60-573: The Mexico Trilogy (also known as the Desperado Trilogy on some released DVD products) is a series of American/Mexican contemporary western action films written and directed by Robert Rodriguez . The series' plot tells the continuing story of El Mariachi, a man who painfully lives alone after seeing all of his loved ones die. El Mariachi was portrayed by actors Carlos Gallardo and Antonio Banderas . The films were originally released in theatres from 1993 to 2003, and later on home video as
120-651: A "dalliance" with actress Rose McGowan during the shooting of Grindhouse . In October 2007, Elle Magazine revealed that Rodriguez had cast McGowan in the title role in his remake of Barbarella . They split up in October 2009. In October 2010, he walked Alexa Vega ( Carmen Cortez in Spy Kids series) down the aisle at her wedding to producer Sean Covel . In March 2014, Rodriguez showed his collection of Frank Frazetta original paintings in Austin, Texas , during
180-634: A Time in Mexico and Spy Kids , where Trejo first appeared as Machete. Although originally announced to be released direct-to-DVD as an extra on the Planet Terror DVD, the film was produced as a theatrical release. According to Rodriguez, the origins of the film go back to Desperado . He says, "When I met Danny, I said, 'This guy should be like the Mexican Jean-Claude Van Damme or Charles Bronson , putting out
240-676: A Time in Mexico , which completed the Mexico Trilogy (also called the Mariachi Trilogy). He operates a production company called Troublemaker Studios , formerly Los Hooligans Productions. Rodriguez co-directed Sin City (2005), an adaptation of the comic books by Frank Miller ; Quentin Tarantino guest-directed a scene. During production in 2004, Rodriguez insisted Miller be credited as co-director, because he considered
300-559: A Time in Mexico won two Imagen Foundation Awards for performances by Antonio Banderas and Rubén Blades . The film was also nominated for two Satellite Awards , winning Robert Rodriguez an award for Best Song ("Siente Mi Amor") and recognizing Johnny Depp with a nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role, Comedy or Musical. The movie's impressive stunts landed it two Taurus World Stunt Awards nominations. Robert Rodriguez Robert Anthony Rodriguez ( / r ɒ ˈ d r iː ɡ ɛ z / ; born June 20, 1968)
360-598: A Time in Mexico , for instance, is "shot, chopped, and scored by Robert Rodriguez", and Sin City is "shot and cut by Robert Rodriguez". 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." He prefers to work at night, spending his day-time hours with his kids, when they're home, and says that he believes many creative people are " night people ". In his book The DV Rebel's Guide , Stu Maschwitz coined
420-464: 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 . He has an interest in adapting all of Miller's Sin City comic books. Rodriguez released The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 2005, a superhero-kid movie intended for the same younger audiences as his Spy Kids series. Sharkboy and Lavagirl
480-488: A career when Rodriguez landed a deal with Columbia Pictures where Huang was an employee. In May 2007, it was announced that Rodriguez 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: A Dame to Kill For would be put on hold. She also announced that she would be playing an amazon in
540-516: A collection in 2010. The trilogy began with the 1993 ultra low-budget production of El Mariachi . The film was made on a budget of only US$ 7,000 using 16-millimeter film, was shot entirely in Mexico with a mostly amateur cast, and was originally intended to go directly to the Mexican home-video market (a process detailed in Rodriguez's book Rebel Without a Crew ). Rodriguez got some funds for
600-423: A live-action remake of Fire and Ice , a 1983 film collaboration between painter Frank Frazetta and animator Ralph Bakshi . The deal was closed shortly after Frazetta's death. In 2011, Rodriguez announced at Comic-Con that he had purchased the film rights to Heavy Metal and planned to develop a new animated film at the new Quick Draw Studios. In November 2015, it was announced that Rodriguez directed
660-422: A local film contest earned him a spot in the university's film program. There he made the award-winning 16 mm short Bedhead (1991). The film chronicles the amusing misadventures of a young girl whose older brother sports an incredibly tangled mess of hair which she detests. Even at this early stage, Rodriguez's trademark style began to emerge: quick cuts, intense zooms, and fast camera movements deployed with
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#1732800753664720-409: A marketing campaign, and the eventual distribution/release of the film. It was so well received that they eventually chose to finance the second part of the trilogy, Desperado , and subsequently the final chapter, Once Upon a Time in Mexico . El Mariachi travels through Mexico as a musician. He arrives in a small town hoping to find work in the cantinas and clubs. Troubled locals mistake him for
780-480: A movie every year and his name should be Machete.' So I decided to do that way back when, never got around to it until finally now. So now, of course, I want to keep going and do a feature." In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Rodriguez said that he wrote the screenplay back in 1993 when he cast Trejo in Desperado . "So I wrote him this idea of a federale from Mexico who gets hired to do hatchet jobs in
840-616: A movie without reading this book! Robert Rodriguez has brought a number of his favorite and most influential directors on his television show, The Director's Chair . Some of these directors included John Carpenter , Quentin Tarantino , and George Miller . Rodriguez's favorite movie as a child was Escape to Witch Mountain , and admits that film, alongside Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory , Chitty Chitty Bang Bang , various James Bond films and various Ray Harryhaussen films influenced and inspired him while he
900-407: A recently escaped convict who has been hunting down his former associates, and killing them with weapons carried in his guitar case. El Mariachi falls in love with a woman who helps hide him, but he sees her killed by those hunting him. He seeks revenge for her death. The unfortunate adventures of El Mariachi continue, following his quest for love and his thirst for revenge. A failed coup attempt on
960-751: A sense of humor. Bedhead was recognized for excellence in the Black Maria Film Festival. It was selected by Film/Video Curator Sally Berger for the Black Maria 20th-anniversary retrospective at MoMA in 2006. The short film Bedhead attracted enough attention to encourage him to seriously attempt a career as a filmmaker. He went on to shoot the action flick El Mariachi (1992) in Spanish; he shot it for around $ 7,000 with money raised by his friend Adrian Kano and from payments for his own participation in medical testing studies. During
1020-428: A two-year first-look deal with HBO and HBO Max . In 2023, he released Spy Kids: Armageddon on Netflix . The film received mixed reviews from critics. Since 1998, Rodriguez 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
1080-522: A video of himself on the set of the episode playing a guitar next to Grogu. Rodriguez was also an executive producer on The Book of Boba Fett , a spin-off of The Mandalorian released in December 2021, where he also voiced Dokk Strassi and Mok Shaiz. In 2020, Rodriguez wrote and directed We Can Be Heroes , a Sharkboy and Lavagirl spinoff, which was released on December 25, 2020, on Netflix to mixed reviews. In August 2021, Rodriguez had signed
1140-419: Is an American filmmaker, composer, and visual effects supervisor. He shoots, edits, produces, and scores many of his films in Mexico and in his home state of Texas . Rodriguez directed the 1992 action film El Mariachi , which was a commercial success after grossing $ 2.6 million ($ 5.5 million in 2023 dollars) against a budget of $ 7,000 ($ 14,937 in 2023 dollars). The film spawned two sequels known collectively as
1200-521: Is an annual film festival held in Stockholm , Sweden. It was launched in 1990 and has been held every year since then during the second half of November, and focuses on emerging and early career filmmakers. The winning film in the international competition section is awarded the Bronze Horse ( Bronshästen ), and it awards a number of other prizes. The Stockholm Film Festival was founded in 1990 by
1260-527: The Grindhouse DVD set instead. The Cooking School, titled "Texas Barbecue...from the GRAVE!", is a dish based on the "secret barbecue recipe" of JT Hague, Jeff Fahey 's character in the film. Rodriguez is a strong supporter of digital filmmaking , having been introduced to the practice by director George Lucas , who personally invited Rodriguez to use the digital cameras at Lucas's headquarters. He
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#17328007536641320-469: The Mexico Trilogy : Desperado (1995) and Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003). Rodriguez directed From Dusk till Dawn in 1996 and developed its television series adaptation (2014–2016). He co-directed the 2005 neo-noir crime thriller anthology Sin City (adapted from the graphic novel of the same name ) and the 2014 sequel, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For . He is also the creator of
1380-611: The Once Upon a Time in Mexico DVD, Rodriguez began creating a series called "Ten Minute Cooking School" in which he revealed his recipe for "Puerco Pibil" (based on Cochinita pibil , an old dish from Yucatán ), the same food Johnny Depp 's character, Agent Sands, ate in the film. The popularity of this series led to the inclusion of another "Cooking School" on the two-disc version of the Sin City DVD where Rodriguez teaches
1440-464: The Spy Kids franchise, as well as The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D (2005), Planet Terror (2007), Machete (2010), We Can Be Heroes (2020), and also directed The Faculty (1998) and Alita: Battle Angel (2019). Rodriguez is a close friend and frequent collaborator of filmmaker Quentin Tarantino , who founded the production company A Band Apart , of which Rodriguez
1500-500: The Mexico Trilogy has won various prestigious awards. El Mariachi won the Audience Award at the 1993 Sundance Film Festival and the 1993 Deauville American Film Festival , as well as Best First Feature at the 1994 Independent Spirit Awards . Desperado saw Salma Hayek nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the 1996 Saturn Awards , and was nominated for the Bronze Horse at the 1995 Stockholm Film Festival . Once Upon
1560-534: The President of Mexico is stopped by the heroic actions of El Mariachi. He sets out to avenge the murder of his wife and daughter, and discovers a connection between the marauders and their deaths. In August 2013, Sony Pictures Television announced a TV series adaptation of El Mariachi . Filming took place in Mexico with Iván Arana as the lead and Martha Higareda and Julio Brancho in supporting roles. Initially set to premiere on Sony Entertainment Television ,
1620-482: The SXSW festival. Rodriguez not only has the 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 abbreviates his numerous roles in his film credits; Once Upon
1680-558: The TV series for his own cable network, El Rey . Rodriguez has also worked with Kevin Williamson , on the sci-fi thriller film The Faculty . Rodriguez, formerly a member of Writers Guild of America West , left and maintained financial core status in 2001. That year, Rodriguez enjoyed his first Hollywood hit with Spy Kids , which went on to become a movie franchise. A third "mariachi" film also appeared in late 2003, Once Upon
1740-604: The University of Texas at Austin , where he also developed a love of cartooning. Not having grades high enough to be accepted into the school's film program, he created a daily comic strip entitled Los Hooligans. Many of the characters were based on his siblings – in particular, one of his sisters, Maricarmen. The comic ran for three years in the student newspaper The Daily Texan , while Rodriguez continued to make short films. Rodriguez shot action and horror short films on video and edited on two VCRs. In late 1990, his entry in
1800-525: The Barbarella film. As of June 2008, plans to remake the film Barbarella with Rose McGowan as the lead have been delayed; the actress and director were instead remaking the film Red Sonja . In May 2008, Rodriguez was said to be shopping around a prison drama television series called Woman in Chains! , with Rose McGowan being a possibility for a lead role. In May 2009, Rodriguez planned to produce
1860-945: The City of Stockholm. The prize is awarded to filmmakers who raise important societal issues. In 2021, due to the COVID pandemic , the Stockholm Film Festival pivoted to a hybrid model using a video-on-demand platform provided by Shift72 . This initiative included a unique partnership with Polestar to show films on their Android Automotive system, creating the world’s first in-car film festival. The festival has been visited by hundreds of filmmakers and since its inception, including Dennis Hopper , Lauren Bacall , Gena Rowlands , Charlotte Rampling , Susan Sarandon , Ang Lee , Andrea Arnold , David Cronenberg , Roman Polanski , Terry Gilliam , David Lynch , Claire Denis , Elia Kazan , Céline Sciamma , Francis Ford Coppola , Wong Kar-Wai , and Uma Thurman . Since its start
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1920-675: The Spanish-language series premiered on AXN across Latin America on March 20, 2014. El Mariachi ran for one season consisting of 71 episodes—airing on MundoFox in the United States and MBC Action in the Middle East. This section includes characters who will appear or have appeared in more than two films in the series. All three films were made using Rodriguez's "Mariachi-style" of filmmaking in which (according to
1980-801: The Stockholm International Film Festival has also been the host of Summer Cinema, an outdoor cinema open to the public during August in Stockholm. Summer Cinema has taken place in different venues in the Swedish capital, for example, Stockholm Olympic Stadium , Berzelii Park , and Rålambshovsparken . The Stockholm Industry Days of the festival are held at Filmhuset , home of the Swedish Film Institute . Here, works-in-progress are presented, and master classes and seminars are held. The winning film in
2040-476: The Stockholm International Film Festival has focused on supporting new talents through competitions and scholarships. As many as a third of the films selected for the competition are made by a debuting director and by directors who have made fewer than three films. The festival hosts seminars, gala screenings, and opportunities to meet actors and filmmakers. It also organises mobile film workshops for children and teenagers, screenings for festival members throughout
2100-416: The U.S. I had heard sometimes FBI or DEA have a really tough job that they don't want to get their own agents killed on, they'll hire an agent from Mexico to come do the job for $ 25,000. I thought, "That's Machete . He would come and do a really dangerous job for a lot of money to him but for everyone else over here it's peanuts." But I never got around to making it." Rodriguez hoped to film Machete at
2160-563: The back cover of his book Rebel Without a Crew ) "creativity, not money, is used to solve problems." Made on low budgets, all three movies have been extremely profitable. El Mariachi was made for $ 7,000 and grossed more than $ 2 million in its theatrical release. Desperado was made for $ 7 million and grossed over $ 25.5 million in US theaters. Once Upon a Time in Mexico was made for $ 29 million and grossed over $ 56.3 million domestically, and an additional $ 41.0 million worldwide. Each installment of
2220-652: The capital to recreate the ice canvas in Kungsträdgården. In 2011 the Stockholm Film Festival Feature Film Award was inaugurated, which funds a feature film for an unestablished female director. When director and actor Peter Fonda arrived at the festival as chairman of the jury in 2012, he made his entrance in style, escorted to the Skandia cinema by an entire motorcycle gang. The Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei
2280-618: The film 100 Years , which would not be released until 2115. In March 2017, it was announced that Rodriguez would direct a remake of the dystopian sci-fi action film Escape from New York , with original director John Carpenter producing. Rodriguez has a chapter giving advice in Tim Ferriss 's book Tools of Titans . Rodriguez announced in April 2006 that he and his wife Elizabeth Avellán , with whom he had five children, had separated after 16 years of marriage. He reportedly had
2340-417: The film by serving as a human guinea pig to science labs. Other finances came in the form of prize money won by his short student film, Bedhead , at film festival competitions. Executives at Columbia Pictures liked the film so much that they bought the rights to it for American distribution. They eventually spent several times more than the film's original production budget on 35 millimeter-film transfers,
2400-470: The film fared reasonably well at the box office. Machete is a feature film directed by Rodriguez and released in September 2010. It is an expansion of a fake trailer Rodriguez directed for the 2007 film Grindhouse . It starred Danny Trejo as the title character. Trejo, Rodriguez's 2nd cousin, has worked with him in some of his other movies such as Desperado , From Dusk till Dawn , Once Upon
2460-422: The film in his book Rebel Without a Crew (1995). Desperado was a sequel to El Mariachi that starred Antonio Banderas and introduced Salma Hayek to international audiences as her English-language breakthrough role. Rodriguez went on to collaborate with Quentin Tarantino on the vampire thriller From Dusk till Dawn (also both co-producing its two sequels ), and he wrote, directed, and produced
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2520-489: The international competition section is awarded the Bronze Horse (Bronshästen). At 7.3kg (16 lb) the Bronze Horse is the heaviest film award in the world. It is also a paraphrase of a national design icon, the Swedish Dala horse , and was created by artist Fredrik Swärd. The following films have received the top honour at the festival, the 7.3 kg Bronze Horse statute for best film. Stockholm Lifetime Achievement Award
2580-658: The process of these medical studies, he met Peter Marquardt, who went on to act in El Mariachi . Rodriguez won the Audience Award for this film at the Sundance Film Festival in 1993. Intended for the Spanish-language low-budget home-video market, the film was "cleaned up" by Columbia Pictures with post-production work costing several hundred thousand dollars before it was distributed in the United States. Its promotion still advertised it as "the movie made for $ 7,000". Rodriguez described his experiences making
2640-404: The same time as Sin City: A Dame to Kill For . Additionally, during Comic-Con International 2008 , he took the time to speak about Machete, including such topics as: status, possible sequels after the release of Machete, and production priorities. It was also revealed that he has regularly pulled sequences from it for his other productions, including Once Upon a Time in Mexico . Machete
2700-485: The term "Robert Rodriguez list", i.e. the filmmaker compiling a list of things they have access to like cool cars, apartments, horses, samurai swords and so on, and then writing the screenplay based on that list. Rodriguez wrote a blurb for the book that stated: I'd been wanting to write a book for the new breed of digital filmmakers, but now I don't have to. My pal and fellow movie maker Stu Maschwitz has compressed years of experience into this thorough guide. Don't make
2760-570: The three film enthusiasts Git Scheynius, Kim Klein, and Ignas Shceynius. The first festival took place over four days, with its opening film being " Wild at Heart " by David Lynch . In 1994, the Stockholm Film Festival took a step into the digital age as the first film festival in the world with its own website. David Lynch visited the festival for the first time in 2003 to receive the Stockholm Lifetime Achievement Award, 13 years after Wild at Heart inaugurated
2820-508: The very first edition of the Stockholm Film Festival. The Stockholm Film Festival celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2009 by screening films on a specially made ice screen in Kungsträdgården. Susan Sarandon, who attended the festival to receive the Stockholm Lifetime Achievement Award, helped to unveil the canvas before the screening of " The Rocky Horror Picture Show ". At the festival's 30th anniversary celebration in 2019, several tons of ice were yet again transported from Torneälven, 1227 km to
2880-524: The viewer how to make "Sin City Breakfast Tacos", a dish (made for his cast and crew during late-night shoots and editing sessions) 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 DVD release of Planet Terror but then announced on the "Film School" segment of the DVD that he would put it on
2940-577: 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", e.g. , the Wachowskis , could share the director's credit. Rodriguez 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
3000-507: The year as well as the Stockholm Film Festival Junior, an annual film festival for children and youth during the spring. The main goal of the Stockholm Film Festival Junior is to provide access to quality films from every corner of the world for young audiences – films that otherwise would not reach the mainstream film repertoire. All screenings are free of charge for everyone between 6 and 19 years old. Since 1990,
3060-560: Was a member. In December 2013, Rodriguez launched his own cable television channel, El Rey . Rodriguez was born in San Antonio , Texas, the son of Mexican parents Rebecca ( née Villegas), a nurse, and Cecilio G. Rodríguez, a salesman. He began his interest in film at age eleven, when his father bought one of the first VCRs , which came with a camera. While attending St. Anthony High School Seminary in San Antonio, Rodriguez
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#17328007536643120-540: Was based on a story conceived by Rodriguez's 7-year-old son, Racer, who was given credit for the screenplay. The film grossed over $ 69 million worldwide at the box office. Rodriguez wrote and directed the film Planet Terror as part of the double-bill release Grindhouse (2007). Quentin Tarantino directed Grindhouse' s other film. He 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
3180-483: Was commissioned to videotape the school's football games. According to his sister, he was fired soon afterward as he had shot footage in a cinematic style, getting shots of parents' reactions and the ball traveling through the air instead of shooting the whole play. In high school, he met Carlos Gallardo ; they both shot films on video throughout high school and college. Rodriguez went to the College of Communication at
3240-472: Was instrumental in connecting Rodriguez with Frank Miller, leading to the production of Sin City .) In 2004, Allred, while promoting his comic book The Golden Plates , announced that a screenplay by George Huang was near completion. Allred announced at the 2006 WonderCon that production would likely commence on Madman the Movie in 2006. Huang is friends with Rodriguez, who advised him to pursue filmmaking as
3300-501: Was part of the festival jury in 2013, but could not be present as he was under house arrest in his home country. He created the work of art "The Chair of Nonattendance" which was sent to Stockholm; an empty chair that is impossible to sit in. The collaboration inspired the establishment of the Stockholm Impact Award; one of the world's largest film prizes, which was awarded for the first time in 2015 in collaboration with
3360-655: Was presented with the Extraordinary Contribution to Filmmaking Award at the 2010 Austin Film Festival . In 2010, Rodriguez produced a new Predator sequel, entitled Predators . This film's script was based on early drafts he had written after seeing the original. Rodriguez's ideas included a planet-sized game preserve and various creatures used by the Predators to hunt a group of abducted yet skilled humans. Opening to mostly positive reviews,
3420-637: Was released in theaters September 3, 2010, in the U.S. On May 5, 2010, Rodriguez responded to Arizona's controversial immigration law by releasing an "illegal" trailer on Ain't It Cool News. The fake trailer combined elements of the Machete trailer that appeared in Grindhouse with footage from the actual film, and implied that the film would be about Machete leading a revolt against anti-immigration politicians and border vigilantes. Several movie websites, including Internet Movie Database , reported that it
3480-528: Was the official teaser for the film. However, Rodriguez later revealed the trailer to be a joke, explaining "it was Cinco de Mayo and I had too much tequila ." In May 2020, Rodriguez announced, via an Instagram post in which he posed with a puppet of Grogu , that he would direct an episode from the second season of the Disney+ series The Mandalorian , part of the Star Wars franchise. He also tweeted
3540-415: Was unwilling to make or set a precedent that might hurt the guild later on." By resigning from the DGA, Rodriguez was forced to relinquish his director's seat on the film John Carter of Mars for Paramount Pictures . Rodriguez 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
3600-1069: Was working on the Spy Kids series. He also said on IGN that children will support anything that is empowering to them, citing Home Alone and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers , saying " You can't understand, 'Why do you like Power Rangers?' Well, it's empowerment, and children – especially younger children – they need their mom just to go to the mall, you know? They can't drive themselves wherever they want. So when they see kids being very empowered, flying around in jet packs, being proactive, it's empowering to them ". Rodriguez has cast certain actors in more than one of his projects. Danny Trejo has appeared in ten of his projects, while Antonio Banderas , Salma Hayek , and Cheech Marin have all appeared in seven; Alexa PenaVega has appeared in six, and Jessica Alba , Daryl Sabara , Tom Savini , and Patricia Vonne have all appeared in five. Stockholm Film Festival The Stockholm International Film Festival ( Swedish : Stockholms filmfestival )
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