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MONTY FISHER A PRODUCER IN THE MAKING
By Sybil P. Webb
Photo By Mario Prado / SCM
Monty Fisher is a multi-talented writer, producer, director and actor of stage and film. He is president of Four Fish Films and an associate of Fiesta Studios in Hollywood.
Monty Fisher had no interest in the motion picture industry until he barely survived and escaped a Peruvian political prison. Unsettled and shocked by the brutality he experienced and witnessed, Fisher, then a surfer and an English teacher in Lima, knew that his story deserved a cinematic experience. He had to wait 27 years to see his true story transformed into a screenplay that will begin production in 2007.
"I started as a theater actor in about twenty community college plays, taking on all kinds of roles in all genres: Greek, modern, absurd, Shakespeare," comments Fisher from his office at Fiesta Studios, the first multicultural studio founded by Hollywood legend Jon Mercedes. "I then wrote and directed two short plays; 'Workshop' is a black comedy about a writing class filled with gore loving hacks. The teacher is totally frustrated with these idiots. The only student who writes with any sensitivity is mysteriously murdered and instantly becomes the object of another carnage filled class project." He also wrote and directed Dick and Muffy, a wry, playful, wordless love/sex musical that won audience acclaim with its simple message of love and loss. Among his other plays are Checkout Time and Highway Robbery.
Soon after, he bought a video camera and Fisher filmed one of his short scripts, Motel Z. It was a Twilight Zone misadventure of a young couple caught in a phantom motel. Motel Z was based on his stage play Motel A, which is again being developed as a full theater project.
The unique creative versatility of Fisher comes from his exceptional background as a world traveler. He has spent years traveling the world surfing, teaching, and being a commercial diver. For the last 18 years Mr. Fisher has worked as a teacher in East Los Angeles. He has used drama and storytelling continually to inspire his students and dramatize the stories of their lives. He is currently developing a series based on his storytelling experiences, Ghost Stories for Kids.
But the most important stage of his film career began in 1984 when he traveled back to Peru, after an "unofficial" governmental pardon, to research and write his autobiographical screenplay, The Lima Chronicles. Monty is also currently auditioning for "Delusions of Grandeur". The script written by his 26 year old niece Cortney Bucks and rewritten by Fisher and Mercedes is a black comedy with a multi cultural cast.
His 27-year-old Peruvian project keeps Fisher passionate. "In 1979 I was having the happiest time in my life: I was in love, I had a good job, and I surfed every day and partied every night," he remembers. "I was 27 years old and naive, until the director of my English school decided to get rid of me for trying to start a teacher's union. I was arrested and placed in "El Sexto", Lima's horrifying prison with a special wing for political prisoners. I was with the communists, and even though Sendero Luminoso had not yet started their guerilla war, all of the seeds had been planted. I figured I'd be freed in a day. Little did I know what a nightmare I was facing."
The first film Fisher saw after escaping prison was Midnight Express by Alan Parker, in which a young American is arrested in Turkey for possession of hashish. To this day the film and script, written by Oliver Stone, are a source of inspiration. "I was also spurred by Kiss of the Spider Woman, a film that besides telling a love story between two prisoners, refers to surviving hard times through the art of imagination. McMurphy in One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest is another survivor who inspired me."
The Lima Chronicles will feature an international cast and will be directed by Cuban American director Camilo Vila. "I spent the best years of my life in Peru, until I was arrested. Lima has incredible food, fun, and an enormous hospitality. I lived there for four years, and I would not have returned, even after my pardon, if not for my great affection for the Peruvian people and culture."
Delusions of Grandeur is also a Latino tinged story. The script presents a multicultural neighborhood with four parallel stories, each filled with dramatic charge and black humor. "There are salsa dancing scenes where legendary Cuban bandleader La Palabra will perform as well as write the score for the film. I also want him to write the score for The Lima Chronicles."
Fisher has just finished filming the first part of a documentary on the 10th Los Angeles International Latino Film Festival. The annual ten-day festival, founded by Edward James Olmos and Marlene Dermer, brings the finest films from South America, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, Spain, Portugal and the United States to Los Angeles and Hollywood.
Fisher and Mercedes are also writing an anti war film, The Academy, based upon Fisher's six years of attending a military academy. "I entered that school as a nice eleven year old kid, and after the hazing and abuse we suffered, I was ready to actually go out and hurt and kill someone. That's not the type of discipline we should be giving our young people. This script proposes alternatives."
Monty Fisher promises to write, produce and bring films to the screen for years to come. "My ideas and stories keep me up at night. I go out into the ocean to surf, and return to the shore with a way to get my life experiences onto a screenplay. I then thank God and the spirit of my late mother for guiding me. I feel very lucky!"
You're making a documentary about the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival. How did this start?
I had been coming to the festival for years to meet Latino directors and producers and to pitch my Peruvian story and the script I had written The Lima Chronicles. Last year I hooked up with Jon Mercedes and Fiesta Studios, and we became sponsors of the festival. This year we did our research, wrote a proposal, and presented it to Marlene Dermer, the festival's Executive Director and co-founder. She gave us the green light. We spent ten days documenting the triumphs of the artistic spirit in Latino culture. I was inspired.
How did you learn to speak your perfect Spanish?
I went to Peru in 1976 for the surf and the beautiful women for a couple of weeks. I fell in love with the country and stayed four years! (laughs) I was very happy; unfortunately the police had other plans for me.
Your script is very graphic and intense, yet also weirdly funny. How hard was it to write?
When you are in prison, the people that you meet are very memorable, in many cases I just had to write down verbatim their unforgettable words and behavior. Then the characters started talking to me, and helped me write the script. Understand, please! I was not a writer and a total novice to Hollywood. I was a surfer, a commercial diver and a teacher. I have traveled a long road to get the screenplay to the draft it is now. It has been the strength of my story that has kept my journey going.
Why did you get into acting?
When I began to write the script, I would have to get up and act out the dialogue and action. My whole body had to tell the story. I started auditioning for plays and got a lot of juicy roles, (laughs) usually as the intense, strange guy. Acting is so much like writing; you let other characters speak through you. I love to create characters, on paper or live. I once did stand-up comedy as a dumb surfer named "Joe from Huntington".
I am finally getting formal training at the VanMar Academy for Film & Television Acting. Ivan Markota has been teaching for forty years and has the greatest talent for bringing truthful acting to an actor. He discerns the unique gift that each of his students has and also teaches them how to market themselves to Hollywood.
How did you get into producing?
I bought a Canon SL1 camera and shot a short film of a script that I wrote, and then, like an idiot, I dove into producing a feature length script written by my niece; and my worst mistake, I hired an inexperienced director. Needless to say, the results were a disaster. We shot weeks without seeing the dailies. The director was a bit strange. I had to start all over again. Mercedes and I re-wrote the script to make it great. Now we have some wonderful talent really excited about the project. We will be doing screen tests soon.
Do you write roles for yourself?
The Lima Chronicles is about a young, naive California surfer who has to grow up in a hurry when he is unjustly thrown into a Peruvian political prison. Who could that be? (laughs) Unfortunately, I am too old for the role, but I have added a twist that might give me a part in the film.
What kind of audience will enjoy this film?
Surfers! (laughs). No, really, anyone who could identify with an innocent character thrown into a foreign culture, where suddenly the rules change, and your life is in danger. It's a fish out of water story. It's a universal theme.
Who will be starring?
I'm interviewing casting directors. I will find one who will be as passionate about the script as I am. It takes a team to make a great film. Finding the perfect actors for each role is ninety percent of great directing and storytelling.
And what are your next plans?
Well, there is a big swell coming up from a hurricane off of Baja, so I've got to get out in the surf. Seriously; to finish this great documentary, which celebrates independent filmmaking.
I am also finishing Cinder, a short film, as Executive Producer, starring Julia Ling (semi-regular on NBC's Studio 60). She is a terrific Asian-American actress who produced the film with me; and we are turning it into a feature. It's a great story about Chinese culture and a young woman who has to choose between her Chinese crime lord father, and her American boyfriend.
And then?
Listen, I've got so many ideas for scripts bursting out of my head, in so many forms. I've got to take it one day at a time. But thanks for asking!
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