From Courtrooms to Creativity: Monte Albers de Leon’s Journey

Welcome Monte, we are very excited to have you today with us to discuss about your work.

Who is Monte Albers de Leon and how did the passion for creating begin?

I grew up in rural California just south of the Napa Valley, the only son of a Guatemalan mother and a Texan cowboy father on their 3rd and 2nd marriage, respectively. My father died suddenly earlier this year just before their 50th anniversary. I left when I was 18, received my bachelor’s degree at Claremont McKenna College, a Harvard Law Degree, and a Master’s in Real Estate at NYU and had been living in Manhattan working as a commercial attorney for 22 years. I was quite convinced that was the end of my biography and I would never create anything of interest until August of last year.

Can you tell us a bit about your previous work?

An argument. I research. I believe in order for the audience to truly connect with the story, they must connect with the story, and so they must find the story authentic.

Can you share the pivotal moment or experience that pushed you to write "Good"?

Late one night, I entered into a very heated discussion with my best friend over AI’s effect on humanity. My friend was adamant AI would lead to the end of humanity’s sense of goodness, individuality and that we were doomed to be zombies all too soon. I took an opposing viewpoint, positing that humankind was made of stronger stuff, that even if AI harkened the apocalypse, and that even if it came upon every aspect of humanity, even if it were to happen upon The Breakfast Club, and even if The Breakfast Club has the worst jobs in the world, even if they worked in logistics for Amazon in suburban Omaha, Nebraska, they would still find a way to do the right thing.

I was so convinced in the strength of my argument that for the first time I opened the Notes App on my iPhone and jotted down this allegory so that the next morning at the breakfast table the other houseguests would hear my argument and say it was the stronger one. I did, and they did, but moreover they told me the example was hilarious and that I should write a movie about it. 10 weeks later, Good was finished.

CONVERSATION ABOUT: ''Good''

What was your creative process like for "Good," from concept to script completion?

Honestly, I still don’t quite know. Once I started, the story started writing itself. I wrote the last 90 pages in two weeks. I was compelled to write; I wrote from beginning to end - and throughout the process, a constant driver in my head repeatedly was that the audience needed to believe. In the story’s possibility, in its characters, and in its message.

Each character in "Good" represents a unique archetype—what inspired these choices, and how do they reflect societal roles?

I grew up a child of the late 1980s and 90s, and so was a fan of John Hughes.  I must have seen The Breakfast Club a dozen times before I moved to college, and who knows how many times after that.  The way he brilliantly-yet-gently summed up humanity in one day in detention has never left me.

The concept of the AI lockdown is chilling. What research or real-world parallels informed this aspect of the narrative? How did you approach balancing realism with the apocalyptic and metaphysical elements in the plot?

I took concepts of AI in outer space work like 2001, A Space Odyssey, Alien, as well as near virus sci-fi movies such as Outbreak and Contagion and tried to predict how the melding of AI and government policymaking would result in national emergencies.

What do you hope audiences will take away and what emotions or reactions do you aim to evoke through your storytelling?

That despite, or maybe especially during, the hardships unique to humankind, we as a species have the capacity to endure and even thrive due to the enduring goodness unique to humanity.

Did you write the story with specific actors in mind for the roles? How did you imagine them bringing the characters to life?

Not specifically in mind, but I wanted to give the reader a concept of who I could see at printing playing that role.

Can you tease any upcoming projects or themes you’re excited to explore in your future works?

I’m happy to say I can. A little over a month ago I finished the second volume of The Parables Anthology (theparables.net), and Good’s prequel Mecca. One of the drawbacks I noticed over the years with anthologies is that despite best efforts, writers struggle to keep the material fresh while sticking in the same genre. So with The Parables, I decided to try something new. Each story is another genre, place and time, with the characters of Good being the connective thread. Mecca is a drama, set in New York City just after 9/11. It follows Robert Lyons, a 24 year-old young professional who has just moved to the city still reeling from the attack to start what is to be a promising life in finance until he believes he just got away with his boss’s murder and is fighting every demon in the city except for his roommate, Lisa Moore, the future President of the United States.

This marks the conclusion of the interview featuring our esteemed artist, Monte Albers de Leon. Our community is growing steadily, with a continuous influx of skilled filmmakers and screenwriters joining us. Explore our other interviews, and consider scheduling one for yourself to showcase your creative endeavors.