Cinema Scholars interviews writer/director Brian Petsos about his new comedy/fantasy Big Gold Brick, starring Emory Cohen, Andy Garcia, and Oscar Issac. Samuel Goldwyn Films will release Big Gold Brick In Theaters, On Demand, and Digital on February 25, 2022.
Introduction
Who doesn’t need a break from reality these days? With such pervasive heaviness in the world, people are seeking escape in their entertainment more than ever. Sometimes a little playful absurdism is a perfect remedy. Luckily, the new fantasy/comedy Big Gold Brick delivers a delightfully ridiculous tale to help ease the doom and gloom.
Following a mental break spurred by family and girlfriend issues, Samuel (Emory Cohen) leaves his home in search of a new life. And boy, does he get it. Amid his temporary derangement, he is struck by a car whose owner, Floyd (Andy Garcia), makes it his mission to see the young man up and on his feet again so that Samuel can write his biography. Once recovered, Samuel moves into Floyd’s home to discover that there is so much more to the eccentric man and his oddball family than he could’ve imagined.
From bizarre occurrences, talking dolls, nightmares that cross into reality, and even telekinesis, Samuel’s time with Floyd makes him question his sanity while ironically crystallizing his purpose in life. Lush scenery, peculiar set pieces, and a very stylized look create an overall whimsical feel to Big Gold Brick.
An ensemble cast that also includes Megan Fox, Lucy Hale, and Oscar Isaac (in an enjoyably weird turn) nicely anchors this fanciful film. A catalog of various musical overtones also accentuates the intrigue while at the same time guiding Big Gold Brick to goofy greatness.
Cinema Scholars recently had the chance to sit down with writer/director Brian Petsos to chat about dream casting, collaborating with his team, and why high school basketball plays a pivotal role in his quirky feature debut.
Interview
Rebecca Elliott:
Hey, Brian, how are you today?
Brian Petsos:
How are you, Rebecca?
Rebecca Elliott:
I’m doing really well because I’m excited to chat you up about your film, Big Gold Brick! We don’t have much time, so I guess I’d need to get right to it…I noticed that you have spent many years in front of the camera, but this is your first turn directing a feature. Can you talk about the transition from in front of the camera to behind the camera and any inspiration for the switch?
Brian Petsos:
Yeah, absolutely. Aside from a little jaunt in college, I kind of came to this stuff via performing. But there was a point where I decided that I must take the dancing shoes off and I wanted to focus entirely on writing, on directing. And so I just made a decision to stop performing. I didn’t want to be someone who was acting and also kind of writing and also maybe directing once in a while. I wanted to focus entirely on writing and directing. So, that’s what I did. I sort of took myself out of the game and, yeah, that was an interesting conversation with my agents at the time.
Rebecca Elliott:
Oh, I’m sure it was! Totally switching gears.
Brian Petsos:
Uh, yeah.
A Performer Directing
Rebecca Elliott:
So what do you think as a performer you bring to the game as a director? I mean, because there’s… With experience under your belt, I mean, surely you have some insight that you wanted to bring to your own set.
Brian Petsos:
Yeah, that’s very much true. I mean, I never reached any real…what I would consider like remarkable height as a performer. I definitely did some stuff and have been around some sets.
Rebecca Elliott:
For sure.
Brian Petsos:
But definitely as a constant student of all aspects of cinema, I absolutely want to provide for my performers what I would want to be provided for me as a performer. And so, I think the way that manifests itself is kind of an individual approach to each person and something that you sort of figure out as quickly and organically as possible as you’re working together.
I think I have a sensitivity to what a particular performer may want from me.
And I think being able to dialogue that way as someone who’s been out there on stage, literally almost bleeding at times, I think that commonality is actually really important and probably creates a bond that maybe wouldn’t be the case with someone who comes from a strictly visual background. So, I think hopefully it helps in some way.
Casting The Lead
Rebecca Elliott:
Speaking of your cast, you have this incredible cast in Big Gold Brick. It’s like this ensemble of very recognizable names like Andy Garcia- who turns in a really great comedic performance, by the way. Oscar Isaac and Shiloh Fernandez as well. And of course Lucy Hale and Megan Fox. But then you have Emory Cohen who has been kicking around for a while now. He’s not exactly new, but he’s definitely not as well known. And he totally holds down the fort in this thing. Can you talk about casting and working with Emory and that massive collaboration? Because I mean, I think he’s in practically every frame of the thing.
Brian Petsos:
Absolutely. I mean, before I get into working together, I just have to say, Emory is someone who I was aware of obviously…But when I saw Brooklyn, I freaked out and I ran out of the theater. I’ve told the story before where I literally ran out of the theater, like in love with him. It was like, “I have to work with this guy at some point.” I just, I have to. I don’t know how, or on what, but then it ended up being on this.
He’s a guy who…You hope you can get a shot at working with someone you admire so much. And so he and I met before shooting and spent some social time together and really broke down what we were sort of both expecting out of things. The way that Emory and I worked on this is very different than the way Andy and I worked on this as an example. The way that Emory would allow himself…he would allow me to take him to very, very far off places to take with this thing. And so we really ran through drills on this with Emory, particularly it’s a performance that has so much dynamic range in it.
Rebecca Elliott:
Oh my gosh yes.
Brian Petsos:
And there’s stuff that’s on the floor that I wish everyone could see, but I ultimately have to be the arbiter of what is going for it to make sense when it’s all is said and done. So, the takes that are in the film are the right ones. But he is just, I mean, it’s a downright athletic performance, if I could simplify it with that word.
Detailed Production Design
Rebecca Elliott:
That’s a good way to put it for sure. I love the whimsical feel of Big Gold Brick. It’s a story that definitely takes you places that’s for sure. But also just the richness of the production design- even down to set pieces with hidden meanings or Easter eggs. It seems like you and your production designer had just the best time on this. Can you talk a little bit about that collaboration and how specific you were with the design? Because every shot has such a rich, whimsical look throughout the entire thing.
Brian Petsos:
Yeah. I just think I’ve been, I don’t want to say criticized, but I’ve been told that I write pretty heavy-handed in my screenplays. So if you’re seeing something on the screen and you’re noticing it after one view, it was probably in the script. And so the embarrassment of riches that I got with [production designer] Justin Ludwig, it wasn’t about like, hey man, let me source an idea and pitch it to you. It was about, “So, you want a taxidermy leopard? Here’s five of them, which one do you like the most?”
And so that sort of methodology went all the way down the line for everything. I was so blessed with my art department, they were incredible and gave me so much to consider and I’m so appreciative. We’d be nothing without them.
Rebecca Elliott:
That’s so great. I want to go back again and see what Easter eggs there are. Or maybe find a different meaning in some of the set pieces. What a testament to the kind of film that you’ve created.
Brian Petsos:
Well, I can tell you that you’ll probably glean other things then if you watch it again.
Musical Choices
Rebecca Elliott:
So cool. I love that. I love that kind of minutiae. You also include so many strong musical themes throughout the film. I feel like I heard a little bit of everything from classic romance-type cues to traditional crime/thriller notes. And then even a horror element. Can you talk about how intentional that was on your part, or did your composer come to the table with those ideas? Or was that also very much on the page like the rest of your process?
Brian Petsos:
Yeah I mean, it’s funny because something on the page to me I’m also hearing, whereas not everyone else may actually hear it. But I do have a whole…a very deep musical past life that I won’t really get into. When I’m writing, I do program all of the music into the script. So there are like 31 licensed tunes, I believe, in this that were all written into the screenplay.
Rebecca Elliott:
Wow.
Brian Petsos:
And sometimes I can’t really finish a scene without finding the exact Beethoven piece. For example, that’s not just the piece, it’s the exact recording. Because these recordings are obviously different. Different tempos, different variations, and all the different undulations and stuff. So the same thing goes with all of the other stuff from the death metal to the jazz and with the score stuff. I’ve got a very crystalline idea in my mind.
And then my editor and I – he’s very patient with me – will temp in multiple layers of a sort of, kind of postmodern stuff. Then I work with my composer and we can get really granular and finish it. The score stuff is a little bit of a different process, although it’s pretty clear in my mind. Yeah, so the music is everything. I don’t want to say music is a bigger influence than cinema on me, but I could almost say that.
Amusing Intrigue
Rebecca Elliott:
Right. It’s intentional to the extreme! It certainly helps “takes you there” for sure. I only have time for one more question, and I just have to ask- why high school basketball? A pivotal and pretty absurd part of the story revolves around high school basketball, and it just cracked me up. Are you a big high school basketball fan? Or was it just random? Because I found it truly amusing.
Brian Petsos:
That’s the same thing that I found, so your amusement is also mine. I just thought the ridiculousness of, in the world of the film, gambling happening on high school sports at an intense level just tickled me. And so it had to be that way. So I made it.
Rebecca Elliott:
I love it. I was curious if you had any high-stakes high school basketball gambling in your past.
Brian Petsos:
Funny side story. From what I gather, Andy Garcia was quite good at basketball in high school. I believe he was a star basketball player in high school.
Rebecca Elliott:
What? No way! That’s amazing.
Brian Petsos:
Fun fact.
Rebecca Elliott:
That’s an incredibly fun fact. And that just wrapped up our interview quite nicely too I think! I really appreciate your time. Good luck with Big Gold Brick and with everything.
Brian Petsos:
I really appreciate it. Thank you so much for the kind words and thanks for picking up those Easter eggs.
Conclusion
Samuel Goldwyn Films will release Big Gold Brick In Theaters, On Demand, and Digital on February 25, 2022.
Read more Cinema Scholars interviews!
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