Brian Petsos’ Big Gold Brick is out now in theaters and on digital and on demand. The film has a star-studded cast that includes Andy Garcia, Emory Cohen, Oscar Isaac, and Megan Fox.
“Big Gold Brick recounts the story of fledgling writer Samuel Liston and his experiences with Floyd Deveraux, the enigmatic middle-aged father of two who enlists Samuel to write his biography,” says the synopsis. “But the circumstances that lead up to this arrangement in the first place are quite astonishing—and efforts to write the biography are quickly stymied by ensuing chaos in this darkly comedic, genre-bending film.”
ComingSoon Editor-in-Chief Tyler Treese spoke with Big Gold Brick star Andy Garcia about the film, his great co-stars, and his memories of The Untouchables.
Tyler Treese: Big Gold Brick is still dramatic, but it’s very much a dark comedy. What really drew you to it?
Andy Garcia: I think that the tone of the screenplay was very absurd, and really interesting and fresh when you read it. Not easy to discern, but you can tell that there was like a crazy ride that was formulated in it. That was attractive. I had a conversation with Oscar Isaac about it, who was the one who sent the script and Brian [Petsos], the director. Once we got kind of past the initial conversation, I was like, “What the hell is going on in this movie?” Well, this is a crazy script then, then when you kind of start talking about it, you go, “Oh, okay. Yeah, that’ll be great.” Then you jump in and you go experience the ride
It’s definitely a ride. The film takes so many wild turns. You spoke about Oscar there. He also has Cuban heritage. How great was it to share the screen with him?
This is the second movie we’ve done together. I love Oscar. He’s a friend. I admire him as an actor, as a person, as a father, and he’s a good dude. He’s always great to hang with him and work with him and I look forward to doing it again.
Your character in the film, Floyd, we kind of always know that something’s up with him, but he has this real sense of mystery. So we don’t find out the truth for a while. How fun was it as an actor to really play a character with so much intrigue?
That’s why I did it. It was enticing. As you go along, you start discovering things and go, “Oh,” and he kind of surprises you because you’re thrown into situations that you think maybe are one way, and then as you get deeper into it, you’re going, “Oh, wait a second. I see what this is.” Then that starts to manifest itself in your psyche and stuff. So I had a great time with the character and bouncing off of Emory, who came with a very specific energy in his character, and I think that dynamic was really fun to play.
I thought Emory Cohen was really brilliant. Can you speak to working with him and there are these scenes where he is dealing with this head injury where he’s very on edge and kind of freaking out. How was it going back and forth with him on those scenes?
Great. That’s great. Like I said, he was locked in, and from the first time he worked the first scene. I knew that he was locked into this guy, and I, as Floyd, had to deal with that energy, you know? Floyd has got to deal with him and look after him, manipulate him.
It’s interesting because there’s very much like an odd couple kind of dynamic there, but they do have like this friendship, even though it’s kind of built off manipulation. Can you speak to just that kind of bond that they wind up having?
They begin to rely on each other in this moment in their life that brought them together in a very odd way. Their lives intertwine. So, they are in need of one another. The movie begins to establish this kind of, you say maybe odd couple, but underlying love or father-son kind of thing.
How was it working with Megan Fox, who is your wife in the film?
She was great. In fact, we just worked again on The Expendables. It was great to see her again. She was great. If you look at the family who Floyd lives with, his wife, who in her own right has her own very unique lifestyle and habits, and then you have the other two kids. My son, the pyromaniac, and then Lucy Hale, my daughter. It’s a very unique family, where you go “How did these people come together?” Where did Megan Fox decide that this guy Floyd would be someone she wants to be with? So it’s all very bizarre. The movies filled with question marks to, and the summation of all the question marks, make it this kind of absurd reality that I think becomes really interesting
This is kind of hard to believe, but The Untouchables turns 35 this year. That was your big breakout role, and you’ve done so much great work since then. How do you view the legacy of that film?
People dig it. People dig that movie and it holds up really well. Some movies you do, then you revisit them and you go “Eh,” but this movie holds up so well, it’s such a great film for all the reasons you know. The script by David Mamet, the execution by Brian De Palma, and then all the wardrobe, the actors that are in it. Ennio Morricone’s work and the scores, all the elements in this movie really, really hold up to a great film forever, really. So I was honored to be a part of it. It was a privilege.
You talked about the great actors. Being that young, and being around so many huge stars. Was it a bit intimidating when you were filming that?
I did most of my work with The Untouchables with [Sean] Connery. [Robert] De Niro was obviously [Al] Capone, but I didn’t have, other than scenes in the courtroom, we didn’t really have the opportunity to interact that way. But Connery, I worked with all the time. Of course, he was a hero of mine growing up in the sixties. He was James Bond. He was the hero of our times, and so getting a chance to work with him was a great honor. I wouldn’t say the word “intimidated” because that’s my job. You’re coming there, you got to take care of your character. You got to take care of what you’re there to deliver. But I was extremely, obviously respectful and enjoying the proximity to someone that when you’re young, you’re in awe of. You’re so inspired by. But once you start working, once you start working he’s [Jim] Malone and I’m [George] Stone and all that disappears in a sense, you know?
You mentioned The Expendables. What can we expect from you in that film?
I’m one of the Expendables in the film. I play a character that organizes the new journey they’re on. A member of the CIA and give them the task of what they’re doing. Then I eventually join in with them. So it’s in the same genre. Jason Statham and Sylvester Stallone are in it, 50 Cent is in it, [Dolph Lundgren], and Megan Fox in it, and [Randy] Couture, you know, a lot of the reoccurring characters in that are back.
