‘The Legend Of Cocaine Island’ Director And Star Discuss Creating ‘The World’s Wildest Campfire Tale’

Do you like true crime but worry the stakes are too high? Wouldn’t you like to hear a crazy story where no one dies, the subjects aren’t grieving families, and you can throw around theories about what really happened without ruining anyone’s life?
Well then The Legend Of Cocaine Island, coming to Netflix this weekend, just might be the documentary for you. It tells the story of Rodney Hyden, just your average dip-spittin’ Florida good ol’ boy, who has a big plan to fly to an island off Puerto Rico where a friend had supposedly buried a bag filled with a couple million dollars worth of cocaine.
It only gets wilder from there, involving Andy, a friend of Rodney’s son, who’s supposed to help Rodney with the digging but is too busy going through opiate withdrawals; Andy’s drug dealer friend Dee (the fence); and a mysterious drug lord named Carlos (the transporter). It all adds up to another wonderfully strange, Elmore Leonard-esque yarn that could only happen in Florida (see also: Screwball).
The Legend of Cocaine Island hits Netflix March 29. I spoke to star Rodney Hyden and director Theo Love (yes, that’s his real name) by phone this week.