by Fred Topel
“You don’t want to be asking permission. Look how that slows you down.”
– Robert Rodriguez
Robert Rodriguez was always an independent self starter. He made his first movie, El Mariachi, for $7000 and kept doing things his own way. He started his own studio facility, Troublemaker Studios, where he’s shot Sin City, Machete, Predators and more. Now he has his own company.
Quick Draw Productions is a step above the production facility Rodriguez already has in Austin, TX. As a production Company, Quick Draw will produce sequels to Machete and Sin City, as well as remakes of Heavy Metal and Fire and Ice. This year Quick Draw partnered with computer giant AMD to use their technology for Quick Draw Animation.
Today’s movie lovers are reaping the benefits of many of Rodriguez’ innovations. He actually made Spy Kids 3-D before the current wave of 3-D films, and the green screen movie (like 300) was largely innovated on Sin City.
He was also a pioneer of shooting digitally. He gave George Clooney his first leading role in From Dusk ‘Til Dawn and he introduced stars like Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek and Danny Trejo to English speaking audiences.
During a trip to Rodriguez’ home base of Austin, I got to catch up with the busy filmmaker. This was even before he announced Sin City: A Dame to Kill For was starting production. But we had plenty to talk about with his new production company, animation studio, and even his own network. We also talked about the state of independence, since Rodriguez is now a major player in the industry.
Read our exclusive interview with Robert Rodriguez on SuicideGirls.com.
