Moviefone Editorial

Tag: Lyndsy Fonseca

  • ‘Spinning Gold’ Interview: Jeremy Jordan

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    Opening in theaters on March 31st is the new movie ‘Spinning Gold,’ which tells the story of Casablanca Records founder Neil Bogart and was written and directed by his son, Timothy Scott Bogart.

    What is the plot of ‘Spinning Gold?’

    ‘Spinning Gold’ depicts the life and career of record producer and Casablanca Records founder Neil Bogart, who was credited with discovering many iconic musical acts such as Donna Summer, Kiss, and the Village People. Along with a rag tag team of young music lovers, Neil and Casablanca Records would rewrite history and change the music industry forever. The movie also examines Bogart’s own personal love triangle with wife Beth Bogart (Michelle Monaghan) and manager Joyce Biawitz (Lyndsy Fonseca).

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    Who is in the cast of ‘Spinning Gold?’

    ‘Spinning Gold’ stars Jeremy Jordan (‘Supergirl’) as Neil Bogart, Michelle Monaghan (‘Mission: Impossible III’) as Beth Bogart, Jay Pharoah (‘Top Five’) as Cecil Holmes, Dan Fogler (‘The Offer’) as Buck Reingold, Jason Isaacs (‘Mass’) as Al Bogart, Lyndsy Fonseca (‘Kick-Ass’) as Joyce Biawitz, Chris Redd (‘Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping’) as Frankie Crocker, and Sebastian Maniscalco (‘The Irishman’) as Giorgio Moroder.

    The movie also stars musicians Wiz Khalifa as George Clinton, Jason Derulo as Ron Isley of the Isley Brothers, Pink Sweat$ as Bill Withers, Tayla Parx as Donna Summer, and Ledisi as Gladys Knight.

    Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Jeremy Jordan about his work on ‘Spinning Gold,’ playing Neil Bogart, being directed by his son, the artists Casablanca Records discovered, and why Neil believed in them.

    Jeremy Jordan as Neil Bogart in 'Spinning Gold.'
    Jeremy Jordan as Neil Bogart in ‘Spinning Gold.’

    You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Jordan, Jay Pharoah, Tayla Parx, and director Timothy Scott Bogart.

    Moviefone: To begin with, how much did you know about Neil Bogart and the history of Casablanca Records before joining this project, and what did you learn about him that really helped you play this role?

    Jeremy Jordan: I knew absolutely nothing about it, to be honest with you. I knew some of the music that came out of the recording studio that they’d formed, and that was pretty much it. I really approached it from the perspective that I’m working with this guy’s family. Tim Bogart wrote and directed it, and he gave me so much incredible insight, and really allowed me to find my own way into my version of his dad without trying to be a carbon copy of this guy. It was nice because he’s not a really widely known figure, and there’s not a whole lot of video that people can be like, “Oh, you’re not doing exactly the thing.” But even so, we didn’t really focus on that in the film, even with the more famous characters. We really just got to figure out who these people are and then go from there. That was a really liberating experience. I didn’t feel like I had to do exactly this perfect impression, you know what I’m saying?

    Jeremy Jordan as Neil Bogart and Michelle Monaghan as Beth Bogart in 'Spinning Gold.'
    (L to R) Jeremy Jordan as Neil Bogart and Michelle Monaghan as Beth Bogart in ‘Spinning Gold.’

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    MF: Was it weird being directed by the son of the person you were playing?

    JJ: It was weird in my head, but in execution, it really wasn’t, except for every once in a while when Tim would be like, “Hey dad.” I was like, “That’s weird. Don’t do that.” But no, I really felt supported a hundred percent all the way through it. If there was ever any guidance, it was done with a really loving hand. One of the things that I was really lucky about is that Tim said one of the reasons that he chose me to play the role was that I had a lot of the essence of his father, and he allowed me to find that version of it within myself. So I never really felt like I was under a microscope or anything, so it was liberating in that way, and I didn’t have to be self-conscious.

    Tayla Parx as Donna Summer and Jeremy Jordan as Neil Bogart in 'Spinning Gold.'
    (L to R) Tayla Parx as Donna Summer and Jeremy Jordan as Neil Bogart in ‘Spinning Gold.’

    MF: Finally, can you talk about the relationships Neil had with musical artists like Donna Summer and Kiss, and the way he discovered them and really believed in them when no one else would?

    JJ: He saw things before everybody else. So he saw Kiss and saw Donna Summer as this incredible thing that was going to change music. He was so far ahead that everybody just kind of thought he was crazy and nothing hit for years with both of them. But he continued to believe in them, almost to a fault. Just tenaciously throwing money at it until some people finally figured it out, or he actually figured out the best way to present them to the world. But he never gave up on them and he never faltered in his belief in them, or never really second guessed any of those decisions. He knew that he was right, and he 99% of the time was. It’s tough to find people like that, especially nowadays. Nothing like this story could ever happen today. I’ve recently tried to join the music business. I started a band and they’re like, start your own TikTok, release your first couple albums and then talk to us. There’s no sending your record tape or your demo and someone saying, “if I believe in you and I think I can make you into something, let’s do it.” If there is, then I don’t know. It’s rare. It’s cutthroat nowadays much more.

    Casey Likes as Gene Simmons, Sam Harris as Paul Stanley and Alex Gaskarth as Peter Criss performing as Kiss in 'Spinning Gold.'
    (L to R) Casey Likes as Gene Simmons, Sam Harris as Paul Stanley and Alex Gaskarth as Peter Criss performing as Kiss in ‘Spinning Gold.’

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    ‘Spinning Gold’ is produced by Knightsbridge Entertainment, Boardwalk Films, and Foresight Unlimited, and scheduled for release on March 31st.

  • Josh Peck talks ‘Turner & Hooch’

    Josh Peck talks ‘Turner & Hooch’

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    Read on for the full interview with Josh Peck.

    Moviefone: I want you to set the scene for me. What is Scott’s life like? How is he living? I’m talking about pre-Hooch. When we first meet him.

    Josh Peck: So when we meet Scott Turner, he’s a career man. He’s very driven, very ambitious. He wants to be the chief of the US Marshals, and he’s got a psychotically clean apartment, and his best friend is a Roomba. And he’s got this very cute little life that immediately gets disrupted by the wrecking ball that is 150 pound French mastiff in Hooch.

    MF: So you would say that we agree that Scott is a very type-A personality. Hooch is not, and that first time together is quite disastrous.

    Peck: You make a great point. Yeah. When I first meet Hooch, he completely makes the space his own in a way. And our McG who directed our pilot, who was a dream, and I had so much fun with. He was so smart where I think he basically put a million things in Scott’s apartment that could be utterly destroyed by Hooch. Then had the camera same back and said to the dog trainers, let the dogs have at it, go nuts. Josh, you chase after the dog. Comedy will ensue. And it sure did.

    MF: Was that difficult? Because I’m sure most dogs are trained to not destroy household items. So was that difficult? For these trainers to train these dogs or because I guess there’s more than one Hooch, right? So was there one specific dog that was trained to just destroy household items?

    Peck: You know, each dog had their own specialty. And so like OB was our elder statement. He was six years old, and he was just great at chilling in scenes. If we needed Hooch to just look up and look to the side and not make a peep. That was OB. Then there was Hammer, who was young. He was less than two years old and literally pulled my arm out of his socket. He had one speed and one speed only. And that was pulling me across a room or chasing after a bad guy. And then we had someone like Mimi who was an army female dog, who was literally our specialist. Who was perfect at grabbing something off the table or jumping really high. So each dog kind of offered something different.

    MF: Who gives Hooch to Scott? And why does she do that?

    Peck: My sister, Lyndsy Fonseca, is the actress, and she plays Laura, my sister on the show. She gives Scott this gigantic French mastiff, Hooch, because I think her and her family, and especially her father, knew that Scott needed something to disrupt him and sort of break his routine to make him realize that there’s a life outside of himself and to sort of turn his eyes outward. So what we find throughout the season was that this was sort of a concerted effort from Scott’s family to help break him out of his shell.

    MF: Now this series is a sequel, a legacy sequel to the 1989 movie. Tell me where the series picks up.

    Peck: The series picks up right when we meet Scott again, and I’m playing Scott Jr, who’s the son of Tom Hanks, his character from the movie from 1989. And basically, my father’s passed away. I’m sort of dealing with the aftermath of grieving for him and while also being so ambitious, and so dead set on this beautiful little life I’ve set up for myself. And a third of the way into the first episode I get Hooch and I realized the dog that I never wanted, might be the dog that I always needed. Because in addition to all the other great things that Hooch offers me, he’s actually kind of good at solving crimes.

    MF: Kind of. So there is a canine dog trainer with the Marshals and that Scott turns to for help. And she’s really good with their dogs. Also, Scott is also very oblivious to the way Erica feels about him.

    Peck: You’re right. I mean, yes, Vanessa Lengies, who plays Erica Mouniere, who’s the dog trainer for the US Marshals. And what I think each character in the show has is that she’s this great dichotomy of, she’s this brilliant dog trainer who knows the smallest nuance of what animals are able to do. And she helped Scott. And without her, he’d be totally lost with utilizing Hooch to help solve crimes. But then in the same breath, she’s utterly hapless when it comes to love and her crush on Scott, and how to show her feelings if it’s even possible. And Scott is in his bit of his self-centered pattern. Is completely oblivious to Erica’s feelings for him through most of the season, but then there’s a little glimpse where he kind of clues into the idea that maybe there’re some sparks there.

    MF: You know, there’s a saying, “Don’t ever work with kids or animals.” Is it really hard on set to work with the dogs? That dog is with you all the time.

    Peck: Well, as a former kid actor, I would be a jerk if I lived up to that saying, but you’re right. I’ve heard it before, and it can be true. But I think you have to embrace what working with an animal offers you. Which is that it breaks you out of your plans, and it forces you into the moment, and it forces you to sort of adapt to what they’re doing. And they’re always going to be truthful. They’re always going to be in the moment. So if you’re meeting them on that level, you too are in the moment and present. And to me, that’s when an actor is the most interesting. So, there were definitely moments on a 13-, 14-hour day, where you’re praying that the dog does the thing that you need them to do. And they almost always did.

    ‘Turner & Hooch’ is on Disney+.