Speaker 1: Hello, everyone, and welcome to Montecito. After sunset, our world
of Deception is closing in on Monacito and we are
going behind the scenes of episode nine with the creator
and executive producer of Monasito, Grant Lutter.
Speaker 2: Hello, brand Hi, Christy, thanks for having me again.
Speaker 1: I cannot wait to hear more about this awesome episode
and joining us today a beloved star of some of
your favorite soap opera's guiltiest pleasure rom com and most
lit Christmas movies, the co host of the brand new
Melissa peter Man podcast, and in Montecito, the brooding voice
of Deacon Granville. Welcome, Peter Porte.
Speaker 3: Wow, Hey, Peter duck should thank you so much. Christy,
happy to be here.
Speaker 1: We are so glad to hear finally the voice of
Deacon and to talk with you a little little bit
about what your experience was on the show. What you
think of this huge scene we had in tonight's episode
nine that is Collection of Secret and Lies. We have
the big scene where Deacon confesses to Bradley and Diego.
Speaker 3: This is so pivotal.
Speaker 1: Peter, what did you think when you got this script
and you thought about how you were going to approach
this really important scene. What were your thoughts At first?
Speaker 3: When I received the script, I thought to turn a
coming out at this age, having been able to come
out much younger. I was surprised that this is something
that we are still talking about and dealing with. And
then I just recently had an experience with a friend's
father that just went through this, and this is a
very important and still very current story that needs to
be told. So when I when I first heard about
it through my friend, this all made sense and I realized, Wow,
we do still need to tell this, still need to
tell this story, which made it very exciting because I
guess so I got to tell it.
Speaker 2: I received a message from a father who told me
that he had to come out to his son and
the scene really resonated with him. And this has not
been my life experience. But we wrote Andrew and I
wrote these scenes. But I want to give a lot
of credit to Andrew for crafting that I had no
notes on that scene.
Speaker 3: He really wrote it really well.
Speaker 2: But it's yeah, it's a thing, and it's it hit
one person, So if it hit one person, it must
have hit a few more. I was just.
Speaker 1: Saying elsewhere I'm an la gal and it just sometimes
it's easy to forget in this day and age that
people are in much different places. Yep, yeah for sure.
So Grant, what did you take into consideration when you
were writing this very intimate scene.
Speaker 2: Again all about Deacon's relationship with his father and trying
to connect with his son. There he was really Bradley
was in the room. I know he invited Bradley over there,
but he should have. Deacon just should have had the
moment with his son, but he's really trying to connect him,
really trying to sit down with him and probably been
visioning him looking at his at his son in his
eyes and trying to get this off his chest, right,
And then they've got all this heckling side commentary from Bradley.
But that's the dynamic, and we said that in a
previous after show how there's a lot of this is
a family of a lot of commentary and little jabs,
and you're seeing these people really at their worst, where
perhaps Deacon is at his most vulnerable. Of course, he's
been pouring his heart out overall ten episodes, but this
is extremely personal in this moment, and again I want
to applaud Andrew because he really just wrote this scene
like so effortlessly and usually have a lot of feedback
on this, these two scenes particularly, I did not, so
I think he did a great job. And the performance
to speak for themselves. Vincent, it was really rough on
Deacon plays the Bradley and Peter us. Really you took
it there and you were so just a raw I
think that's the word for it.
Speaker 3: Thank you. I'm curious maybe the listeners and you Christy,
you already know this, but how did you collaborate on
the writing of it, because I know you had a
big part, But did you take were you like, let's
just draw straws, you take this scene, I'll take that scene.
Did you sit down to get the same room?
Speaker 1: Yeah?
Speaker 2: So I did the long story of the show, so
I was all like, this has to happened in this episode,
and then breaking down into each scene. So, yes, these
events have to happen here, So these events can happen
here in this episode. But yeah, how to craft it
so that way we're not having three minas scenes in
a row if she's supposed to be in three different locations.
So that was like another whole part of it. So
I knew everything that I wanted, and then Andrew and
I would switch off with writing the dialogue I guess
you could say, or really breaking out those scenes, but
really writing the dialogue. And then it was very collaborative
after that, and we're both very direct on what we wanted,
what we didn't like, and there's new ego in that.
It was just like, this is how this needs to
be right. Really, I'll fight for little things.
Speaker 3: That's that almost never happens when you have two writers,
oh that are very attached to their babies in our
room and just willing to say it's okay, no ego involved.
If this doesn't work, we're cutting it, We're cutting it.
Had you two worked together on previous projects or was
this the first not scripted projects? We worked on an
HBO project but not scripted. Yeah, for us.
Speaker 2: It was always about what's best for the show. Yes,
I want little things in there, and sometimes they made
sometimes they did it, but it really was we both
have the same vision where it was like what is
going to serve this better? But we really did get
along really well. I was honestly quite effortless. Yeah, that's great, Peter.
Speaker 1: I'm curious what you thought about how the story was
unfolding as it happened, like just as a list. Were
you rooting for Deacon and Gel's relationship, were you really
hating any of the other characters? What did you think
of a story?
Speaker 3: Oh, I really enjoyed it, And you're going to talk
about episode ten next give anything away, But that truly
came out of for me. I was shocked by the
final episode reveal. So I was rooting for Geo. I
actually I have a cabin up in Lake Arrowhead where
the actor who plays Geo also has a cabin, so
we hung out or like during pandemic times when we
were up there together sharing a beer at the local public.
Never did I ever think that we'd be playing luggers
on a podcast four years from there. So it was
always it was a treat to see him across the
screen for me, and so yeah, I was certainly rooting
for them. Other favorites is Mina is just so wonderful.
Her voice alone. I would listen to her just reading
the back of a Cereal lock. She's great and the
quality is so powerful. And then Bethany Gina, I think
it is my favorite soap name ever to have. Yes,
Bethany Gina. It just rolls off the tongue.
Speaker 4: Oh yeah, wonky name ever, Oh that that's one of
my favorites too, And we really get a sort of
a wrap ump to their storyline.
Speaker 1: We've gotten to know Bethany Gina pretty well the last
few episodes, so I have to ask Grant. Are they
truly riding off into the sunset now as siblings who
get along great and they're going to run the company together,
or have we seen the last of Bethany Gina and Jj.
Speaker 2: It sounds like they're in a mess because JJ's off
to rehab when we can take that interpret that as
we want to, but he's off, and Bethany Gina now
has this that the last second this name has come
across that's going to help her and the company get
back into the Santa Barbara waterfront revitalization projects lineup, and
it's going to be Marcos Medici, who we hear in
episode nine only moments before that, Geo says to Mina
that he wouldn't wish Marcos on his worst enemy, and
then now Marcus has wished upon Bethany Gina. So yeah,
nothing is in trouble.
Speaker 1: I'm so excited by the idea of this mysterious Marco Medici.
He's already causing so many problems for Deacon before we
even for Deacon even knows who he is. I wouldn't
think about this guy, Peter.
Speaker 3: I'm not a fan cool, I am not a fan.
I'm fife straight. I'm trying to rekindle my relationship with Geo,
and he's just I just finished. I just worked really
hard in this hotel. I need to break this Mafio.
So but maybe it's gonna all work out. We'll see.
Probably not, but I would tune it too and find
out absolutely.
Speaker 1: And I was wondering, Peter, do you have anyone that
you pictured when they mentioned Marco, like an actor that's
in mind or an image? What do you see in
your mind when you hear that name.
Speaker 3: Oh that's good. Let's see. There's so many wonderful like Mafio,
so big Italian person that I can think of the
like what's his name from Goodfellas, Joe PESHI wow, I
feel like at hardcore like Parkourt, but compact like Petit,
but you never call him. You call him like the
Sturdy And.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that is exactly let's see how you envision Marcos
and where I see this character coming here, very different places.
Speaker 3: Marcos.
Speaker 2: I think if I could, if.
Speaker 3: I work together like you two work together and no ideas,
we're just no egos involved, we'll find some little ground.
Speaker 2: Yeah right, I think I would say if I had
to say anything about Marcos, I think he would make
a great pan sexual character. Somebody very open and you
never know where they're gonna go, oh.
Speaker 3: Oh, interesting, Okay, wow, I think.
Speaker 1: It could cause a lot of trouble sounds.
Speaker 3: You need someone that's opened to Yes.
Speaker 1: It is small, but so well cast. Grant, how made
you know that Peter was Deacon?
Speaker 2: I was familiar with Peter's work from days, so I
knew his voice quite well, and I did a deep
dive on everything I could find with all the actors.
I just lowered the brightness on the screen and just listening,
just concentrating on the voice and really knowings. I know
these characters very well. It has to compliment the void
the character, but also you have to have a variety
of men's voices. The women's voices tend to have more
of arrangement. Men's voices can be particularly low. Just had
to really all mesh those, so that was just something
else take into account. Casting directors look a lot at
obviously facial bone, structure and height and all that sundms
very important, but obviously an audio it's really all about
sound and knowing the pace in which these scenes on
soaps have to run. Then this medium is more important
than ever. So knowing how soap scenes work and the
pace is key, and he had it.
Speaker 3: That's really interesting. I had no idea until I started
listening that we really do men. We just especially like
that leading man type. We've listened to what it should
sound like since we were children, and we mimic it.
And that's the standard that is expected of you. And
so to find variety in tone, I think is very hard,
and you accomplished it. But I would have never thought
about that before.
Speaker 1: Peter. I can't help but think that you're so great
at what you do on camera because you are interested
at sounding how it all comes together and what goes
on behind the scenianes. Was this being a whole new
thing part of what attracted you to doing Montecito or
why did you want to be involved in the first place.
Speaker 3: That's exactly it. I didn't understand what it was. But
I had a lot of people that I respect say
you should do this is interesting And the more I
started like just peeling this back, I'm like, oh wow,
this is not bad and so the first of it's kind,
but it is one of the very first of its kind,
and it's in a medium that has been around before television.
We all sat around our radios and listen to Grand
all the opry and like people creating in real time
the folio, which I think is such a cool analog
way of storytelling, right, and to be part of this
now with the cast that you put together, I was like,
this is a no brainer. So thank you for.
Speaker 2: I'm so glad you did it. Peter here that you
are the dcon we needed. Definitely, it was great. I'm
so glad to hear that.
Speaker 1: Absolutely, And for everyone who's now watching the episodes and
watching the after show and binging them all back, Grant,
what should we expect for episode ten? Big finale?
Speaker 2: Episode ten is worth checking out? For sure. I want
to promote binging, So go back and listen. If you
haven't made it to ten yet, listen to the episodes
prior because there's a lot of little things and some
misdirection and there's a little some signs that bring us
to where we land in episode ten. And episode of ten,
I'm super proud of it's intense episode. There's I like
to think it's another one where there's a little bit
of heart. There's some moments, and then there's just you're
going way up the roller coaster for that final drop down,
and I hope that everyone really enjoys it, and it's
going to be a little slow and then it's going
to take off, so stick with me. I'm really excited
about hearing more from people about how they interpreted the
last scene.
Speaker 3: And I love that there was an additional character behind
our cast list in that last scene, and that's the rain.
And you do not recognize that while you are while
you're reading it off the page, and all of a sudden,
Oh my gosh, it was so dramatic, that rain. I'm
excited for everyone to listen to it.
Speaker 1: I'm always I can't wait. Yes. Oh. In the mean time, Peter,
we you just premiered the Melissa peter Man podcast. We
love Melissa. Of course the first episode people can see
and watch on YouTube. Will there be more?
Speaker 3: There certainly will be. We have a second episode that's
actually dropping today, and that just expect regular drops weekly
and I think the season is around ten episodes, but
we're very excited. We just filmed another one yesterday. I
was over at Melissa's house being myser salad. She made
me dinner for her birthday. It's not fair, that's the
kind of friend she is. But I wrote the w
and so thank you for watching that, and so that's the.
Speaker 1: Kind of friend you are.
Speaker 3: We need both exactly. Yeah, yeah, So working on that,
and then I've got another show that I can't talk
about yet right now decides. I'm very excited for it
to pre the b premiering ins a couple months to come.
Speaker 1: All right, we will certainly keep an eye out for that. Everybody,
you can keep up with Peter on Instagram at Pete Port.
We so appreciate you being here with us. Peter fa
you thank you for having me and everybody. Make sure
that you stay subscribed to Monacito on the Facebook page.
It's at Monsito Series. We're also on Apple podcasts and
right here of course on YouTube. Make sure you give
a thumbs up for this videos that YouTube knows you
want to see more Monascito and he tuned into Monacito
after sunset for more from behind the scenes. Thank you
so much for watching, See you soon.