Mike Nelson Interview

I would love to see a video with Jame's thoughts on Mystery Science Theater 3000. MST3K is a great show, and while talking back to the screen isn't entirely original, it handles it in such a way that it's hilarious and wonderful to see. As far as who is better, Joel or Mike, I prefer Mike but I like Joel almost as much.

I remember seeing MST3K: The Movie for the first time, and really hating it. As I got older, my sense of humor must have shifted, because now MST3K is one of my favorite movies of all time.

James, keep up the good work!

Dude, now this interview is the fucking tits!

Thanks man. I wish MST3K was still on television. This guy could make me laugh during my worst day!

My favorite short has to be "A Case of Spring Fever" Shit makes me laugh everytime I see it.

This is so damn cool. Thank you for this! I love MST3K and the new Rifftrax. This is awesome!

+Mike was the Head Writer for MST3K, and if you watch the KTMA episodes before he was head writer, there was a lot less dialogue from the riffers. I feel he was a big addition and the reason for the shows longevity. Although to Joel's credit, he did get the ball rolling, and made the robots, made the song, made the show. It's too bad the producers of MTS3K were having issues with Joel. I felt that the two working together made a superior product. Their both funny though, I enjoy both Cinematic Titanic and RiffTrax. P.S. I enjoy almost all your work (there are no absolutes) everyday I check this site to see if you've posted anything new.

PS I enjoyed learning about "Grass" in both the short video before the feature as well as during the feature.

I saw the preview for Reefer Madness about 2 weeks before it came out in theatres. I saw this video shortly after. The coincidental nature of randomly finding this video totally enhanced the experience. Great Job.

you rock nerd!

I 2nd that,

I've watched every AVGN and mst / rifftrax, and I can tell you:

A : The wizard deserves to be riffed.
B: James, you would be the perfect guest riffer.

Do this!

James,

You son-of-a-bitch, stop this nonsense and make more AVGN videos. I only like the Nerd!

Thanks for posting this interview James. I always loved MST3K, but never attended a Rifftrax show. I finally bought a ticket for my local encore of Reefer Madness. Can't wait!

Loved the live rifftrax. It was hilarious as always.

Very cool, James!

Dude. If history is any indication, this means that James will soon be invited to do a RiffTrax. Then probably get paired with Johnny Coulton for another RiffTrax afterwards. Here's hoping.

MST3K + AVGN = t3h win?

Damn, now I'm thinking of an 8-Bit MST3K v. AVGN game. Like Battletoads and Double Dragon. But good.

Thank you for doing this interview,James.I'm such a huge MST3k fan,and I'm particularly a fan of Mike's era.

I enjoy Riftrax, but I think park of the brilliance of MST3K was how it unearthed so much bizzare, crazy stuff and exposed it to the light. We all want to see Twilight get made fun of, but somewhere out there you know there's another bad vampire love movie that would have been perfect for MST3K. I hope they keep this up, and find more obscure stuff as well as popular stuff.

I always thought Mike was better at riffs, while Joel was better at the sketches. Awesome interview!

To expand on why I said I don't like Rifftrax...

It seems very unnatural and awkward to me. When watching MST3K, it really seems like you're watching 3 guys watching a movie for the first time and the jokes come naturally. Rifftrax seems to have this VERY scripted and forced sound to it and the jokes drag on forever, even over the movie dialogue. As for the jokes themselves... it seems like they look for the latest pop culture fad to reference and just go with it. MST3K was so full of intelligent and obscure jokes. I miss that. Also, as mentioned before... these new, huge budget movies they riff on... it's just not the same. If you can laugh at the incompetence of the movie itself, like in say... Werewolf or Space Mutiny, it makes it 100 times better. I love those guys, but I just can't get into Rifftrax. I do however, LOVE Cinematic Titanic.

I'll shut up now.

I only have one VERY important question.

Why has there not been a Rifftrax for The Wizard with you, James, as a guest riffer?! It MUST be done! I command it!

The problem with riffing modern movies is that even the Rifftrax fellas can't really make crud like 'Aeon Flux' or 'Twilight' all that enjoyable.

aaahhhhhhhhh Mike Freakin Nelson! I've seen every single ep of MST3K and every Rifftrax I could get my mitts on...I saw this post and nearly shat my pants.

James, You sir, are a legend.

is that the dude from Friday night cranks Brandon i think or is it just me

So cool! Very nice interview. I'll always hold MST3K dear to my heart too.

Hell yeah, I remember when this man kicked my ass at Doom at the convention. He's freaking rad. I LOVE all his stuff. I'm glad to see Mike's doing well.

I hope they bring it back again. Somehow.

I'm in the same boat as doczoidberg, it just loads forever & won't play, i've been trying for the last few days.
No idea why it won't play.....:s

I am so happy to see this connection, I have followed Mike since I was young, and before him Joel... thank god these guys kept this method going, and now with AVGN, there is the exact same outlet for us guys from the same period.

Thanks so much guys, I really appreciate Rifftraxx, AVGN and most importantly, MST3K!

-Scott

Thanks for going through so much trouble to give us this interview!

What? Something HUGE for AVGN? I can see it now:
AVGN: THE MOTION PICTURE
In a world overrun with shitty games, only one nerd has the power to defeat the reign of the dreaded LJN...

That or a Broadway musical.

Either way, I'm happy.
Keep up the good work!

Happy Friday the 13th James

I agree with many other commenters that this is a super awesome video because it combines two of the funniest people in the world - Mike Nelson and James Rolfe!

I absolutely agree with Mike that Wiseau is probably the worst director out there. He's not worth the comparison with Ed Wood.

I love it when two things I enjoy come together. MST3K and AVGN. It's a musical collaboration between your favorite bands.

@afterdark
Droll means funny, but I know what you mean. The show just seemed to get better and better as the years went on. You should watch "Manos: The Hands of Fate" if you want to see a good Joel episode. Also, "The Day the Earth Froze."

That's awesome, I am also a big fan of MST3K and Rifftrax.

Awesome! I'm a big fan of MST3K (well, the seasons with Mike anyway, I didn't find Joel to be as funny) and to see this interview just made my day.

Keep up the good work. ;)

Used to watch MST3K all the time while I was on dialysis. Good times!

James, I have been watching Angry Video Game Nerd since the Simon's Quest days. I loved your stuff then, and, after watching your wide variety of videos, I love it even more. I only just thought to become a member so that I could show my appreciation for your brilliant and, often times, hilarious work. I have watched MST3K since I was little and live in Minnesota, where it was filmed, so seeing this interview was awesome! I actually met Mike Nelson when I played baseball against one of his sons, which was a surreal experience. But let me tell you what is bullshit before I wrap up this extremely long comment. YOU are bullshit, bullshit man. You know why? Because you said there was some huge news with AVGN without telling us! That. Is. Ass.

Hey James, I'm Trying To Decide On What To Request A Game You Can Review. Which Is Better: Sonic 3D Blast (Genesis Or Saturn) Or The Splatterhouse Series For October?

Stephanie- Thanks for sharing that! I'm not surprised American Movie was on the projector. Typical James. You guys have been working a LOT together haven't you? Do you guys have any other epic videos in the works?

Some behind the scenes of the Mike Nelson interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnSDKhRkJdU
Seeeeee? James works extremely late into the night to bring you guys quality entertainment - show him some love :)

Great interview James. I grew up watching MST3K and I always liked Mike better than Joel.

That was really great! I'm love Rifftrax,and MST3K so to see that you are a really big fan it just really cool. My wife and I already have our Rifftrax tickets for next thursday,we saw them do the Christmas special in Dec. Live it was really really funny,and I can't wait to go next week,and then get to see them again at DragonCon(the Rifftrax/Cinematic Titanic guys don't charge for autographs).Great interview,really enjoy this website and all you do here.

James, it would be cool to see you do a video about MST3K sometime. I heard Mke's solo riff on Over The Top recently. It's tremendous. I actually liked Over The Top wen I was 10. Now I like it for a whole new reason.

Undersea Kingdom!! :)

James, you're doing it all wrong! Once someone achieves a certain level of fame they are supposed to disregard petty comments like these. How dare you mock such a proud tradition? Seriously though, its awesome to see all the different things you put up on the site, and the promise of major AVGN news has got me anxiously waiting now.

Uh, the video isn't working for me....
It just tries to load forever. Anyone else have that problem?

Very cool James,this would be great if you did this more often,maybe like a podcast format,talking about movies and video games,having interviews like this etc. Just an hour long show BSing about a variety of things,I've seen a lot of you movie and AVGN videos,I've got to think combining those two interests would make for a good show.

Holy shit! James Rolfe *and* Mike Nelson!?

I think my brain just exploded with joy!

MST3K is one of my favorite shows of all time, nothing will ever compare. Great interview too,!

I love MST3K and Mike and the crew! I started watching MST when Mike was the host, and now I can't even watch the Joel episodes because he seems so droll. Anyway, Great interview! keep it up! I also look forward to the new AVGN.

@Billistic

Million people could do an interview with anyone they want, including Mike Nelson, but since its the AVGN we are supportive of his work. Ive gotten some friends hooked on James's work, they love his shit including the interviews.

I guess what Im trying to say is Mr. James does do interviews, and other things, but we support him in what he does. We the fans like him for him, and his brutally honest opinion. He speaks the truth.

Sorry to go off topic :P

Mike Nelson? That's awesome! I love MST3K and Rifftrax! I might not be able to go to the Rifftrax Live show though. I went to the other 2 and loved them!

Hey you guys, don't forget Bubble Bath Babes *wink*

Great interview. There are few questions you got to without going into specific episodes I could have thought to add to what you managed to include.