Enquirer: Docuseries exposing McDonald's rigged monopoly game has a Cincinnati director

UC alumni involved in new HBO show, 'McMillion$'

Brian Lazarte poses with Kevin Burke at the "McMillion$" premiere.

"McMillion$" co-director Brian Lazarte with CCM's electronic media division head Kevin Burke at the "McMillion$" premiere.

A new HBO series tells the 20-year-old story of a rigged McDonald's Monopoly game, where tickets were stolen and sold.

But what you might find interesting is that the documentary series has a University of Cincinnati link. 

Cincinnati native and UC College-Conservatory of Music alumnus Brian Lazarte produced and co-directed "McMillion$," which premiered Feb. 3 on HBO.

The Cincinnati Enquirer spoke to Lazarte about the series and his time at UC.

"Every project that you do builds on your skill set," Lazarte said. "CCM was certainly a critical foundation for mine."

Lazarte said it's been important to involve a former or current CCM student in his projects. So he worked with Kevin Burke, division head of electronic media at CCM, to bring in an intern. For "McMillion$," that was Jared Bailey.

"Brian really pushed to have someone from our program come out there," Burke said.

"This was a unique opportunity for [creator James Lee Hernandez] and myself to make this project and something that we're very passionate about and that we remain very passionate about and we wanted to find the right person," Lazarte said. "So we put together a little contest and we got a great intern, Jared."

Read the full story.

Read Cincinnati CityBeat's interview with Lazarte.

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