Robert Rodriguez

by Ingle, Zachary

• ISBN13: 9781617032721
• ISBN10: 1617032727
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-03-09
• Publisher: Univ Pr of Mississippi

Summary

Rogue filmmaker Robert Rodriguez (b. 1968) rocketed to fame with his ultra-low-budget film El Mariachi (1992). The Spanish-language action film, and the making-of book that accompanied it, were inspirational to filmmakers trying to work with the most meager of resources. Rodriguez embodies the postmodern auteur, maintaining a firm control of his projects by not only writing and producing his films, but also editing, shooting, composing, as well as working with the visual effects. He was one of the first American filmmakers to wholeheartedly adopt digital filmmaking, now the norm. Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over (2003) helped bring back 3-D to mainstream theatres. He is as comfortable making family films (the Spy Kids series) as action (Sin City) and horror films (Planet Terror). He has maintained his guerilla filmmaking approach, despite increasing budgets, choosing to work outside of Hollywood and even founding his own studio (Troublemaker Studios) in Austin, Texas. He has also arguably become the most successful Latino filmmaker. In this, the first book devoted to Rodriguez, interviews and articles from 1993 to 2010 reveal a filmmaker passionate about making films on his own terms. He addresses the subjects central to his life and work: guerilla filmmaking, the digital revolution, his family, and his disdain for Hollywood. An easy and frank subject, these portraits depict the rebel director at his most candid, forging a path for others to break free from Hollywood hegemony.

Author Biography

Zachary Ingle is a Ph.D. Student in film and media studies at the University of Kansas. His work has been published in Literature/film Quarterly and Journal of American Culture.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. ix
Chronology	p. xv
Filmography	p. xvii
A Borrowed Camera, $7,000, and a Dream	p. 3
Mr. Mariachi	p. 6
A Killer Sequel	p. 11
From Rags to Riches	p. I6
The Reformation of a Rebel Without a Crew	p. 20
The Power Couple: Robert Rodriguez and Elizabeth Avellan	p. 30
Before Dusk Till Dawn	p. 33
The Faculty	p. 35
The Mariachi Aesthetic Goes to Hollywood	p. 39
Deep in the Heart of Action	p. 58
Robert Rodriguez	p. 64
A Digital Desperado	p. 75
Secret Agents and Desperadoes	p. 78
Working at the Speed of Thought	p. 83
Robert Rodriguez's New Toy	p. 102
Moving in Stereo	p. 107
"I'm Able to Write the Score as I'm Shooting the Script"	p. 109
Once Upon a Time in Moviemaking	p. 113
Triplets in Sin	p. 119
Finding Redemption	p. 124
Double Trouble	p. 127
Moving at the Speed of Thought	p. 132
Exclusive Interview: Robert Rodriguez Talks Shorts	p. 138
Two Days at the World's Coolest Studio	p. 143
Robert Rodriguez and Nimród Antal Talk Predators	p. 148
Robert Rodriguez, Film Director	p. 160
Additional Resources	p. 163
Index	p. 165
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