I first learned about Dito Montiel when his first film, A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints came out. It was notable for a cast including Robert Downey Jr., Shia Labeouf and Channing Tatum before they broke out, and Rosario Dawson who was already a star. Based on Montiels own book about growing up in and leaving New York, it introduced Montiels voice to Hollywood, particularly in dialogue thats more like real people who have trouble articulating, rather than polished Hollywood screenplay.
His next movie was the studio action movie Fighting, also starring Tatum as an underground street fighter. Now that I knew who Montiel was, I stopped when I saw a Dito Montiel CD in a bin at the massive used record store Amoeba. The album had sophisticated music, layering different instruments with harmony and telling stories about, again, growing up. Montiel is also a painter. Tatum again stars in Montiels third film, The Son of No One. He plays a cop who gets assigned to the precinct of the housing project where he grew up. Tracy Morgan plays a stark, dramatic role as his childhood friend, now in rough shape from a traumatic childhood of abuse. Al Pacino plays police chief with ties to the old case.
Montiel is now a west coaster like me. This is the third film Ive had the opportunity to interview him for. Despite the serious subjects of his films and the raw style in which he portrays them, he always seems like lovable friendly guy. He even got a bit shy when I started asking about his music this time.
Suicide Girls: What is the idea behind your A movie by Dito Montiel credit?
Dito Montiel: It always says that on my movies. I like movies. Film feels a little corny for me.
SG: If I watched all three back to back Id notice that. I didnt remember.
DM: Its okay. I like movies. Im so uptight, its like film I feel like ughhh. Like a "novel." Its a book!
SG: What is your unique vision for stories?
DM: I dont feel like any of my movies are particularly unique. Maybe the characters are a little more real than were used to seeing, in my opinion. One of my favorite movies is 25th Hour. I love it so much. When I saw that movie, and Ive yet to sit in a room with three people that agree with me, but I love it and I thought thats a movie where Ed Norton in it is going away to jail for five years or something. Hes totally slowly having a terrible time. I see movies all the time where people say, Im going to do 10 years. I can do that standing on my head. I dont know who does one day standing on their head. If I were going to prison for a day, Id be devastated. Jake, my editor, said we should have made this movie about garbagemen because then people wouldnt throw the cop thriller into it, but that is very clich in a way. This is really just the story of a bunch of people that really wish they could push everything right back into the closet and life could be good again. That was the realness that I was trying to make.
SG: Was it really that good for them before?
DM: It was better than this, which is the way I see life sometimes. As long as something terrible isnt happening, something terrible isnt happening.
SG: If this is based on people you knew growing up, was there also a murder in your community?
DM: Yeah, there were a few but in particular, the thing that sparked this story, of course its fiction, but in my real life, I used to hang out at the Ravenswood Projects which is right next to Queensbridge Projects. We filmed in Queensbridge. Ravenswood is not as picaresque. We used to hang out in a guys apartment there, a kid, we were all 14, him and his grandmother. It was a weird situation. This one guy used to come in and terrorize us a lot. He was 18, a crackhead named Hanky in real life, like in the movie this guy Hanky. He used to come in and one day he got killed. Not by us, someone killed him and he was just dead in the hallway and I remember the police were out there eating sandwiches, smoking, joking and taking him away. My friend Vinny at the time looked at me and said, Nobody cares. Nobody cares about anybody here. That strange notion stuck with me. It just stayed with me and I thought this is a little world where we really believed no one cared inside these walls what happened. So in the movie theres a kid Vinny who says, Nobody cares, just throw him in the garbage. Theres a cop who says, Nobody cares, not a single fucking person. In the end, No one cares about an old cop. That notion was the seed for the movie.
SG: And you feel its gotten worse, if things were better then?
DM: In real life? Well, thats interesting because when I first came to Los Angeles, a friend of mine that I grew up with was on skid row out here, funny enough, living there. I went down there and I thought well, skid row in L.A. sounds better than the hard times in New York because theres no winter. But when I saw skid row out here, I thought, Oh my God, theres about 20 blocks in downtown Los Angeles no one cares about. Im thinking people are probably getting raped, murdered, robbed and we dont hear about it. Meanwhile someone gets robbed somewhere else, its headline news. Im not trying to make a big political statement but there are pockets of the world. Maybe now its a little more broadcast, or less, or people are a little bit aware of whats going on, with this Occupy thing. But there are a lot of people that believe that no one cares about them and they might be right.
SG: How was this Sundance different for you than 2006?
DM: I dont know, less free stuff. [Laughs] Look, I wouldnt be doing this stuff if it wasnt for Sundance. They took me into the labs back then for my first movie. It sounds corny and Im not trying to be an advocate for it, but I cant not be. To this day, I contact Michelle Satter who runs it about anything, from do you know a good DP to I need a cool actor that does this to hey, will you get someone to read my script? Within four hours, Frank Pierson who wrote Dog Day Afternoon or someone of that caliber will write me back because Michelle contacted them. Hes like, Ill read your script, Ill give you some notes this week. Its like wow, what a beautiful family. It is Wonkaville so Im a big fan. It was just as fun.
SG: What about being a closing night film as opposed to your debut five years ago?
DM: Its all nuts. I get more time to screw around I guess.
SG: But are there higher expectations the second time youre there?
DM: You know, I think the only thing that is a little scary is I think independent films are really hard, getting harder and harder. From what little I know, I dont know much about movies, but its tough to make a movie. Even five years ago, I think if you had the cast that I have, everyone would think you made at least a $25 million movie. They dont believe we made a $5 million movie with this cast but we did. And it took this cast to make a $5 million movie because it doesnt have explosions and it doesnt have chase scenes or supernatural. Its very honest and real. Its the kind of movie I love. So I think sometimes maybe people arent ready for that yet. They think, Oh, whats this independent movie doing here with this cast? Maybe thats a little different when youre the closing night film with this. The expectations are what kind of movie is this?
SG: You do music also.
DM: Well, I used to.
SG: Not anymore?
DM: I mean, Ill pick up a guitar here and there.
SG: I have one of your albums. Was your music also autobiographical?
DM: Yeah, of course. Thats funny.
SG: How did you learn the layers of sounds and harmonies and different instruments?
DM: I learned from friends, feelings, the same way. Its all art. Writing movies is not that different.
SG: Youve said that before, Its all art.
DM: It is. More musicians should make movies and more movie guys should make music.
SG: Whenever a big musician comes into movies, they get a lot of shit for it. Madonna still cant get taken seriously.
DM: Right, well, because youre lucky enough to be a superstar, thats a good problem. Dont worry, when you keep failing at things like I have, nobody knows youre reinventing yourself.
SG: Is it all movies and books for you now?
DM: That keeps me occupied and I like it. I love to write and it all stems from that. Music was always writing to me. I was not a good singer. I was a writer.
SG: Maybe I enjoy hearing singers who arent perfect. Like on The Sing-Off, the ones who get kicked off are the ones I like.
DM: Oh, me too.
SG: Because they dont sound like everyone else!
DM: Im with you all the way. Ill always be like, I love that guy. And everyones like, He was bad. Im like, But everyone else is perfect. In movies too. Acting, I love the imperfections.
SG: Is the internet a good thing for art? What would you have done if youd been exposed to something this massive growing up?
DM: Boy, its gotta be scary. Its scary now. I dont know. Its a weird thing. Its so odd, Im glued to it like everyone else. Its a strange thing because its really great that you can do anything and put it out there, and people will see it. I started playing in a band when I was 14 years old. We had no dreams of anything. Nothing. We used to play at a club called the A7, Avenue A and 7th Street downtown in New York. That was it. Id never even think wed play anything bigger than that and we didnt aspire to do anything bigger than that. There was something really beautiful and pure about that. Maybe the internet changes that because I dont even go to Yahoo or CNN.com anymore. You go to Facebook and you find out how everything pertains to you. Hey Dito, there was a hurricane today in Miami. Oh wow, there was a hurricane today. So its odd but in a way I guess its the way it is. Look, its the most powerful thing in the world.
SG: You talk about the A7 club, theoretically now someone in California could see your performance at the A7. But maybe because of all that access, someone in New York wouldnt have wandered into the A7 and seen you live.
DM: Yeah. Im really happy I grew up the way I grew up, as crazy and wacky as some of it was. I like it. But its impossible. People 30 years older than me when I was a kid would say the same things about the 50s or the 60s. Thats just the way of the world.
SG: What is your creative life like now?
DM: I write all the time, same as always. No ones ever handed me anything so I never think anyones going to hand me anything so I just write because boy, would I love somebody to give me Indiana Jones 4, but theyre not gonna. So I better write my thing and somehow my stuff always brings me right back to the place I grew up in.
SG: Well, they brought you Fighting. Do studios still come to you?
DM: Yeah, of course. Im talking with a couple now about some things. I know that making a movie is at least a year of my life. I obsess to a point of craziness. Every musical note, every edit, me and my editor literally sit and I dont leave. I go to extras casting, Im just kind of nuts about it and I love it. Youve got to find something that you really feel like I can do a really good job at this, or Im going to love it. This movie, The Son of No One, I dont imagine itll make $100 million at the box office but I love it and I will always be able to feel good about making this movie. Thats what I hope to keep being able to do.
SG: How much time do you have to see movies, music and exhibits and experience art?
DM: Oh, I see a lot of movies and I watch a lot of reality TV if thats art. I dont know if thats art but I love it. Its so real. Even if its not real, its real. You always find time. Remember, when you get to make a movie, youre surrounded by artists all day long. Its nuts. You have a DP and camera guys and you have electricians. Im learning from everybody all day long. Im more interested in what movie craft service was on last and what the actors were like than going to an exhibit. Thats my exhibit, living life. Its a really nice world to be in because the art comes to you while youre working. Pretty cool.
SG: What would you do if you had a movie and Channing Tatum wasnt available?
DM: [Laughs] I dont know. Were friends. I started writing this halfway through our last movie. I looked at him, he did a scene and he was really good and I said, Man, you can really act. He kind of laughed. I said, Ive got a movie. Its a little movie. Its very subtle. No big things blowing up, nothing crazy and I think itll be really fun. So he said, Lets do it.
SG: Would Tracy Morgan go back to joking around in between takes?
DM: No, anything but. He was very remarkably serious. I forget what projects he grew up in, but he was almost going too far into the role. I think it was touching on strange spots in him but he still is Tracy. I was very happy about him. It was strange casting but Im very happy we did it.
SG: Do you give someone like Al Pacino directions?
DM: Well, direction is the script. You write it and you write it as good as you possibly can and you pray somebody likes it. In this case I got really lucky because the top of the heap liked it. He shows up and we do a rehearsal and Im a fan first. I dont pretend to be anything but that. Im a fan and of course Ill give some thoughts. Thats all a director really does, give thoughts. Thats the way I work. I pretty much look in awe. Hes that good. He was doing us, he was doing Shakespeare in the Park at night, hes Al Pacino. Thats Michael Jordan. Yeah, Phil Jackson did do something with him, but hes Michael Jordan.
SG: Did you shoot on film?
DM: Yeah, 35mm.
SG: Is that getting lost these days, especially in indie film?
DM: Its getting harder, understandably. You cant stop the future. It will be gone, I know. Im holding on because I love it. Theres something strange about it that is magical. I dont know how much longer. That may be the last one. Its getting hard. Its like shooting stills on film. I dont know anyone that does that anymore.
SG: What does it give your film that is has a grainy look?
DM: I dont know. I try really hard to write complete and utter honesty even at the cost of the movie being more exciting. I try to push the acting to be as honest as humanly possible. My editor does the same with editing. Film somehow brings a touch of something, even though video sometimes looks more real. It looks too real. Film still feels like a movie. I want it to still have that thing.
SG: Its also different watching film in a movie theater. Its meant to be projected. Digital looks the same on a big screen or a TV set.
DM: Right, and film sometimes looks weird on your TV which is getting really odd.
SG: Do the folks from home still keep in touch?
DM: Of course. Oh yeah, Nerf was literally just here. He left two days ago. He was staying with me out here. Hes in
The Son of No One for one second. Hes an ambulance driver because he drives an ambulance. Hes in the background with Pacino. When I go to New York, I go to where I grew up and I stay there all the time. Im actually going next week. Of course, home is always home. Thats kind of the way it is.
SG: What are you doing next?
DM: Just writing now so well see. Hopefully something cool.
SG: The two films based on your experiences growing up were difficult experiences. Do you have some joyous experiences you can make a film about?
DM: Oh, it was all joyous. This movie is particularly hard. Saints I thought was kind of joyous. There are some parts but it was kind of fun. The kids are so goofy and crazy but this was a hard movie, I know. Of course. I wrote this book called The Clapper and thats a movie I want to do really bad. That actually all takes place here in L.A. Hopefully Ill get to make that. Itll be another very difficult movie to make but its purely fun.
SG: Is that like the guy on the film set who claps the board for sound?
DM: No, no, no. Its about a guy whos a paid audience member. When I first came out here, I did it for a little with my friend over at Gower. They pay you 50 bucks to sit in the audience of horrible shows and pretend theyre funny when it says applause. So hopefully well make that.
SG: I knew about seat fillers, but actually paying for clapping?
DM: Oh no, it says applause and you applaud, laugh, laugh, clap, clap. Then you do the next show. Judge Judy
SG: Ive been to tapings. I just thought they were tourists who are all happy to get a free ticket.
DM: Well, you do get the tourists on some but the really bad shows, the REALLY bad ones.
SG: Did any of those shows make it several years to become hits?
DM: A lot of infomercials. We did some infomercials and we did Judge Judy a few times.
The Son of No One opens November 4.
His next movie was the studio action movie Fighting, also starring Tatum as an underground street fighter. Now that I knew who Montiel was, I stopped when I saw a Dito Montiel CD in a bin at the massive used record store Amoeba. The album had sophisticated music, layering different instruments with harmony and telling stories about, again, growing up. Montiel is also a painter. Tatum again stars in Montiels third film, The Son of No One. He plays a cop who gets assigned to the precinct of the housing project where he grew up. Tracy Morgan plays a stark, dramatic role as his childhood friend, now in rough shape from a traumatic childhood of abuse. Al Pacino plays police chief with ties to the old case.
Montiel is now a west coaster like me. This is the third film Ive had the opportunity to interview him for. Despite the serious subjects of his films and the raw style in which he portrays them, he always seems like lovable friendly guy. He even got a bit shy when I started asking about his music this time.
Suicide Girls: What is the idea behind your A movie by Dito Montiel credit?
Dito Montiel: It always says that on my movies. I like movies. Film feels a little corny for me.
SG: If I watched all three back to back Id notice that. I didnt remember.
DM: Its okay. I like movies. Im so uptight, its like film I feel like ughhh. Like a "novel." Its a book!
SG: What is your unique vision for stories?
DM: I dont feel like any of my movies are particularly unique. Maybe the characters are a little more real than were used to seeing, in my opinion. One of my favorite movies is 25th Hour. I love it so much. When I saw that movie, and Ive yet to sit in a room with three people that agree with me, but I love it and I thought thats a movie where Ed Norton in it is going away to jail for five years or something. Hes totally slowly having a terrible time. I see movies all the time where people say, Im going to do 10 years. I can do that standing on my head. I dont know who does one day standing on their head. If I were going to prison for a day, Id be devastated. Jake, my editor, said we should have made this movie about garbagemen because then people wouldnt throw the cop thriller into it, but that is very clich in a way. This is really just the story of a bunch of people that really wish they could push everything right back into the closet and life could be good again. That was the realness that I was trying to make.
SG: Was it really that good for them before?
DM: It was better than this, which is the way I see life sometimes. As long as something terrible isnt happening, something terrible isnt happening.
SG: If this is based on people you knew growing up, was there also a murder in your community?
DM: Yeah, there were a few but in particular, the thing that sparked this story, of course its fiction, but in my real life, I used to hang out at the Ravenswood Projects which is right next to Queensbridge Projects. We filmed in Queensbridge. Ravenswood is not as picaresque. We used to hang out in a guys apartment there, a kid, we were all 14, him and his grandmother. It was a weird situation. This one guy used to come in and terrorize us a lot. He was 18, a crackhead named Hanky in real life, like in the movie this guy Hanky. He used to come in and one day he got killed. Not by us, someone killed him and he was just dead in the hallway and I remember the police were out there eating sandwiches, smoking, joking and taking him away. My friend Vinny at the time looked at me and said, Nobody cares. Nobody cares about anybody here. That strange notion stuck with me. It just stayed with me and I thought this is a little world where we really believed no one cared inside these walls what happened. So in the movie theres a kid Vinny who says, Nobody cares, just throw him in the garbage. Theres a cop who says, Nobody cares, not a single fucking person. In the end, No one cares about an old cop. That notion was the seed for the movie.
SG: And you feel its gotten worse, if things were better then?
DM: In real life? Well, thats interesting because when I first came to Los Angeles, a friend of mine that I grew up with was on skid row out here, funny enough, living there. I went down there and I thought well, skid row in L.A. sounds better than the hard times in New York because theres no winter. But when I saw skid row out here, I thought, Oh my God, theres about 20 blocks in downtown Los Angeles no one cares about. Im thinking people are probably getting raped, murdered, robbed and we dont hear about it. Meanwhile someone gets robbed somewhere else, its headline news. Im not trying to make a big political statement but there are pockets of the world. Maybe now its a little more broadcast, or less, or people are a little bit aware of whats going on, with this Occupy thing. But there are a lot of people that believe that no one cares about them and they might be right.
SG: How was this Sundance different for you than 2006?
DM: I dont know, less free stuff. [Laughs] Look, I wouldnt be doing this stuff if it wasnt for Sundance. They took me into the labs back then for my first movie. It sounds corny and Im not trying to be an advocate for it, but I cant not be. To this day, I contact Michelle Satter who runs it about anything, from do you know a good DP to I need a cool actor that does this to hey, will you get someone to read my script? Within four hours, Frank Pierson who wrote Dog Day Afternoon or someone of that caliber will write me back because Michelle contacted them. Hes like, Ill read your script, Ill give you some notes this week. Its like wow, what a beautiful family. It is Wonkaville so Im a big fan. It was just as fun.
SG: What about being a closing night film as opposed to your debut five years ago?
DM: Its all nuts. I get more time to screw around I guess.
SG: But are there higher expectations the second time youre there?
DM: You know, I think the only thing that is a little scary is I think independent films are really hard, getting harder and harder. From what little I know, I dont know much about movies, but its tough to make a movie. Even five years ago, I think if you had the cast that I have, everyone would think you made at least a $25 million movie. They dont believe we made a $5 million movie with this cast but we did. And it took this cast to make a $5 million movie because it doesnt have explosions and it doesnt have chase scenes or supernatural. Its very honest and real. Its the kind of movie I love. So I think sometimes maybe people arent ready for that yet. They think, Oh, whats this independent movie doing here with this cast? Maybe thats a little different when youre the closing night film with this. The expectations are what kind of movie is this?
SG: You do music also.
DM: Well, I used to.
SG: Not anymore?
DM: I mean, Ill pick up a guitar here and there.
SG: I have one of your albums. Was your music also autobiographical?
DM: Yeah, of course. Thats funny.
SG: How did you learn the layers of sounds and harmonies and different instruments?
DM: I learned from friends, feelings, the same way. Its all art. Writing movies is not that different.
SG: Youve said that before, Its all art.
DM: It is. More musicians should make movies and more movie guys should make music.
SG: Whenever a big musician comes into movies, they get a lot of shit for it. Madonna still cant get taken seriously.
DM: Right, well, because youre lucky enough to be a superstar, thats a good problem. Dont worry, when you keep failing at things like I have, nobody knows youre reinventing yourself.
SG: Is it all movies and books for you now?
DM: That keeps me occupied and I like it. I love to write and it all stems from that. Music was always writing to me. I was not a good singer. I was a writer.
SG: Maybe I enjoy hearing singers who arent perfect. Like on The Sing-Off, the ones who get kicked off are the ones I like.
DM: Oh, me too.
SG: Because they dont sound like everyone else!
DM: Im with you all the way. Ill always be like, I love that guy. And everyones like, He was bad. Im like, But everyone else is perfect. In movies too. Acting, I love the imperfections.
SG: Is the internet a good thing for art? What would you have done if youd been exposed to something this massive growing up?
DM: Boy, its gotta be scary. Its scary now. I dont know. Its a weird thing. Its so odd, Im glued to it like everyone else. Its a strange thing because its really great that you can do anything and put it out there, and people will see it. I started playing in a band when I was 14 years old. We had no dreams of anything. Nothing. We used to play at a club called the A7, Avenue A and 7th Street downtown in New York. That was it. Id never even think wed play anything bigger than that and we didnt aspire to do anything bigger than that. There was something really beautiful and pure about that. Maybe the internet changes that because I dont even go to Yahoo or CNN.com anymore. You go to Facebook and you find out how everything pertains to you. Hey Dito, there was a hurricane today in Miami. Oh wow, there was a hurricane today. So its odd but in a way I guess its the way it is. Look, its the most powerful thing in the world.
SG: You talk about the A7 club, theoretically now someone in California could see your performance at the A7. But maybe because of all that access, someone in New York wouldnt have wandered into the A7 and seen you live.
DM: Yeah. Im really happy I grew up the way I grew up, as crazy and wacky as some of it was. I like it. But its impossible. People 30 years older than me when I was a kid would say the same things about the 50s or the 60s. Thats just the way of the world.
SG: What is your creative life like now?
DM: I write all the time, same as always. No ones ever handed me anything so I never think anyones going to hand me anything so I just write because boy, would I love somebody to give me Indiana Jones 4, but theyre not gonna. So I better write my thing and somehow my stuff always brings me right back to the place I grew up in.
SG: Well, they brought you Fighting. Do studios still come to you?
DM: Yeah, of course. Im talking with a couple now about some things. I know that making a movie is at least a year of my life. I obsess to a point of craziness. Every musical note, every edit, me and my editor literally sit and I dont leave. I go to extras casting, Im just kind of nuts about it and I love it. Youve got to find something that you really feel like I can do a really good job at this, or Im going to love it. This movie, The Son of No One, I dont imagine itll make $100 million at the box office but I love it and I will always be able to feel good about making this movie. Thats what I hope to keep being able to do.
SG: How much time do you have to see movies, music and exhibits and experience art?
DM: Oh, I see a lot of movies and I watch a lot of reality TV if thats art. I dont know if thats art but I love it. Its so real. Even if its not real, its real. You always find time. Remember, when you get to make a movie, youre surrounded by artists all day long. Its nuts. You have a DP and camera guys and you have electricians. Im learning from everybody all day long. Im more interested in what movie craft service was on last and what the actors were like than going to an exhibit. Thats my exhibit, living life. Its a really nice world to be in because the art comes to you while youre working. Pretty cool.
SG: What would you do if you had a movie and Channing Tatum wasnt available?
DM: [Laughs] I dont know. Were friends. I started writing this halfway through our last movie. I looked at him, he did a scene and he was really good and I said, Man, you can really act. He kind of laughed. I said, Ive got a movie. Its a little movie. Its very subtle. No big things blowing up, nothing crazy and I think itll be really fun. So he said, Lets do it.
SG: Would Tracy Morgan go back to joking around in between takes?
DM: No, anything but. He was very remarkably serious. I forget what projects he grew up in, but he was almost going too far into the role. I think it was touching on strange spots in him but he still is Tracy. I was very happy about him. It was strange casting but Im very happy we did it.
SG: Do you give someone like Al Pacino directions?
DM: Well, direction is the script. You write it and you write it as good as you possibly can and you pray somebody likes it. In this case I got really lucky because the top of the heap liked it. He shows up and we do a rehearsal and Im a fan first. I dont pretend to be anything but that. Im a fan and of course Ill give some thoughts. Thats all a director really does, give thoughts. Thats the way I work. I pretty much look in awe. Hes that good. He was doing us, he was doing Shakespeare in the Park at night, hes Al Pacino. Thats Michael Jordan. Yeah, Phil Jackson did do something with him, but hes Michael Jordan.
SG: Did you shoot on film?
DM: Yeah, 35mm.
SG: Is that getting lost these days, especially in indie film?
DM: Its getting harder, understandably. You cant stop the future. It will be gone, I know. Im holding on because I love it. Theres something strange about it that is magical. I dont know how much longer. That may be the last one. Its getting hard. Its like shooting stills on film. I dont know anyone that does that anymore.
SG: What does it give your film that is has a grainy look?
DM: I dont know. I try really hard to write complete and utter honesty even at the cost of the movie being more exciting. I try to push the acting to be as honest as humanly possible. My editor does the same with editing. Film somehow brings a touch of something, even though video sometimes looks more real. It looks too real. Film still feels like a movie. I want it to still have that thing.
SG: Its also different watching film in a movie theater. Its meant to be projected. Digital looks the same on a big screen or a TV set.
DM: Right, and film sometimes looks weird on your TV which is getting really odd.
SG: Do the folks from home still keep in touch?
DM: Of course. Oh yeah, Nerf was literally just here. He left two days ago. He was staying with me out here. Hes in
The Son of No One for one second. Hes an ambulance driver because he drives an ambulance. Hes in the background with Pacino. When I go to New York, I go to where I grew up and I stay there all the time. Im actually going next week. Of course, home is always home. Thats kind of the way it is.
SG: What are you doing next?
DM: Just writing now so well see. Hopefully something cool.
SG: The two films based on your experiences growing up were difficult experiences. Do you have some joyous experiences you can make a film about?
DM: Oh, it was all joyous. This movie is particularly hard. Saints I thought was kind of joyous. There are some parts but it was kind of fun. The kids are so goofy and crazy but this was a hard movie, I know. Of course. I wrote this book called The Clapper and thats a movie I want to do really bad. That actually all takes place here in L.A. Hopefully Ill get to make that. Itll be another very difficult movie to make but its purely fun.
SG: Is that like the guy on the film set who claps the board for sound?
DM: No, no, no. Its about a guy whos a paid audience member. When I first came out here, I did it for a little with my friend over at Gower. They pay you 50 bucks to sit in the audience of horrible shows and pretend theyre funny when it says applause. So hopefully well make that.
SG: I knew about seat fillers, but actually paying for clapping?
DM: Oh no, it says applause and you applaud, laugh, laugh, clap, clap. Then you do the next show. Judge Judy
SG: Ive been to tapings. I just thought they were tourists who are all happy to get a free ticket.
DM: Well, you do get the tourists on some but the really bad shows, the REALLY bad ones.
SG: Did any of those shows make it several years to become hits?
DM: A lot of infomercials. We did some infomercials and we did Judge Judy a few times.
The Son of No One opens November 4.
sash:
I first learned about Dito Montiel when his first film, A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints came out. It was notable for a cast including Robert Downey Jr., Shia Labeouf and Channing Tatum before they broke out, and Rosario Dawson who was already a star....
nobodysirius:
Great interview!