They had been burned by documentaries before, but the persistence and sincerity of Hernandez and Lazarte, who flew to corporate headquarters in Chicago to present their case, paid off and McDonald’s agreed to come on board, providing not just valuable insights into their security and procedures, but also just how big a deal the Monopoly game was for them. News of the court case had dropped right before the September 11 terrorist attacks, pushing it into the background, and McDonald’s was initially uncertain as to whether it wanted the affair resurrected in McMillion$. The documentary reveals the hamburger chain wasn’t even sure it wanted to co-operate with the FBI to crack the case at the time and considered shutting down the popular promo entirely. It’s very understandable because McDonald’s has a target on them at all times.” “And to be totally honest with you, they said no.
“At first reaching out to them, they were very skittish about it,” says Hernandez. Directors of HBO documentary McMillions, James Lee Hernandez and Brian Lazarte.Īnd while the FBI were immediately happy to let the pair scour through documents and files – and interview many of the key agents, including the hilariously enthusiastic Doug Matthews, and prosecutors involved, the intensely brand-conscious McDonald’s took a lot more convincing.
