Director and writer Mickey Reece is back again with another country-inspired film: Country Gold. This is a follow-up of sorts to his movie Alien, which was about Elvis Presley. But there’s a twist this time: he’s starring in it, too, in the lead role of Troyal Brux. Taking very loose inspiration from the lives of country stars George Jones and Garth Brooks, Country Gold reimagines what would happen if these two were to meet for a night out in Nashville the night before Jones is about to be cryogenically frozen. When the movie first debuted at Fantasia Film Festival, Forbes declared it one of the must-see movies of the festival.

MovieWeb chatted with Reece about the movie and its making.

Making Country Gold Happen

Cinedigm Entertainment Group

MW: This isn’t the first time you’ve made a movie about the country music world; Alien takes on the topic of Elvis and Priscilla Presley. We can see the inspirations from Alien in this movie — how did the idea form, though?

Mickey Reece: Jacob Snovel, who played Troyal’s manager in Country Gold, and I were driving back from Nashville. We played at a festival in Nashville, we were driving back, and just started the conversation. We had made three movies since Alien, one of which was Climate of the Hunter. The premise was in stone, at first, and then we were like, alright we have to write a movie around that premise, which was — George Jones invites Garth Brooks out on the town in Nashville the night before he is cryogenically frozen.

I didn’t want to be pigeonholed into making these horror adjacent movies, which were the past three movies I had made, so I kind of wanted to do a comedy, but I needed some way to be inspired by it. Since we had made two [country movies], it was like well, we need to do a third one.

Related: Why Straight Outta Compton Is One of the Best Music Biopics Ever Made

MW: Before all of this, were you well-versed on country music? Or did you just decide to make movies inspired by it?

Mickey Reece: No. I grew up in Oklahoma, so I grew up around it. I didn’t like the music, but it was always playing. So then when I got older, and didn’t care as much, these country songs would come on, and I would know every word. I think a lot of people from Oklahoma are like that. But I do really like country music movies. I like Tender Mercies, Coal Miner’s Daughter, Crazy Heart. Something in the simplicity of Tender Mercies I’ve been fascinated with. I really like these really simple country folk movies.

MW: When was the moment you decided to take on the role of Troyal?

Mickey Reece: Certainly not while we were writing it. The gentleman I wanted to play [Troyal] wasn’t going to work time-wise, and it was during COVID, so the less people we had the better. I looked enough like Garth Brooks that I decided to try it, it’ll be a fun experiment because I had never really acted except for a small role. I had never made a whole movie of this scale with me as the lead.

At that point, my job was just to carry the movie at first, then whenever Ben Hall gets on the screen, I can take a break. It’s like saying the words to get Ben to go where he needs to go. We didn’t have time to ever look at the monitor, so we’re essentially just setting up the shot, going there to act, and moving onto the next shot.

MW: Did anything change about the story during the writing and production process?

Mickey Reece: We definitely made some changes, just like things that come while we’re on set. We have so much freedom, so anything that came up was like, “oh, let’s go with that. Let’s go with every impulse.” So we really indulged in ourselves with this one. When it goes to the alternate Juno character, and he goes home to his mom and eats the beans, it was originally in the script Juno goes to his wife. But Joe Cappa, the actor, when he was in town, was like, “I really want to work with your grandma. How can we fit that in?” And I was like, “well I’ll change this scene, and you go home to your mom.” Then we felt it out from there.

Taking Different Approaches
MW: Throughout the movie, there are some interesting stylistic decisions that deviate from the traditional nature of film. Were those elements thought of before shooting, or were they added in?

Mickey Reece: For the steak scene, we were shooting in two restaurants that were combined. So we shot the boulevard scene, and then we shot the mafia scene in the next restaurant over. There weren’t any employees there, so no one was cooking in the kitchen making a steak. I thought I would shoot it later, and instead of shooting it later, [I realized] Joe Cappa animates, and asked him to animate that part. He came up with all that. It’s a perfect collaboration.

MW: This clearly isn’t a biopic, nor does it pretend to be. During your writing process, what details and inspiration do you choose to bring into the story?

Mickey Reece: In biopics, even when they’re straightforward, there’s no telling of what was being said, so the dialogue is all made up. That’s all artistic license. This one just takes it another step. We’re just going to use the characters. When we did Alien, there’s a lot of factual stuff in it because you can actually use all the details from Elvis’ life because it’s wild, it sounds made up anyways. So when we went to do Garth and George, nothing [content-wise] felt worth shooting. So no, there’s hardly any details. There’s a Chris Gaines cameo, so there’s some stuff like that.

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MW: On the flip side of that: did Ben Hall prepare for his role specifically by consuming George Jones content? Or was it more of an interpretation of what Jones would be like in this universe you’ve created?

Mickey Reece: He wanted to do research, and I was like, “No, don’t do that all. You just be the character on the pages. Don’t worry about the real George Jones at all.”

MW: Not only are you acting in the movie, but you directed and wrote it too. What was it like wearing multiple hats during the production process like for you?

Mickey Reece: When we were shooting, I found it easier. When you’re not in the scene as a director, and there’s a problem, it’s hard to figure out what that problem is and communicate it. But when you’re in the scene with them, you know exactly what the problem is because you’re feeling beat by beat. So I found it easier to do all three.

MW: So would you do it again?

Mickey Reece: No.

Cinedigm Entertainment Group

MW: What’s been your favorite moment working on this movie?

Mickey Reece: There were a lot of good days. In the Italian mob flashback scene that George has, one of the actors was an experienced actor, while the other three in the room were just restaurant owners around town. I really like working with non-actors. That was a blast.

MW: What’s next for you? Got any new projects in the works?

Mickey Reece: The next movie we’re making is called The Cruel Tenor. It is about a retired widow who weds an unstable jazz enthusiast that becomes obsessed with avenging the widow’s late husband’s death. A little bit of sci-fi, a lot of comedy, drama, a bit of revenge thriller to it – it hits all the marks.

Country Gold was released on Fandor April 4, 2023.