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Robert Anthony Rodriguez (born June 20, 1968) is an American director, writer, producer, cinematographer, editor and musician perhaps best known for making profitable, crowd-pleasing independent and studio films with fairly low budgets and fast schedules by Hollywood standards. He shoots and produces many of his films in Texas and Mexico. Mexican-American filmmaker Robert Rodriguez burst upon the independent scene with a miraculous $7000 (shooting cost) action film geared for the Mexican Spanish-language video market. Touted as the cheapest film ever released by a studio, "El Mariachi" (1993) was a galvanizing send-up of Mexican action films, American Westerns and tough anti-hero movies informed by such auteurs as Sergio Leone and Sam Peckinpah. It told the fast-moving story of a mariachi musician who arrives in a Mexican border town at the same time as a hit man. Violent complications ensue after they accidentally switch guitar cases. On the strength and economy of this first feature, Rodriguez snared representation by ICM and a two-year development deal with Columbia Pictures. Of all the people to be amazed by the images of of John Carpenter's 1981 sci-fi parable, Escape from New York (1981), none were as captivated as the 12-year-old Tejano boy who sat with his friends in a crowded cinema. Many people watch films and arrogantly proclaim "I can do that." This young man said something different: "I WILL do that. I'm gonna make movies." The young man in question is Robert Rodriguez and this day was the catalyst of his dream career. Born and raised in Texas, Robert was the middle child of a family that would include 10 children. While many-a-child would easily succumb to a Jan Brady-sense of being lost in the shuffle, Robert always stood out as a very creative and very active young man. An artist by nature, he was very rarely seen sans pencil-in-hand doodling some abstract (yet astounding) dramatic feature on a piece of paper. His mother, not a fan of the "dreary" cinema of the 1970s, instills a sense of cinema in her children by taking them on weekly trips to San Antonio's famed Olmos Theatre movie house and treats them to a healthy dose of Hollywood's "Golden Age" wonders, from Sergio Leone to the silent classic of Charles Chaplin and Buster Keaton. In a short amount of time, young Robert finds the family's old Super-8 film camera and makes his first films. The genres are unlimited: action, sci-fi, horror, drama, stop-motion animation. He uses props from around the house, settings from around town, and makes use of the largest cast and crew at his disposal: his family. At the end of the decade, his father, a salesman, brings home the latest home-made technological wonder: a VCR, and with it (as a gift from the manufacturer) a video camera. With this new equipment at his disposal, he makes movies his entire life. He screens the movies for friends, all of whom desperately want to star in the next one. He gains a reputation in the neighbourhood as "the kid who makes movies". Rather than handing in term papers, he is allowed to hand in "term movies" because, as he himself explains, "the teachers knew I'd put more effort into a movie than I ever would into an essay." He starts his own comic strip, "Los Hooligans". His movies win every local film competition and festival. When low academic grades threaten to keep him out of UT Austin's renowned film department, he proves his worth the only way he knows how: he makes a movie. Three, in fact: trilogy of short movies called "Austin Stories" starring his siblings. It beats the entries of the school's top students and allows Robert to enter the programme. After being accepted into the film department, Robert takes $400 of his own money to make his "biggest" film yet: a 16mm short comedy/fantasy called Bedhead (1991). Pouring every idea and camera trick he knew into the short, it went on to win multiple awards. After meeting and marrying fellow Austin resident Elizabeth Avellan, Robert comes up with a crazy idea: he will sell his body to science in order to finance his first feature-length picture (a Mexican action adventure about a guitarist with no name looking for work but getting caught up in a shoot-'em-up adventure) that he will sell to the Spanish video market and use as an entry point to a lucrative Hollywood career. With his "guinea pig" money he raises a mere $7,000 and creates Mariachi, El (1992). But rather than lingering in obscurity, the film finds its way to the Sundance film festival where it becomes an instant favourite, wins Robert a distribution deal with Columbia pictures and turns him into an icon among would-be film-makers the world over. Not one to rest on his laurels, he immediately helms the straight-to-cable movie _Roadracers (1994) (TV) and contributes a segment to the anthology comedy Four Rooms (1995) (his will be the most lauded segment). His first "genuine" studio effort would soon have people referring to him as "John Woo from south-of-the-border". It is the "Mariachi" remake/sequel Desperado (1995). More lavish and action-packed than its own predecessor, the movie--while not a blockbuster hit--does decent business and single-handedly launches the American film careers of Antonio Banderas as the guitarist-turned-gunslinger and Salma Hayek as his love interest (the two would star in several of his movies from then on). It also furthers the director's reputation of working on low budgets to create big results. In the year when movies like Batman Forever (1995) and GoldenEye (1995) were pushing budgets past the $100 million mark, Rodriguez brought in "Desperado" for just under $7 million. The film also featured a cameo by fellow indie film wunderkind, Quentin Tarantino. It would be the beginning of a long friendship between the two sprinkled with numerous collaborations. Most notable the Tarantino-penned vampire schlock-fest From Dusk Till Dawn (1996). The kitschy flick (about a pair of criminal brothers on the run from the Texas Rangers, only to find themselves in a vamp-infested Mexican bar) became an instant cult favourite and launched the lucrative film career of "ER" (1994) star George Clooney. After a two-year break from directing (primarily to spend with his family, but also developing story ideas and declining Hollywood offers) he returned to "Dusk till Dawn" territory with the teen/sci-fi/horror movie The Faculty (1998), written by _Scream (1996)_ writer, Kevin Williamson. Although it's developed a small following of its own, it would prove to be Robert's least-successful film. Critics and fans alike took issue with the pedestrian script, the off-kilter casting and the flick's blatant over-commercialization (due to a marketing deal with clothing designer Tommy Hilfiger). After another three-year break, Rodriguez returned to make his most successful (and most unexpected) movie yet, based on his own segment from Four Rooms (1995). After a string of bloody, adult-oriented action fare, no one anticipated him to write and direct the colourful and creative Spy Kids (2001), a movie about a pair of prepubescent Latino sibs who discover that their lame parents (Antonio Banderas and Carla Gugino) are actually two of the world's greatest secret agents. The film was hit among both audiences and critics alike. After quitting the Writers' Guild of America and being introduced to digital filmmaking by George Lucas, Robert immediately applied the creative, flexible (and cost-effective) technology to every one of his movies from then on, starting with an immediate sequel to his family friendly hit: Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams (2002) which was THEN immediately followed by the trilogy-capper Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over (2003). The latter would prove to be the most financially-lucrative of the series and employ the long-banished movie gimmick of 3-D with eye-popping results. Later the same year Rodriguez career came full circle when he completed the final entry of the story that made brought him to prominence: "El Mariachi". The last chapter, Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003), would be his most direct homage to the Sergio Leone westerns he grew up on. With a cast boasting Antonio Banderas (returning as the gunslinging guitarist), Johnny Depp (as a corrupt CIA agent attempting to manipulate him), Salma Hayek, Mickey Rourke, Willem Dafoe and Eva Mendes, the film delivered even more of the Mexican shoot-'em-up spectacle than both of the previous films combined. Now given his choice of movies to do next, Robert sought out famed comic book writer/artist Frank Miller, a man who had been very vocal of never letting his works be adapted for the screen. Even so, he was wholeheartedly convinced and elated when Rodriguez presented him with a plan to turn Miller's signature work into the film Sin City (2005). A collection of noir-ish tales set in a fictional, crime-ridden slum, the movie boasts the largest cast Rodriguez has worked with to date. Saying he didn't want to mere "adapt" Miller's comics but "translate" them, Rodriguez' insistence that Miller co-direct the movie lead to Robert's resignation from the Director's Guild of America (and his subsequent dismissal from the film _John Carter of Mars (2006) as a result). Nevertheless, he has looked back on his decision with no regrets. Playing by his own rules or not at all, Robert Rodriguez has redefined what is and is not for a film-maker to do. Shunning Hollywood's ridiculously-high budgets, multi-picture deals and the two most powerful unions for the sake of maintaining creative freedom are decisions that would (and have) cost many directors their careers. Robert Rodriguez has turned these into his strengths, creating some of the most imaginative works the big-screen has ever seen. Where will his career lead him next ? It's hard to say. He's too busy making movies to think about a time when he can't make them anymore. Rodríguez was born in San Antonio, Texas, the son of Rebecca, a nurse, and Cecilio G. Rodríguez, a sales manager. He began his interest in film at age 7 when his father bought one of the first VCRs, which came with a camera. He took the camera and started to make short films with his brothers and sisters participating as the cast and crew. It helped that there were ten of them (including Robert), and these early stages provided the crucial groundwork that would lead to Rodriguez's development as a filmmaker. While attending St. Anthony Catholic High School, he was commissioned to videotape the school's football games. According to his sister he was fired soon after for shooting them with a cinematic style; getting shots of parents reactions and the ball traveling through the air instead of shooting the whole play. After graduating Rodriguez went to the University of Texas where he also developed a love of cartooning. His grades were not good enough to get into the school's film program, so he invented a daily comic strip entitled Los Hooligans with many of the characters based on his siblings – in particular, one of his sisters, Maricarmen. The comic proved to be quite successful, running for three years in the student newspaper The Daily Texan while Rodríguez continued to make short films. Rodríguez grew up shooting action and horror short films on video, and editing on two VCRs. Finally, in the fall of 1990, his entry in a local film contest earned him a spot in the university's film program where he made the award-winning 16 mm short, "Bedhead", which is available for viewing online. The film chronicles the amusing misadventures of a young girl whose older brother sports an incredibly tangled mess of hair that she cannot tolerate. The rest of the short film is a humorous account of how the young girl tries to fix her brother's follicle monstrosity when she discovers her telekinetic abilities. Even at this early stage, Rodríguez's trademark style began to emerge: quick cuts, intense zooms, and fast camera movements deployed with a sense of humor that offsets the action. This short film attracted enough attention to encourage him to seriously attempt a career as a filmmaker. He went on to shoot the action flick El Mariachi in Spanish. El Mariachi, which was shot for around $7,000 with money partially raised by volunteering in medical research studies, won the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival in 1992. The film, originally intended for the Spanish-language low-budget home-video market, was "cleaned up" with several hundred thousand dollars before being distributed by Columbia Pictures in the United States, still being promoted as "the movie made for $7,000". Rodríguez described his experiences making the film in his book Rebel Without a Crew. The book and film inspired legions of hopeful filmmakers to pick up cameras and make no-budget movies. The film and the book are widely considered important touchstones of the independent film movement of the 1990s. Many people realized for the first time that with only a little money and a lot of hard work and talent, it was possible to make a successful and popular film. His next feature film was Desperado, a sequel to El Mariachi starring Antonio Banderas. The film introduced Salma Hayek to American audiences. Rodríguez went on to collaborate with Quentin Tarantino on the vampire thriller, From Dusk Till Dawn (he co-produced two sequels), and with Kevin Williamson on the horror film The Faculty. In 1999 Kevin Smith offered directorial duties on the film Dogma to Rodríguez, yet he passed insisting that Kevin should direct the film himself. In 2001, Rodríguez enjoyed his first $100,000,000 (USD) Hollywood hit with Spy Kids, which went on to become a trilogy, with the last film released in a crude form of 3D. A third "mariachi" film also appeared in late 2003, Once Upon a Time in Mexico which completed the Mariachi Trilogy. He operates a production company called Troublemaker Studios, formerly Los Hooligans Productions. Rodríguez co-directed Sin City (2005), an adaptation of the Frank Miller Sin City comic books; Quentin Tarantino guest-directed a scene. During production in 2004, Rodríguez insisted that Miller direct the film with him because he considered the visual style of Miller's comic art to be just as important as his own in the film. However, the Directors Guild of America would not allow it, citing that only "legitimate teams" could share the director's credit (e.g. the Wachowski Brothers). Rodríguez chose to resign from the DGA, stating, "It was easier for me to quietly resign before shooting because otherwise I'd be forced to make compromises I was unwilling to make or set a precedent that might hurt the guild later on." By resigning from the DGA, Rodríguez was forced to relinquish his director's seat on the film John Carter of Mars (2006) for Paramount Pictures. Rodríguez had already signed on and had been announced as director of that film, planning to begin filming soon after completing Sin City. Sin City was a critical hit in 2005 as well as a box office success, particularly for a hyperviolent comic book adaptation that did not have name recognition comparable to the X-Men or Spider-Man. Rodríguez is currently in pre-production for a sequel, Sin City 2, which will be based on the Sin City story A Dame To Kill For and is scheduled for release in 2008. He has stated that he is interested in eventually adapting all of Miller's Sin City comic books. Rodríguez released The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl in 2005, a superhero-kid movie intended for the same younger audiences as his Spy Kids series. Shark Boy & Lava Girl was based on a story conceived by Rodríguez's 7 year-old son, Racer, who was given credit for the screenplay. The film was not a major success, having grossed 39 million dollars at the box office. No new 3D projects have been announced by the Troublemaker group, even though a mini-boom in polarized digital 3D films is coming from major studios in 2006. Since 1998, he has owned the film rights to Mike Allred's off-beat comic Madman. The two have hinted at the project being close to beginning on several occasions without anything coming of it. However, other projects have been completed first (Allred was instrumental in connecting Rodríguez with Frank Miller, leading to the production of Sin City). In 2004, Allred, while promoting his comedy, The Golden Plates, announced that a screenplay by George Huang was near completion. In March 2006, it was announced that production on Sin City 2 would be postponed. Allred announced at the 2006 WonderCon that production would likely commence on Madman the Movie in 2006. Huang is actually friends with Rodriguez, who advised him to pursue filmmaking as a career when Rodriguez landed a deal with Columbia Pictures where Huang was an employee. Rodriguez wrote and directed the film Planet Terror for the collaboration with Quentin Tarantino in their double feature Grindhouse (released in 2007). This film was a throwback to the Grindhouse exploitative cinema of the past. He also has a series of "Ten Minute Film School" segments on several of his DVD releases, showing aspiring filmmakers how to make good, profitable movies using inexpensive tactics. Starting with the Once Upon a Time in Mexico DVD, Rodríguez began creating a series called, "Ten Minute Cooking School". where he revealed his recipe for "Puerco Pilbil" (based on Cochinita Pibil, an old dish from Yucatan), the same food Johnny Depp's character, "Agent Sands" ate in the film. The popularity of this series lead to the inclusion of another "Cooking School" on the 2-Disc version of the "Sin City" DVD where Rodríguez teaches the viewer how to make "Sin City Breakfast Tacos", a dish (made for his cast and crew during late-night shoots) utilizing his grandmother's tortilla recipe and different egg mixes for the filling. He had initially planned to release a third "Cooking School" with the October 16th DVD release of "Planet Terror" but then announced on the "Film School" segment of the DVD that he would put it on the upcoming Grindhouse Theatrical DVD set instead. The Cooking School, entitled, "Texas Barbecue...from the GRAVE!", is a dish based on the "secret barbecue recipe" of "JT Hague", Jeff Fahey's character in the film. A strong supporter of digital film making, Rodríguez was introduced to this by director George Lucas, who personally invited Rodríguez to use the digital cameras at Lucas' headquarters. In May 2007 it was announced that Rodríguez had signed on to direct a remake of Barbarella for a 2008 release. At the 2007 Comic-Con convention, actress Rosario Dawson announced that because of Barbarella, production of Sin City 2 would be put on hold. She also announced that she would be playing an amazon in the Barbarella film. In May 2008 Rodriguez is said to be shopping around a prison drama television series called Woman in Chains! With Rose Mcgowan being a possibility of a lead role. Rodriguez officially announced in April 2006 that he and his wife Elizabeth Avellán separated after 16 years of marriage. They have five children: sons Rocket Valentin, Racer Maximilliano, Rebel Antonio, Rogue and daughter Rhiannon Elizabeth. The media reported that Rodríguez had a "dalliance" with actress Rose McGowan during the shooting of Grindhouse, with speculation that his hiatus during production may have been due to his wife finding out. In response to the speculation, a spokesperson for Troublemaker Studios released the following statement: Elizabeth Avellan and Robert Rodriguez were separated long before the Grindhouse production began. Their separation and subsequent divorce were very amicable and they opted to continue as planned, and to produce the film together -- a decision they informed Bob and Harvey Weinstein (co-chairmen of The Weinstein Company, distributor of Grindhouse) about prior to the start of production on Grindhouse. Robert and Elizabeth plan to produce Sin City 2 together -- with Robert directing -- for Dimension Films in the coming months. The hiatus during the production of Grindhouse had nothing to do with Robert's personal life. On April 10, 2006, after shooting for 5 weeks, Robert completed principal photography of the first phase of his segment of Grindhouse. He took a hiatus from shooting to assemble the footage he had already shot and determine his next steps in the production, which is the same successful approach he utilized with Sin City when he shot the film in two parts. In May 2007, it was reported that he confirmed his relationship with McGowan when they appeared hand-in-hand at the 60th Annual Cannes Film Festival. In October 2007, Elle Magazine revealed that Rodríguez cast McGowan as the title role in his remake of Barbarella. On October 12, 2007 it was announced by Zap2it.com that the two are engaged. Rodríguez not only has the usual credits of producing, directing and writing his films, he also frequently serves as editor, director of photography, camera operator, steadicam operator, composer, production designer, visual effects supervisor, and sound editor on his films. This has earned him the nickname of "the one-man film crew." He calls his style of making movies "Mariachi-style" (in reference to his first feature film El Mariachi) in which (according to the back cover of his book Rebel Without a Crew) "creativity, not money, is used to solve problems". Rodríguez has a storied history of collaboration with Quentin Tarantino: Tarantino has a cameo in Rodríguez's film Desperado. Both filmmakers directed segments in the film Four Rooms. He directed Tarantino's screenplay From Dusk Till Dawn, which Tarantino acted in. They both served as executive producers for that film and its two sequels. Tarantino came up with the title for (and was initially going to act in) Rodríguez's film Once Upon a Time in Mexico. Rodríguez wrote some original music that was used in Tarantino's film Kill Bill: Vol. 2 and was reported to only have been paid one dollar for doing so. Tarantino directed a scene in Rodriguez's film Sin City (also reported to be paid one dollar in return) and loaned him some swords from Kill Bill to use for the Miho character. They collaborated together on the 2007 double-feature Grindhouse. He has also worked with actor Antonio Banderas and actress Salma Hayek on a number of films: Banderas and Hayek were cast as the lead roles in Desperado and Once Upon a Time in Mexico of the El Mariachi trilogy. Both make appearances in Rodríguez's segment in Four Rooms. Banderas and Rodríguez collaborated for the Spy Kids trilogy. Hayek had a role in the final installment, Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over. Hayek also had major roles in three of Rodriguez's films: Roadracers, From Dusk Till Dawn, and The Faculty. He also collaborated with actor Danny Trejo and Cheech Marin in Desperado, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, From Dusk Till Dawn, Spy Kids trilogy and the Grindhouse spinoff Machete. Rodríguez collaborated with Kevin Williamson, filming the film-within-a-film Stab in Scream 2 (written by Williamson) and directed The Faculty based on his screenplay. Rodríguez composed the track "Avenging Angel" for the soundtrack of Edgar Wright's Hot Fuzz; Wright also directed a faux trailer for Grindhouse. Robert had a special appearance in the sitcom George Lopez, starring the comedian of the same name, in the episode "George Buys a Vow" as part of the band in the wedding ceremony. Lopez also starred in Rodriguez's film Sharkboy and Lavagirl. Wrote a book named "Rebel Without A Crew," about his experience making the movie Mariachi, El (1992). Brother of Elizabeth Rodriguez, Christina Rodriguez, David Rodriguez, Rebecca Rodriguez, Patricia Vonne, and Angela Lanza. Went to St. Anthony's High School. Studied at St. Anthony's University, The University of Texas at Austin. He earned most of the $7000 it cost to make Mariachi, El (1992) by subjecting himself to experimental drug studies. In April of 1996, headed the list of "25 Most Powerful Hispanics in Hollywood", published by Hispanic Magazine. Cousin of Álvaro Rodríguez. In May 1999 he was honored with the Outstanding Young Texas Award by the Ex- Students' Association. Has 5 children with Elizabeth Avellan: sons Rocket Rodriguez, Racer Rodriguez, Rebel Rodriguez, Rogue Rodriguez and daughter Rhiannon Rodriguez. One of the experimental drugs that was tested on Rodriguez was a "speed healer." He has two divots in his arms as a result of the removed sample. Frequently uses Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Cheech Marin, Danny Trejo, Elijah Wood and Robert Patrick. Famous for working and delivering on relatively low budgets. His most expensive movie cost $35 million, most are budgeted $20 million or lower. Has final cut and final approval of all marketing materials in his contracts. Ranked #80 in Premiere's 2003 annual Power 100 List. Had ranked #94 in 2002. Set up a symphony orchestra in his garage to record the score for Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams (2002). He wrote two scripts for "Predator 3" (which later became _AVP: Alien Vs. Predator (2004)_). One took place at a ship in the 17th century, while the second one was about Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny Glover's characters being taken to the alien planet, as trophies. Turned down the chance to direct Kevin Smith's script for "Superman Lives" (which as of 2004 is not being made in to a feature film, having been replaced with another script). His production company was called "Los Hooligans", named after the comic strip he drew in college, but it is now titled "Troublemaker Studios". Left the Writers' Guild of America (WGA) in late 2001, citing the organization had "too many rules and just take your money." Kevin Smith also pursued Rodriguez to helm his controversial religious satire Dogma (1999). Rodriguez turned it down, insisting that the project was so personal that Smith ought to do it himself. Left the Directors' Guild of America (DGA) in March 2004 when they refused his request to share the directors' credit with Frank Miller on Sin City (2005). Other notable DGA "defectors" include his close friends George Lucas and Quentin Tarantino. The last of his movies shot on film was Spy Kids (2001). During post-production of that film at Skywalker Ranch, George Lucas introduced him to 24p HD film-making and Rodriguez was immediately converted. He owns two Sony HDW-F900 cameras, the same model used by Lucas on the Star Wars prequels. Was originally chosen to direct _John Carter of Mars (2006) for Paramount and had already begun some of the preproduction in early 2004. However, once he left the DGA, Paramount (which will only allow their films to be directed by DGA members) replaced him. Directed parts of the scene in Pulp Fiction (1994) where Quentin Tarantino appears as Jimmy. (Rodriguez was uncredited for his directing.) After seeing John Carpenter's Escape from New York (1981) at age 12, he knew he wanted to be a filmmaker. Edited Mariachi, El (1992) at a public access station in Austin, Texas. He edited from late at night to the early hours in the morning, because the time was cheaper. However the station would often close up, setting the alarm; this meant he would have to stay at his editing bench for eight hours at a time without restroom breaks. Absolutely loathed the fact that he had to shoot his movies on film to enter them into film festivals. Soon after Bedhead (1991) and Mariachi, El (1992) hit, many festivals began admitting video formats. Directed, shot and edited a concert film for Del Castillo entitled _Del Castillo: Live (2003). He and Castillo share several band members. Rodriguez uses them in his newly-formed band, Chingon (Spanish for "bad ass"). They recently released an album and played on the end credits for Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004) for his friend, Quentin Tarantino. Cousin of actor Danny Trejo. Salma Hayek is his children's godmother. Is an accomplished chef. Has resigned from the DGA twice. The first time was so he could directed the non-guild Four Rooms (1995) with Quentin Tarantino and two other directors. The second time was in 2004 when he wanted to give Frank Miller a co-director credit for Sin City (2005). Ranked #48 on Premiere's 2005 Power 50 List. Had ranked #61 in 2004. His adult-oriented movies always feature a fictional brand of beer called "Cerveza Chango". Chango is the Orisha (a deity as in the Afro-Cuban religion of Santeria - an amalgam of African tradition and Catholocism) of fire, lightning and dance. Chango is renowned for the way he avenges crimes against the innocent, a recurring theme in Rodriguez-movies in which the fictional beer appears. Since 1998, he has possessed the film rights to the comic book "Madman" by Mike Allred. Although the film has yet to be produced, Allred is the one who helped Rodriguez get in touch with Frank Miller, which led to the latter's own comic property becoming the movie Sin City (2005). As of 2006, Rodriguez and Allred have gone on record as saying that a screenplay for the "Madman" movie (based on an outline by the two of them) had been written by George Huang, with hopes to start shooting before the end of 2006. Was originally attached to direct "The Mask of Zorro" (1998), but the studio didn't agree with his much-more violent and R-rated proposal. Returning to form with his next project, Rodriguez joined old pal Tarantino to co-direct “Grindhouse” (2007), a compilation of two 90-minute long horror flicks helmed by both directors that was a throwback to the days of bloody, sex-fueled, low-rent double features that played in seedy 42nd Street theaters in New York City. Rodriguez’s offering was “Planet Terror,” a sci-fi horror flick about a ragtag group of humans led by a mysterious loner named El Wray (Freddy Rodriguez) who reunites with a former go-go dancer (Rose McGowan) to do battle with an army of flesh-eating zombies, as they become mankind’s last best hope for survival. Despite widespread attention lavished on the film including exhaustive rounds made to various media outlets by Rodriguez and Tarantino “Grindhouse” failed to generate a large crowd to theaters even some of the ones who did show up walked out halfway after Rodriguez’s “Planet Terror” segment thinking the movie was over. |
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