OKC filmmaker Mickey Reece's surreal new comedy 'Country Gold' is headed to Fantastic Fest

Dressed in a flashy checked shirt, black cowboy hat and shiny belt buckle, Mickey Reece bears no small resemblance to a certain Oklahoma superstar with friends in low places.

And that's no small part of the surreal humor in the Oklahoma City cult-favorite filmmaker's new movie, "Country Gold."

Set in 1994, Reece's latest homegrown independent film is a fantastical country music comedy in which a despondent George Jones (OKC actor Ben Hall) decides to be cryogenically frozen. Jones invites an up-and-coming Sooner State star named Troyal Brux (Reece) to go out on the town with him in Nashville before the legend is literally frozen in time. (For those who aren't proficient in Oklahoma pop-culture knowledge, there's a famous singer-songwriter named Troyal Garth Brooks who prefers to go by his middle name. )

"'Country Gold' ruminates on how an artist’s perceived success can alter who they are as a person. We’re using the identities of George Jones and Troyal Brux as American iconography to provide context to that concept," Reece told The Oklahoman.

After making its world premiere over the summer at the Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, "Country Gold" will make its U.S. bow in September at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas.

Billed as "the largest genre film festival in the U.S., specializing in horror, fantasy, sci-fi, action and just plain fantastic movies," the 17th annual Fantastic Fest is set for Sept. 22-29 at Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar in Austin.

"I don’t like to imagine 'Country Gold' fitting into any kind of category, but if I have to simplify in terms of genre, it’s a comedy," Reece said. "What I admire about comedies is their ability to prepare you for any kind of emotion. There’s nothing more rewarding than being caught off guard by the light, fun nature of a comedy when a wrench is thrown into the works and you’re all of a sudden crying or even a little startled by the addition of drama."

Oklahoman's 'Country Gold' joins buzzy lineup at Fantastic Fest

Reece's "Country Gold" will screen at Fantastic Fest among a buzzy lineup of 21 world premieres, 14 North American debuts and 21 U.S. bows.

The Texas fest will open with the world premiere of Paramount Picture's new horror movie "Smile," will feature the U.S. premiere of Ruben Östlund’s award-winning black comedy "Triangle of Sadness" as its closing-night film and honor South Korean director Park Chan-wook ("Snowpiercer") with a lifetime achievement award in conjunction with the U.S. debut of his new romantic thriller, "Decision to Leave."

It will be Reece's fifth film to show at Fantastic Fest, following the Oklahoman's 2018 psychological drama "Strike, Dear Mistress, and Cure His Heart," his 2019 horror-mystery "Climate of the Hunter," his 2020 short documentary "Belle Île" and his 2021 unconventional convent creep show "Agnes." 

"When everything started taking off and I was getting into these bigger festivals was during the pandemic, so it was just like literally a waste," Reece told The Oklahoman during a June interview at OKC's deadCenter Film Festival. "But now that everything is coming back ... it feels so good."

Prolific Oklahoman has become known as 'the Soderbergh of the Sticks'

Since 2008, the DIY writer, director and actor has cranked out nearly 30 no- to low-budget movies in his home state.

"I've lost track — and also, I don't keep track of the crappy ones. Some people can just go right out the gate and start making good movies — and I don't like those people," joked Reece, who performed as the one-man band El Paso Hot Button before launching his film career.

Sometimes called the "Soderbergh of the Sticks" or the "Flyover Fassbinder" — references to iconic auteurs Steven Soderbergh and Rainer Werner Fassbinder — the independent Okie said he is becoming a better filmmaker with each project.

"I've always treated it like a sketchbook, just trying to work through the motions and get better and better every time, because to me, it was always for fun. I didn't ever imagine that it was going to become a career," said Reece, who directed "Country Gold" from a script he penned with frequent co-writer John Selvidge.

"It's still a blast, of course. I mean, how could it not be? You see what we do? Just putting the camera in front of funny people and having them say funny jokes and be like, 'Hahaha, cut, let's move on,' what would be sad (about that)?"

With 'Country Gold,' filmmaker wears more than 'his normal seven hats'

Although "Country Gold" is sometimes melancholic in its off-kilter examination of fame, ego and aging set against the American mythology of country music, the Newcastle native said he is happy to keep working in his home state with a loyal group of Oklahoma collaborators, including one he calls his "secret weapon."

"I’m happy to be riding Ben Hall’s coattails. I think he’s one of the most underrated actors in American independent cinema right now. This is my favorite performance of his and I’m so proud to have our names on the same poster again," Reece said.

A longstanding OKC theater and film actor, Hall previously played a shamed priest with exorcism experience in "Agnes," a possible vampire in "Climate of the Hunter" and a wealthy father whose death leaves his estranged son (Alex Sanchez) in an awkward situation in “Arrows of Outrageous Fortune" before Reece tapped him to play a music icon in "Country Gold."

"It's a lot of fun, especially since it's a satire. ... I'm not sure that the George Jones in this movie has anything in common with the real George Jones. But I am The Possum," Hall told The Oklahoman with a laugh.

"Mickey's actually ... the lead in the movie and directing it. So, instead of the normal seven hats he wears, he's wearing twice that many."

When it came to playing a surreal version of a certain Country Music Hall of Famer from Yukon, Reece didn't really dive into "The River” of available research materials.

"All I can do in acting is just take the words and then add more words to them. I'm like a Danny McBride kind of actor. That's my wheelhouse. So, it was like, 'Well, that's the way he is gonna have to be in this,'" Reece said, chuckling as he referred to the star of "The Righteous Gemstones," "The Foot Fist Way" and "Tropic Thunder."

"I started making movies because I wanted to act, but I was like, 'When I'm acting, the camera's out of focus, so now I gotta get behind the camera.' That's kind of how it all started, so now ... when I get offered roles - even the smallest role; doesn't matter - I'm like, 'Yes, of course I'll do it.'”

Writer-director becomes standard-bearer for Oklahoma film community

Along with acting in his own films, Reece has appeared on camera in several projects created by his fellow Oklahomans, including Sterlin Harjo's hit TV series "Reservation Dogs," Cate Jones' acclaimed indie films "Chicken House" and "She's the Eldest" and Jacob Leighton Burns's time-travel horror movie "Shifter." Reece recently played one-half of a pair of militant gun-toting brothers in Nick Sanford's homegrown Bigfoot comedy "Elusive," now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

"He's a director, so he knows how movie sets work, and he's got interesting instincts. He's got this crazy energy that I don't know anyone else who's got it exactly the way that he does," Sanford said.

"A rising tide lifts all boats. He's got a really specific cinematic point of view ... and if he can make his crazy, weird stuff and get away with it, then surely the rest of us can walk through the door as well."

As Oklahoma's movie and television industry has grown, Reece has become a sort of standard-bearer for the state's indie film community, from his attention-grabbing entries at events like Fantastic Fest to his debut this year as the curator of the "midnight movie" slate at deadCenter to his willingness to show up for his fellow Okie moviemakers. When husband-and-wife co-directors Jeremy and Kara Choate made their first feature film, "Tenkiller," Reece provided invaluable guidance.

"I just reached out to Mickey and I said, 'Hey, we're brand new to the film industry. Do you want to grab a drink or coffee?' And he said, 'Absolutely.' He wanted to see 'Tenkiller' ... and he was really gracious," Kara Choate said. "He has helped us more than anyone that comes from the filmmaking world."

When the Choates started working on their sophomore film, the middle-school saga "The Awkward Stage," they tapped Reece for the role of a washed-up English teacher.

"He's really encouraged us, 'You guys have a taste. Don't let go of that taste. Don't let go of your voice.' ... I think he's been able to keep that,” she said. “Think about the difference between 'Country Gold' and 'Agnes,' just those two, but he still has that voice that we love. We're huge fans - and we're very grateful to him."

Reece will follow "Country Gold" with another music movie: Variety reports that “It Follows” producer David Kaplan is teaming with the Oklahoman on his upcoming feature “The Cool Tenor," about a widowed retiree who marries an unstable jazz enthusiast but becomes fixated on avenging her late husband’s death.

He confirmed that "The Cool Tenor" includes a cool role for Hall — and that he plans to keep working in his home state's film community, with the hopes of showing his "Country Gold" in Oklahoma soon.

"Five years ago, the quality of movies that were coming out (of Oklahoma) was nowhere near what they are today,” Reece said. “There is a such thing as a healthy competition, and of course, you want to raise the bar and climb up the ladder with your friends."

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Fantastic Fest taps OKC filmmaker Mickey Reece's comedy 'Country Gold'