'Spinning Gold' Interview: Jeremy Jordan

Moviefone speaks with Jeremy Jordan about 'Spinning Gold' and playing Neil Bogart. "He saw Kiss and Donna Summer as this thing that was going to change music."

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).

Spinning Gold

"To make hit records, Casablanca Records broke every rule"

R2 hr 17 minMar 15th, 2023

Showtimes & Tickets

Watch Spinning Gold Online

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.'

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?

(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.

(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.