Raquel Laguna/ SUCOPRESS. Award-winning actor and comedian Paul Rodriguez directs HOLY CASH, his latest comedy. In this interview, Paul Rodriguez, Jay Mohr and Felipe Esparza talk about working together in the film and about comedy. This uproarious film centers on two ex-cons who, faced with the choice of returning to prison, opt instead to become televangelists, launching a new scheme to con unsuspecting viewers out of their hard-earned money. HOLY CASH boasts an impressive ensemble cast, featuring the comedic talents of Jay Mohr, Luis Guzman, Danny Trejo, Emilio Rivera, Catherine Bach, Aries Spears, Stephanie Gerard, Alicia Machado, Gabriela Vergara, Gary Busey, and Tony Plana. A powerful lineup of stand-up comedians supports Paul’s movie, including Felipe Esparza, Carlos Mencia, Jerry Garcia, Gene Pompa, Willie Barcena, Pablo Francisco, and Frankie Quinones, all bringing their unique flair to this outrageous tale of faith gone wrong.
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PeopleTranscript
00:00I would like to know, what inspired you to make Holikas?
00:04Was there a particular event or personal experience?
00:08Yes, I was flat broke and I needed to make some money
00:12and I abused the friendship of my friends, who are famous and wealthy.
00:16So I begged them and I said, please, look at this.
00:19And it really is, I wish that was a joke, but it's true.
00:24And it just happened, you know.
00:27Things came together, they were available, I wasn't doing nothing.
00:31It took two years and by the grace of God
00:35and the lack of good movies out there, here we are.
00:39Jay, how much fun has been making this film?
00:43Every day was fun. Every day I got to come to work and be with one of my comedy idols
00:47and guys I respect in comedy and we just had a really fun time.
00:53There was no actors getting into character.
00:56We just played make-believe like when we were kids.
00:59He's one of those directors where he lets you be yourself and bring out the real humor in you.
01:04Sometimes you read something and go, this ain't me. I ain't gonna read this shit.
01:08But this time, everything was written in your character.
01:11How can you mess up something that's written for you?
01:14My character finally sees the light at the end.
01:17He's just in it for the money with his best buddy.
01:20He's just out there trying to make a quick buck and not go to jail.
01:23But at the end he realizes that there is a God.
01:26And he's Latino and he's Luis Guzman.
01:29What can the audience expect?
01:31They can expect to laugh. There's no movies anymore where you just go and laugh.
01:34It's always some multiverse.
01:37Everything's like somebody's getting their head cut off or it's a multiverse superhero.
01:41What happened to the movies with a bunch of idiots standing around making each other laugh?
01:45How did you balance the comedy and the dramatic aspects?
01:50I think that was intentional. I think the audience will make that decision.
01:53I'm sure there will be some people that won't like it or think it's not a good movie.
01:58But I don't worry about that. I'm gonna go for the numbers.
02:01I'm gonna go for the people that...
02:04This movie doesn't try to change you or teach you anything other than
02:07I hope that for the hour and a half that you're there, you forget whatever your troubles are.
02:10That's why we go to entertainment, isn't it?
02:13We go there to lay those thoughts away from our head.
02:16Just be entertained. I hope we do that.
02:19There's 100 years of comedy sitting here. If you don't like this movie, it's you.
02:23There's something wrong with you.
02:25We all think it's funny. Come on.
02:28Unfortunately, there's a sucker born every minute.
02:31And religion has always been used to entice those suckers.
02:36But I also believe that...
02:41Some people are so over the top.
02:45If God owns the world, why does he need your money?
02:48You should think about that.
02:50Like in the movie, it says that anyone that needs...
02:53That God needs your money is not really a God guy.
02:56He's in the other team.
02:58That's what I love in the Bible. Jesus kicks over those tables with money.
03:01There you go. It is.
03:03The book of Matthews.
03:05But enough about Jimmy Swagger.
03:08I think to answer your question, people need something.
03:11And when you come in on the religious...
03:15I have something.
03:17And if you're just desperate enough, you just...
03:20One of the bylines says that heaven has never been more affordable.
03:23And I think that's what they try to tell you.
03:26If you give money, God's paying attention.
03:29Like God's an accountant out there.
03:32You're going to the second tier.
03:35But I think for older people who are close to their end...
03:39They may have been assholes in their life.
03:42Some guy on TV tells them that they can go to heaven.
03:45They'll give you the money.
03:48Do you remember when you were growing up, little kids?
03:51You always wanted to tell stories, to be...
03:54Personally, I never considered show business.
03:57But yeah, there was a lot of humor in my house.
04:00My father was very, very funny.
04:03And that annoyed my mom. My mom was more of a serious woman.
04:06And the more serious she got, the funnier my dad got.
04:10He always appreciated the laughter.
04:13I remember my father would not allow his kids to be sad at the table.
04:16I remember one time he hit me with a bean in the head.
04:19He goes, hey, wait till you get married to be miserable.
04:24And my mother said, what?
04:27Not us. Not us. Other people's marriage.
04:30But my father was like that. I miss him.
04:33When I was a kid, if you showed me me sitting here with these guys talking to you...
04:37I'd be like, oh wow, I must have really made it.