Tyrese Gibson was just 14 when the Rodney King verdict came out in 1992, exonerating the cops that beat him and setting off days of riots in Los Angeles.
He was living in Compton on the fateful day of April 29, 1992, trapped in his house, worried for his life. “I went four or five weeks without seeing the sun,” Gibson said earlier this month while promoting his new movie, “1992,” which premieres this week. “It was foggy and cloudy and just black smoke everywhere. Everything was burning in proximity to the house I was living in. A lot of military trucks and tanks and police dogs. I remember all the Koreans on top of stores spray-painting ‘Black-owned business’ so people wouldn’t break in and loot their businesses.”
Three decades later, the “Fast and the Furious” star is reliving that experience from a cinematic point of view as an adult. In “1992,” Gibson plays Mercer, an ex-convict and former gang member who has returned to the real world after a lengthy prison sentence. A friend gets him a job at a factory that makes catalytic converters, and he is attempting to repair his relationship with his teenage son.
At the same time, Ray Liotta’s Lowell is a longtime thief whose son Riggin (Scott Eastwood) convinces him that the night of the riots is a perfect time to steal millions of dollars worth of catalytic converters from that factory.
Mercer brings his son to the factory that night, thinking it would be a safe haven. It is not.
“So many people are shocked how layered the movie is,” Gibson said. “The trailer looks like it’s just about the riot and looting tied into the verdict of Rodney King. But it’s really a heist movie, a crime thriller.”
This was Liotta’s final role, shot a few months before his unexpected death in May 2022. ( According to TMZ, he died of heart and respiratory issues.) And while Gibson admired Liotta, they didn’t become buddy-buddy on set in part because their characters were enemies.
“It was uncomfortable,” Gibson said. “He’s a method actor. If your character doesn’t get along with my character, there’s no need to talk, hang out or connect. You want nothing to do with anything. My son, played by Chris Ammanuel, has been telling the world that Ray Liotta didn’t say hi to him in the two weeks they worked together. Someone could take that personally when doing all these aggressive scenes, but it was a journey.”
Liotta, he said, kept the tension on the set super thick: “He was looking at me like he wanted me in some type of casket somewhere.”
Gibson, 45, ticked off several movies set in this part of Los Angeles such as “Boyz n the Hood,” “Set it Off” and “Training Day.”
“This movie is the ‘Fast and the Furious’ of South Central films with a level of diversity. I couldn’t be more proud. Diversity is my game. I like doing projects that are very specific to my culture, but I feel like we live in a world where everyone wants to go to the movies and see someone like them.”
Gibson said “1992,” which lists Snoop Dogg as an executive producer, was originally targeted to go straight to streaming, but Lionsgate decided to give it a theatrical release with multiple premiere screenings.
“They were going to give this movie away like a Chick-fil-A sandwich,” Gibson said. “How can you not be grateful? The fans have made their statement. They want to see it in the theater.”
Early reviews have been mostly positive, with a 70% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
“I don’t care if it bombs,” Gibson said. “All this I’ve been able to experience has changed my life.”
