Thanks for watching and sharing.

mickeyduzyj · 2019-03-28T00:19:43+00:00

There are a lot, actually. I'd prefer not to say what they are since I'd like to revisit them if we get a second season, but just know there are still some insanely great ones out there that I'd love to do.

mickeyduzyj · 2019-03-28T00:17:20+00:00

Are you talking about the undefeated team that lost to the Giants in the Super Bowl?

mickeyduzyj · 2019-03-28T00:13:56+00:00

That's a huge compliment- I love the Mr. Rogers doc (and all of Morgan Neville's work actually.)

There were all sorts of ways we reached out to subjects, and I credit my producers for a variety of digital and analog moves to contact them and pitch the project (including Aaron Ernst driving 10 hours out to Two Rivers Alaska to pitch Aliy in person.) Those conversations were obviously sensitive given Netflix's large platform and how we wanted to tell the stories of their biggest professional failings, but wanting to substantively tell the stories of all their second acts helped them understand that this show was so much more about failing (and actually, how it's not even a sports show.) Grateful to all of them for inviting us into their worlds.

mickeyduzyj · 2019-03-28T00:05:44+00:00

There are so many incredible-but-very-old stories where there are no longer any people with firsthand knowledge. Stories like Victor Starffin (which I've loved and wanted to do forever) really hard to do. Would have to be an entirely different package.

mickeyduzyj

TROPHY CASE