Dito Montiel | |
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![]() Montiel at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival | |
Born | Orlandito Montiel New York City, U.S. Queens |
Occupation(s) | Filmmaker, author, musician |
Years active | 1989–present |
Orlandito Montiel is an American author, filmmaker, and musician.
Born in New York City, Montiel was active in the early '80s New York hardcore punk scene when he was vocalist for Queens-based Major Conflict. [1] Later, he would gain notoriety in 1989 when Geffen Records signed his newly formed outfit Gutterboy to a $1 million record deal, an unheard-of sum at the time. The band was dropped after its debut and was dubbed one of the most "successful" unsuccessful bands in rock history. [2]
In 2003, Montiel published A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, a memoir [3] detailing his life growing up in Astoria, Queens in the early 1980s during the rise of the hardcore punk scene. The book describes his time spent touring with his band Gutterboy and his brief modeling career with Versace along with other personal anecdotes.
After adapting his best-selling book into a screenplay, Montiel made his directorial debut with the film version of A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints , with Robert Downey Jr. (as the older Montiel), Dianne Wiest, Channing Tatum and Shia LaBeouf (as the young Montiel). The film was executive produced by Trudie Styler.
Montiel released the self-titled album Dito Montiel in 2006 through Rhino Records. His second novel, Eddie Krumble Is the Clapper, was published in April 2007.
Montiel also directed a film, Fighting , about a young street hawker in New York City who is introduced to the world of underground street fighting. The film is his second collaboration with Tatum and also stars Terrence Howard and Luis Guzmán.
In 2011, Montiel's police drama The Son of No One , again starring Tatum, as well as Ray Liotta, Al Pacino, Tracy Morgan and Katie Holmes, played at the Sundance Film Festival. The film was picked up for distribution by Anchor Bay Entertainment. [4]
In 2013, Montiel directed the crime-drama film Empire State , starring Liam Hemsworth, Emma Roberts and Dwayne Johnson. This was followed by the drama film Boulevard , starring Robin Williams and Kathy Baker. [5] It was Robin Williams' last movie. [6]
Montiel serves as an instructor on Screenwriting for the UCLA Extension program. [7]
Hardcore punk is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier punk scenes in San Francisco and Southern California which arose as a reaction against the still predominant hippie cultural climate of the time. It was also inspired by Washington, D.C., and New York punk rock and early proto-punk. Hardcore punk generally disavows commercialism, the established music industry and "anything similar to the characteristics of mainstream rock" and often addresses social and political topics with "confrontational, politically charged lyrics".
Astoria is a neighborhood in the western portion of the New York City borough of Queens. Astoria is bounded by the East River and is adjacent to four other Queens neighborhoods: Long Island City to the southwest, Sunnyside to the southeast, and Woodside and East Elmhurst to the east. As of 2019, Astoria has an estimated population of 95,446.
Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. Like the term "post-punk", the term "post-hardcore" has been applied to a broad constellation of groups. Initially taking inspiration from post-punk and noise rock, post-hardcore began in the 1980s with bands like Hüsker Dü and Minutemen. The genre expanded in the 1980s and 1990s with releases by bands from cities that had established hardcore scenes, such as Fugazi from Washington, D.C. as well as groups such as Big Black, Jawbox, Quicksand, and Shellac that stuck closer to post-hardcore's noise rock roots. Dischord Records became a major nexus of post-hardcore during this period.
Channing Matthew Tatum is an American actor. Tatum made his film debut in the drama Coach Carter (2005), and had his breakthrough role in the 2006 dance film Step Up. He gained wider attention for his leading roles in the sports comedy She's the Man (2006), the comedy-drama Magic Mike (2012) and its sequels Magic Mike XXL (2015) and Magic Mike's Last Dance (2023), the latter two of which he also produced, and in the action-comedy 21 Jump Street (2012) and its sequel 22 Jump Street (2014).
Jonathan Elias is an American composer best known for his film soundtracks.
The 2006 Sundance Film Festival was held in Utah from January 19 to January 29, 2006. It was held in Park City, with screenings in Salt Lake City; Ogden; and the Sundance Resort. It was the 22nd iteration of the Sundance Film Festival, and the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Sundance Institute. The opening night film was Friends with Money; the closing night film was Alpha Dog.
A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints is a 2006 American drama film based on a 2001 memoir of the same name by author, director, and musician Dito Montiel, which describes his youth in Astoria, New York during the 1980s. Montiel wrote and directed the film adaptation, which was released in the United States in September 2006 and in Europe in March 2007. The film stars Robert Downey Jr. as Montiel with Shia LaBeouf as a younger Montiel.
"Trouble" is a song written by the English singer-songwriter and musician, Cat Stevens, during a period from 1969 to 1970.
Anthony DeSando, also known as Anthony Joseph De Santis, is an American actor. DeSando often portrays a joker or dapper villain in mob films such as New Jack City.
Elgin James is an American filmmaker, musician and a former member of Friends Stand United (FSU), a Boston, Massachusetts area group in the early 1990s which has been classified by several law enforcement agencies as a gang.
Melonie Diaz is an American film and television actress who has appeared in many independent films, including four shown at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. She received Independent Spirit Awards nominations for performances in films A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints (2006) and Fruitvale Station (2013). From 2018 to 2022, she appeared as the leading role of witch Mel Vera on the remake television series Charmed on The CW.
Friends Stand United (FSU) is an American anti-fascist, anti-racist, and anti-drug group. It was founded in the late 1980s by Elgin James in Boston, Massachusetts, evolving out of the hardcore punk scene and in particular the straight edge subculture. While originally having a reputation for fighting against Neo-Nazis and racist groups, in later years FSU members were accused of unprovoked violence and intimidation tactics. The group is classified by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as a street gang.
Adam Mazer is an American screenwriter. He is the writer of HBO film’s biopic, You Don't Know Jack, about the life of assisted-suicide advocate, Jack Kevorkian.
Barb Morrison is an American recording artist, Top 5 Billboard dance chart songwriter, and Platinum record producer, best known as producer for numerous artists such as Blondie, Rufus Wainwright, Franz Ferdinand (band), LP, Asia Kate Dillon and as an ASCAP-featured film score composer.
Title Fight is an American rock band from Kingston, Pennsylvania, formed in 2003. They released three studio albums – Shed (2011), Floral Green (2012) and Hyperview (2015) – gradually shifting from a hardcore punk-oriented sound towards shoegaze and indie rock. Hyperview was released through Anti-, a record label to which the band signed in July 2014.
The Son of No One is a 2011 American crime thriller film written and directed by Dito Montiel based on a book of the same name, written by Montiel. The film is Dito Montiel's third collaboration with actor Channing Tatum.
Empire State is a 2013 American crime drama film centered on two childhood friends who rob an armored car repository and the NYPD officer who stands in their way. Directed by Dito Montiel and starring Liam Hemsworth, Emma Roberts and Dwayne Johnson, the film was released straight to DVD and Blu-ray on September 3, 2013. It is based on the true story of the 1983 Sentry Armored Car Courier Company theft.
Boulevard is a 2014 American drama film directed by Dito Montiel and written by Douglas Soesbe. Starring Robin Williams, Kathy Baker, Roberto Aguire, Eleonore Hendricks, Giles Matthey, and Bob Odenkirk, the film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 20, 2014. The film was released on July 10, 2015 in a limited release by Starz Digital.
Cineville is an American streaming platform, production and international distribution company founded in 1990 by Carl Colpaert and Christoph Henkel. It is trademarked in the US, EU and throughout Latin America.
The Clapper is a 2017 American comedy film written and directed by Dito Montiel, based on his novel Eddie Krumble Is the Clapper. It stars Ed Helms, Amanda Seyfried, Tracy Morgan, Adam Levine, Mickey Gooch Jr. and Russell Peters. It was the final film role of Alan Thicke, who died on December 13, 2016.