Dito Montiel

Orlandito Montiel is an American author, filmmaker, and musician. Early Career & Music 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. 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. In 2003, Montiel published A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, a memoir 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. Filmmaking 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.