Monty Lewis interviewed in front of The New Beverly Cinema
- 7 years ago
I was heartbroken to find out a good friend of mine Monty Lewis died.
I met Monty when I started going back to the New Beverly Cinema to sell my DVDs in front of the line. When I got there, there existed a group of "regulars" that were always the first 5-10 in lines sometimes hours before the show started.
They were all DETERMINED to ignored me, I wasnt just the new kid in school nobody wanted to acknowledge, panhandling my movie with my shopping cart parked right next to me, I was new MASK kid nobody wanted to acknowledge. I wont lie it got me down. But he was that one kid in school who actually made the effort to make friends with me, homeless beggar that I obviously was. He looked over to me and said "hey what is that?...a movie?...You made a movie? Wow thats cool I'll buy one."
After that I always looked forward to see him in line, like one looks forward to seeing their only friend at school. Id walked by the New Bev, and if I didnt see him I kept on walking, but he was there Id always set up shop. Often more just to enjoy his company then anything else. Id text him and FB him all the time "You going to the New Bev tonight?" "When is the next time you going to the New Bev?" "What time you gonna be at the New Bev."
He even liked my movie when he saw it and afterward he started telling everyone "Hey this guy made a really great movie you ought to buy it." Its one of the things that DE-pariahed me with the rest of crew.
But it wasnt just that, he wasn't just a a remarkable friendly generous man, he was the type of person whose company you always enjoyed regardless of anything else. One of the greatest things about him was he was such a remarkable story teller. Any subject that was being discussed he had a story that related to it. And not one of those people who have to bring every conversation around to themselves or constantly interjecting themselves into the mix with "LISTEN to when I did this!" "LiSTEN to when this happened to ME!" "LISTEN to who I met!" "LISTEN to who I fucked!"
No, he really did have an interesting experience to relate to whatever was being said. The most memorable were the ones he told about his Jewish Grandfather who had lifelong guilt over working for the administration that interned Japanese Americans into camps during World War Two. Or another relative who worked on the Manhattan Project. Of course anything to do with movie production he had a anecdote for. Monty wasnt one of those guys who just talks to be heard, to the point that when you see them open their mouths you start groaning, about the babel you are about to hear. I personally have a low threshold for bad story telling. But when Monty was telling you something it almost always had a beginning, a middle and an end. He could end it funny or tragically, but whether it was short or long story he always kept you in the narrative. And the endings were mostly humorous. He had an incredible sense of humor about himself and his situation, although even he would admit it was a something of a mask for how miserable he was.
Im shocked at his death, but I not really surprised. I often talked to him about his lack of will to live. He felt things couldnt possible get better for him. I tried to to snap him out of it. It really frustrated me to see him constantly degrade himself, a man who was so loved by so many people. I had planned to tell him "You know Monty, people really do love you allot. And you really need to stop degrading yourself, because when you degrade yourself, you also degrade the love that people have for you."
I didnt get a chance to say that to him in person....like my tears, Im fighting the urge to text him and ask him what time he is gonna be a the New Beverly tonight.
(I wanted to edit up a piece of the video and pictures I have of him.....but I just cant do it now. Seeing him in this footage hurts too much.)
I met Monty when I started going back to the New Beverly Cinema to sell my DVDs in front of the line. When I got there, there existed a group of "regulars" that were always the first 5-10 in lines sometimes hours before the show started.
They were all DETERMINED to ignored me, I wasnt just the new kid in school nobody wanted to acknowledge, panhandling my movie with my shopping cart parked right next to me, I was new MASK kid nobody wanted to acknowledge. I wont lie it got me down. But he was that one kid in school who actually made the effort to make friends with me, homeless beggar that I obviously was. He looked over to me and said "hey what is that?...a movie?...You made a movie? Wow thats cool I'll buy one."
After that I always looked forward to see him in line, like one looks forward to seeing their only friend at school. Id walked by the New Bev, and if I didnt see him I kept on walking, but he was there Id always set up shop. Often more just to enjoy his company then anything else. Id text him and FB him all the time "You going to the New Bev tonight?" "When is the next time you going to the New Bev?" "What time you gonna be at the New Bev."
He even liked my movie when he saw it and afterward he started telling everyone "Hey this guy made a really great movie you ought to buy it." Its one of the things that DE-pariahed me with the rest of crew.
But it wasnt just that, he wasn't just a a remarkable friendly generous man, he was the type of person whose company you always enjoyed regardless of anything else. One of the greatest things about him was he was such a remarkable story teller. Any subject that was being discussed he had a story that related to it. And not one of those people who have to bring every conversation around to themselves or constantly interjecting themselves into the mix with "LISTEN to when I did this!" "LiSTEN to when this happened to ME!" "LISTEN to who I met!" "LISTEN to who I fucked!"
No, he really did have an interesting experience to relate to whatever was being said. The most memorable were the ones he told about his Jewish Grandfather who had lifelong guilt over working for the administration that interned Japanese Americans into camps during World War Two. Or another relative who worked on the Manhattan Project. Of course anything to do with movie production he had a anecdote for. Monty wasnt one of those guys who just talks to be heard, to the point that when you see them open their mouths you start groaning, about the babel you are about to hear. I personally have a low threshold for bad story telling. But when Monty was telling you something it almost always had a beginning, a middle and an end. He could end it funny or tragically, but whether it was short or long story he always kept you in the narrative. And the endings were mostly humorous. He had an incredible sense of humor about himself and his situation, although even he would admit it was a something of a mask for how miserable he was.
Im shocked at his death, but I not really surprised. I often talked to him about his lack of will to live. He felt things couldnt possible get better for him. I tried to to snap him out of it. It really frustrated me to see him constantly degrade himself, a man who was so loved by so many people. I had planned to tell him "You know Monty, people really do love you allot. And you really need to stop degrading yourself, because when you degrade yourself, you also degrade the love that people have for you."
I didnt get a chance to say that to him in person....like my tears, Im fighting the urge to text him and ask him what time he is gonna be a the New Beverly tonight.
(I wanted to edit up a piece of the video and pictures I have of him.....but I just cant do it now. Seeing him in this footage hurts too much.)