VH1 Movie Aims to Make New ‘Believers’ in Monkees

The four actors who star in the VH1 movie “Daydream Believers: The Story of the Monkees” got a little taste of what Monkeemania was like in the late ‘60s.

Early into the filming, the faux Monkees spent two days in front of an audience of teenage extras re-creating the group’s first concert appearance. “There were about 500 to 1,000 extras, and they were mostly girls,” recalls George Stanchev, who plays Monkee heartthrob Davy Jones.

“It was craziness. They wanted autographs and pictures. They made posters of us. We had to be driven from the set to our trailers because they were waiting outside. Every time we stepped out of our trailers they would be waiting and screaming for us.”

“It was incredible,” echoes L.B. Fisher, who plays Monkee Peter Tork. “Once, I was coming out of the trailer and all of these girls jumped on me. They said, ‘Can we have a hug?’ I couldn’t even move my hands. It was weird. I think they thought we were like the Backstreet Boys or ‘N Sync or we were just a new band doing some ‘60s tunes.”

“Daydream Believers,” which airs tonight on the music video cable channel, tells the story of how four young actors--Tork, Mike Nesmith, Jones and Micky Dolenz--beat out hundreds of hopefuls to be cast in “The Monkees,” an NBC comedy about a fictional rock band of the same name.

The series, which premiered in September 1966, was an overnight sensation, as was their first single, “The Last Train to Clarksville.” Their music producer, Don Kirschner, lined up an impressive stable of composers, including Neil Diamond and Carole King, to write songs for what some critics called “the pre-Fab Four.”

During the two years the series aired, the hits came fast and furiously, like “I’m a Believer,” “I’m Not Your Steppin’ Stone,” “A Little Bit Me, a Little Bit You,” “Pleasant Valley Sunday” and the song that lends its name to the movie’s title, “Daydream Believer.” At one point, the group even outsold the Fab Four themselves, the Beatles.

However, for the first two albums, Kirschner had studio musicians lay down the tracks, and then the group sang to the prerecorded tracks. Nesmith and Tork, both trained musicians, fought and eventually won the battle to play their own instruments and write songs.

The film concludes with the cancellation of the Emmy Award-winning series in 1968 and the disastrous response to their 1968 feature film, “Head,” which was written by Jack Nicholson.

“Daydream Believers” also stars Jeff Geddis as Mike; Aaron Lohr as Micky; and Wallace Langham as Kirschner.

Leading up to tonight’s premiere at 9 p.m., VH1 is presenting an all-day “Monkees Marathon” featuring classic episodes of the series hosted by Tork. In addition, VH1 will reprise “The Monkees: Behind the Music.”

Michael Larkin, VH1 vice president of motion pictures for television, says “Daydream Believers” is a perfect fit for the cable channel’s 18- to 49-year-old demographic. Previous VH1 movies include “The Ricky Nelson Story.”

“The Monkees are so identifiable,” Larkin says. “You can go online and there are 40 fan clubs. . . . The show still has legs.”

Indeed, the Monkees seem still very much in the public consciousness with songs in heavy rotation on oldies radio stations. Rhino Records has also found that selling their albums, videos, T-shirts and watches is a profitable business.

Embodying the Band

in Look and Style

Director Neill Fearnley, who was a Monkees fan growing up in Liverpool, England, wanted the movie to resemble the series--funny, outrageous and filled with comic montages set to music.

“I wanted to make this fun and uplifting like a romp,” Fearnley says, “like I remember the show being.”

Casting was akin to putting together a jigsaw puzzle. “If you got one person like Ricky Nelson, you have to have someone who looks and sounds like Ricky Nelson,” says Fearnley. “But if you have four people, they need to look like four individuals, but more than that--become the band itself and look like the band. There were height issues and look issues. In the end, we managed to find young fellows who were able to embody what we thought the Monkees were.”

Of course, hard-core Monkee fans will quibble with a few liberties. Micky’s hair, which is curly throughout the film, was flat during the first season and curly in the second. Davy’s hair was short during the second season, but it remains long throughout the movie. And the Nehru jackets and love beads they wore in the second season are not in sight.

Stanchev, who hails from Bulgaria, knew little about Davy Jones, the character he would play. “The only thing I really knew about the Monkees is when their TV show came on as a child, I purposely changed the channel because I am not an oldies freak,” he says. “But I love their music now.”

“The Monkees” was the favorite show of Fisher’s mother growing up. “Peter [whom Fisher portrays] was her favorite Monkee. I never thought I looked like him. It was my manager who said, ‘I think you can do it.’ ” After he bought a wig to cover his spiked blond hair for his audition, Fisher realized he bore more than a passing resemblance to his mom’s idol.

But the wig wasn’t nearly as difficult as wearing the tightfitting pants that were a Monkees’ trademark, says Fisher. “I was so embarrassed walking around,” he says. “It is like being in a tiny little bathing suit.”

The Peter Tork has seen most of the movie. “I looked at it in installments,” he says. “The first time I must have been in a funny mood because it made me jump a little bit. And the second time, I was just watching it, accessing it for accuracy.”

Though Tork has a few reservations about the final product, he did enjoy Fisher’s performance. “I was really impressed with the guy who played me. I thought I had a patent on that smile.”

*

* “Daydream Believers: The Monkees Story” airs tonight at 9 on VH1. The network has rated it TV-PG (may be unsuitable for young children). The “Monkees Marathon” begins at 6 a.m.; “The Monkees: Behind the Music” airs at 8 and 11 p.m.