We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Andrew Preston. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Andrew below.
Andrew, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?
Gold Piece Films began with a simple realization: powerful stories exist everywhere, but the ability to produce and own them is rare. I had spent years working in creative spaces—as an actor, writer, and filmmaker—and saw firsthand how many talented voices never moved beyond the idea stage. The goal behind Gold Piece Films was to change that by building a company designed not just to create stories, but to develop, produce, and control them.
The first step wasn’t cameras or scripts. It was structure.
I formally established Gold Piece Films as a business, secured an EIN, and began laying the groundwork for partnerships, banking, and contracts. It may not sound glamorous, but legitimacy is the backbone of any studio. Once that foundation was in place, the focus shifted to building a pipeline of work.
The early phase was about development identifying the stories that would define the company and designing productions that could be executed intelligently and efficiently. Projects like the Southern-set drama Blood and Soil began taking shape, not just as scripts, but as the first anchors of the studio’s creative slate.
At the same time, relationships were forming with local creators, media platforms, and community organizations. Gold Piece Films was never intended to be a one-project venture. The vision was to create a sustainable ecosystem: film development, production, distribution, and educational initiatives that expand opportunities for creators and audiences alike.
Launching the company required constant problem-solving. Independent filmmaking rarely begins with large budgets, so the strategy focused on lean production models, using practical locations, tight crews, and smart equipment choices to bring high-quality stories to life. Execution, not scale, was the priority.
What started as a single idea has grown into a developing slate of projects and partnerships, all centered around one philosophy: every story has value when it’s crafted with intention and ownership.
Gold Piece Films is still in its early chapters, but the momentum is building. With multiple projects in development and a focus on character-driven storytelling, the studio is positioning itself to deliver work that is both grounded in community and cinematic in scope.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Andrew Lloyd Preston. I’m an actor, writer, director, and producer, and I’m the founder of Gold Piece Films, an independent film and media company focused on telling strong character-driven stories and building real opportunities for creative work to get made.
My path into filmmaking started through acting. I spent years studying scripts, working with filmmakers, and being part of different productions. Over time I began to notice something important. There were incredible stories everywhere and a lot of talented people, but many of those stories never actually got produced. They stayed ideas. Scripts. Conversations.
I realized the difference between ideas and finished films usually comes down to structure and execution—someone willing to organize the work, bring people together, and actually move the project forward.
That realization is what led me to start Gold Piece Films.
Instead of waiting for permission from the industry, I wanted to build a company that could develop projects, produce them, and create pathways for them to reach audiences. The goal was simple: create a place where stories don’t just exist—they get made.
At Gold Piece Films we focus on developing independent films, digital series, and media content that revolve around strong characters and real human experiences. Many of the stories we work on deal with themes like redemption, resilience, relationships, and the way people try to rebuild their lives.
One of the major projects currently in development is a Southern drama called Blood and Soil. It’s a story about personal redemption, family, and the struggle to overcome the past. Projects like that represent the kind of storytelling the company is built around—grounded, emotional, and character-focused.
But the company isn’t just about producing films. We’re also building a larger ecosystem around media. That includes working with streaming platforms, producing digital content, and creating educational opportunities where young people can learn filmmaking, media production, and storytelling skills. Teaching the next generation how to create and control their own stories is something that’s very important to me.
In many ways, what Gold Piece Films does is help solve a common problem in creative industries. A lot of people have ideas, talent, and stories—but they don’t have the structure or production support to actually turn those ideas into finished projects. We help move things from concept to reality.
What I think sets our work apart is the mindset behind it. We focus on ownership, collaboration, and long-term growth. Instead of chasing quick projects, we’re building a company that can consistently develop and produce meaningful work.
What I’m most proud of so far is simply building the foundation. Starting a production company from the ground up takes patience and persistence. Every script developed, every partnership formed, and every project moved forward is another step toward creating something that lasts.
For anyone discovering my work or the company for the first time, the most important thing to know is this: Gold Piece Films is about building stories and building opportunity at the same time.
The projects we’re developing now are just the beginning, and the most exciting work is still ahead.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
One lesson I had to unlearn was the belief that being busy meant I was moving forward.
There was a period in my life where I felt like I wasn’t moving fast enough. I looked around and saw people building careers, launching projects, gaining traction. That pressure pushed me into a mode where I started doing everything. Meetings, ideas, side projects, networking, planning—constantly moving.
On the surface it looked productive. I was always working on something.
But the truth was, I wasn’t really going anywhere.
I was moving a lot, but the movement wasn’t aligned with a clear direction. It was activity without a real destination. At the time I didn’t fully realize that difference.
Then I heard a quote from Denzel Washington that hit me at the exact moment I needed it: “Don’t confuse movement with progress.”
That line stopped me in my tracks.
It made me step back and really look at what I was doing. I realized that I had been chasing activity instead of building momentum toward something specific. I was spreading my energy across too many things instead of focusing it where it actually mattered.
So I made a decision to slow down and reset.
I stepped back, reassessed what I truly wanted to build, and began focusing on a smaller number of things that actually moved the needle. It took time to sort out what those things were, but once I found that clarity, everything started to shift.
Opportunities began to make more sense. Partnerships aligned better. Projects started moving in a real direction instead of just generating more activity.
That lesson changed how I approach work and life. Now I try to measure everything by one question: Is this progress, or is this just movement?
Movement feels good in the moment because it keeps you busy. But progress requires intention, patience, and sometimes the discipline to say no to things that don’t move you closer to your real goal.
Once I understood that difference, it became much easier to stay focused. Today I’m far less concerned with how busy I look and much more focused on building things that actually move forward over time.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
There was a time in my life when things were rough. From the outside it might not have been obvious to everyone, but I was going through a stretch where I was trying to figure things out—personally, creatively, and professionally. Like a lot of people who are driven, I kept pushing forward, but internally I knew I was in a difficult season.
During that time something happened that stayed with me.
A young man I had mentored years earlier pulled me aside one day and said something very direct. He said, “Stay focused. We’re watching you.”
At first, I didn’t take that well.
My immediate reaction was frustration. I thought, So people can see I’m struggling and nobody tried to help? They’re just watching?
But he followed it up with something that completely changed how I saw it.
He said, “Every time you’ve been down, you’ve always bounced back. You always end up doing what you said you were going to do. It takes time, but you do it.”
That made me pause.
What I realized in that moment was something I had never really processed before. While I had been focused on pushing through my own challenges, there were people quietly observing the journey. Not waiting for me to fail—but watching to see if I would rise again.
And in many ways, they believed I would.
That conversation shifted my perspective. It reminded me that resilience isn’t always loud. Sometimes it’s just the pattern of getting back up again and again, even when things are uncertain.
Not long after that moment, another friend approached me with an idea for a film. A few months later he came back with a script. Soon after that, a small group of us—about five people total—decided to just go for it.
We made an independent feature film called Project Paranoia.
We shot the entire film in seven days on a very small budget. It was my first time leading a feature as an actor. We worked long days, sometimes from morning until night, figuring things out as we went.
But it was one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had.
It reminded me that sometimes the only thing standing between an idea and reality is the willingness to start. No perfect conditions. No massive funding. Just a group of people committed to finishing what they began.
Looking back, that period taught me something important. Resilience isn’t just about surviving difficult moments—it’s about continuing to build even when life isn’t perfectly aligned.
And the bigger realization was this: there are always people watching your journey. Some may criticize, some may doubt, but there are also people quietly hoping you succeed.
That experience reminded me of something simple but powerful. I can do it.
And sometimes that belief, even if it takes time to rediscover, is exactly what keeps you moving forward.
