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Sep 30, 2026Film & music / CJ Wallis
From Tecmo Bowl to Jim McMahon: Inside CJ Wallis's Documentary World
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Open this episode on Buzzsprout ↗Inside the conversation
The story behind the episode.
CJ Wallis makes documentaries about the stories hiding behind things everyone thinks they already know — a Price Is Right superfan who beat the system, an NFL quarterback more misunderstood than his highlight reel suggests, and a video game that's kept a community together for decades. On this episode of Mosaic Minds Podcast, Nick and Jason sit down with the director of Perfect Bid to talk about how he finds these stories, earns the access to tell them right, and why he keeps coming back to Tecmo Bowl.
CJ walks through how he tracked down Ted Slauson, the Texas math teacher who quietly memorized decades of Price Is Right prizes, and the last-minute call that turned into Bob Barker's final interview. He also talks about Mad Mac, his long-in-the-works documentary on NFL quarterback Jim McMahon, and what it took to earn McMahon's trust over years of production. The conversation covers CJ's own path from competitive hockey goaltender to filmmaker, and the Tecmo Bowl League he runs — including an upcoming documentary on the community built around it and this year's Tecmo Bowl National Championships, August 8 at DJ's Dugout in Omaha.
Follow Mosaic Minds Podcast for more conversations like this.
Mosaic Minds Podcast:
mosaicmindspodcast.com
CJ Wallis (guest):
Website — fortyfps.com
Instagram — instagram.com/fortyfps
Facebook — facebook.com/fortyfps
X — x.com/fortyfps
YouTube — youtube.com/user/margaretbird
Tecmo Bowl League (CJ's organization) — tecmobowlleague.com
Event:
Tecmo Bowl National Championships — August 8, DJ's Dugout, Omaha, NE
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