Robert Rodriguez - Biography

Last Editor: alohaphaeds				Robert Rodriguez Biography -   Name : Robert Rodriguez Profession : Film director Birth Details : born June 20, 1968 Birth name : Robert Anthony Rodriguez Height : 6' 2" (1.88 m) Nickname : The Wizard Personal quotes : "I didn't want Frank [Miller, creator of the comic "Sin City" and co-writer on the film] to be treated just as a writer because he is the Spouse : Elizabeth Avellan (1990 - present) 4 children Trade mark : DVD releases of his movies always include a do-it-yourself/behind-the-scenes features on the movies entitled "10-minute Film School" (although

Robert Rodriguez Trivia -

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. Sons: Racer Rodriguez, Rocket Valentin, Rebel Antonio. 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, 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)_ (V) . 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). His wife is pregnant with their 5th child (due winter 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.

Robert Rodriguez Detailed Biography -

Robert Rodríguez (born June 20, 1968) is a Mexican-American film director. He was born in San Antonio, Texas and attended the University of Texas at Austin. He is known for making profitable, crowd-pleasing independent and studio films with fairly low budgets and fast schedules by Hollywood standards. Rodríguez is of Mexican descent and shoots and produces his films in Texas and Mexico. Rodríguez grew up shooting action and horror short films on video, and editing on two VCRs. He made his film festival debut with the short film Bedhead, which 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, inspired by John Woo films. 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 distributed by Columbia Pictures in the United States. 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. While very few of those hopefuls went on to successful careers, 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. He then collaborated with Quentin Tarantino on the vampire thriller From Dusk Till Dawn (which would see two sequels, which he co-produced) and with Kevin Williamson on the teen horror sci-fi flick The Faculty. 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. He operates a production company called Troublemaker Studios, formerly Los Hooligans Productions, after Los Hooligans, a comic strip he wrote and drew at UT. Rodríguez directed Sin City (2005), an adaptation of the Frank Miller Sin City comic books; Quentin Tarantino also directed a scene. During production in 2004, Rodríguez insisted that Miller receive a "co-director" credit 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." Unfortunately, by resigning from the DGA, Rodríguez was also forced to relinquish his director's seat on the film John Carter of Mars (2006) (at the time "A Princess of Mars" after the book on which it was based) 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 consequently 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 2006. He has stated that he is interested in eventually adapting all of Miller's Sin City comic books. There is an announced Sin City 3 starring Jennifer Tilly in 2007. Rodríguez also released The Adventures of Shark Boy & Lava Girl in 3-D 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' then 7 year old son, Racer, who was given credit for the screenplay. The film was not a major sucess, 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. He has a series of "Ten Minute School" segments, explaining his use of digital cameras and good cheap special effects to make movies profitable and even revealing his recipe for "puerco pilbil" based on the real "cochinita pibil". A strong supporter of digital filmmaking, Rodriguez was introduced to this by none other than George Lucas who personally invited Rodriguez to the use of digital cameras at his headquarters. Rodriguez has five children; Rocket, Racer, Rebel, Rogue, and Rhiannon. Robert Rodriguez pushes the term "filmmaker" to new extents. Not only does he have the usual credits of producing, directing and writing his films, he also frequently serves as the editor, director of photography, 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."