Exclusive interview with Randy Zisk, American Producer, Director and Writer

By Jean-Paul Eliard

October 25  2024

Hi Randy, I'm glad to do this interview, I watched this  show on France TV and I like very much, The last case of Monk is excellent. 
 
Can you introduce yourself to the visitors of cinema-movietheater.com?
Hi, my name is Randy Zisk and I was the Producer and Director on the MONK movie, MR.MONK’S LAST CASE.
I served the same role on the MONK series.
Along with MONK, I have directed a number of shows including, Grey’s Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, The Mentalist, House, Blacklist,
The Equalizer, NCIS New Orleans and Madam Secretary to name some. 
 
When and why did you decide to be director of Mr. Monk's Last Case: A Monk Movie ?
The producing team and myself had wanted to bring back MONK and Andy Breckman the creator of the show came up with a story that we all loved.
He pitched it to Peacock and they gave us the opportunity to make a television movie.
MONK was a show I had truly enjoyed to work on for the eight years it ran on USA network. I had directed a number of MONK episodes vso when the movie was bought by Peacock I was asked to direct that as well. 
 
How do you ensure that your vision aligns with the script and the producer's expectations for this show?
Andy Breckman who is the creative genius behind MONK and I have worked together a number of times and we work very closely to make sure our visions aligned.
MONK has a tricky tone and there is a fine line between reality and comedy
that it lives in.
Over the years, we feel like we have come up with the right balance to ground the show and keep it funny. 
 
How was the shooting with the actors / actresses?
Filming with the actors and actresses was a joy on the set every day.
It felt like we never missed a beat in the 14 years since we last filmed the show. There were quite a few new actors on the movie as well and they too worked seamlessly with our group of regulars.
It was nice to bring the family back together and add new cast members to join in. Tony Shalhoub always makes his scenes special and makes unique and interesting choices.

Ted Levine plays comedy and his ever-present frustration with Monk wonderfully.
Traylor Howard brings a steady calmness (except when she’s driving and chasing after a victim in the show) and acts as a great assistant to Monk.
And Jason Gray-Stanford plays Disher with brilliant comedic timing and a charming innocence that carried on from the series.
On the first day of shooting we chose a scene where pretty much the entire cast worked just to get everyone back together from the start. They immediately bonded. 
 
How long did the shooting for this TV Serie and where is it shooting?
We filmed for 21 days in Toronto, Canada. Toronto was beautiful and the crew was really terrific.
We began filming in the Spring hoping the weather would be warm because of the number of outdoor scenes we had in the script.
It was still cold for most of the shoot but it worked well.

 
I like very much the serie TV of Monk (2002 - 2009) It is like the serie as Monk's deductions during an investigation,  like Columbo, Death in Paradise, Arabesque........
Did you watched of episodes of Monk, before the shooting of Mr. Monk's Last Case: A Monk Movie?
Those were some of my favorite shows growing up as well.
I didn’t watch any episodes of MONK because I had directed so many in the initial run that I knew the look and tone of it well.
I also wanted to make sure this show didn’t feel like just another episode of Monk.
We had made 125 episodes and there was a concerted effort from all of us that this not feel like episode 126 as much as it did a movie that stood alone.
 
What technical skills do you possess that are essential for a film director?
I would say our visual style was different but the storytelling of some of these shows which is less about “who done it,” and more about, “how it was done,” is similar.
Visually, we chose to use really wide lenses and really long lenses and stayed away from the middle of the focal lengths to create a sense of being in Monk’s head and with him on his journey.
I like to shoot with a lot of foreground objects and move the camera around the space we had.
When Monk learns the bad news about his book deal he leaves the publishers office and we used a cinefade on the lens to put everything around him out of focus and drowned out the sounds to help the audience get in his head and be with him during this difficult time. 
 
What made you want to be a director, writer and producer?
I think one of the most important technical skills of a director is to be able to deal with a lot of things at one time and still keep the set moving forward.
Issues arrive from weather to scheduling and it’s important to always prioritize the show and make decisions to be both efficient for the production without sacrificing the quality of the show.
I think being an avid studier of films is a huge help. I have favorite directors and filmmakers along with favorite movies for their production value and style which I like to watch and study before I begin a project.

I’ve always loved to tell stories.
Loved to write and to make movies.
Since I was a little kid I have been making short films.
I had a super 8 camera when I was 12.
I went to film school at USC to study the craft and learn how to write and direct. Learn how to work with the equipment.
But as important as the technical side is, the passion and love for filmmaking is
something that I have always had in me and something I feel is more important than everything else combinated. 
 
What is your next challenge / project?
I am off to Ireland for a couple of months to direct some episodes of a new series based on the John Grisham book, “The Rainmaker.”
After that I will be directing a Pilot for a new series written by Andy Breckman as well for CBS. 
 

Do you wish to add something ?
Thank you for the opportunity for this interview Jean-Paul.
I would leave with this. I feel so fortunate and very lucky to have been working throughout my career in a craft I so truly love and have loved since I was child. After all these years I still find each day on the set exciting, unique and a joy for me to be a part of. 
 
Thank you very much for your interview Randy and I wish you all the best.
 
More information about Randy on IMDb