Who doesn’t know who Robert Rodriguez is? Not just as a one-man studio ‘ he directs, he shoots, he edits, and he even composes music for his films ‘ but also as the poster boy for digital capture for feature films. F&V caught up with him in the three-minute lull between launching Shark Boy and Lava Girl and Sin City and starting his latest project: a double-feature horror film, Grind house, with Quentin Tarantino, to be shot in the fall. Each director will write and direct an hour-long feature, and the two will be connected with trailers for non-existant movies in an effort to recreate the drive-in movie experience. And yes, it will be shot with a digital camera.
F&V: What was the main inspiration behind being a one-man film studio?
It started in my very first movie, El Mariachi, which I made
without a film crew at all. Because the budget was low, I had to learn
all those jobs. I liked the way it worked. I didn’t have to split it up
and work with a big group. My philosophy became: Get a small group of
talented people and do multiple jobs. It’s a lot more fun that way.
F&V: Does digital filmmaking allow filmmakers to more easily blur job descriptions and hyphenate?
Absolutely – it just simplified everything. When you get into the
alchemy of chemicals and limitations of the century-old medium, digital
is immediate. We can move really fast. I liken it to moving at the
speed of thought. As an artist, painter, you just grab the paint and
put it on the canvas. Traditional filmmaking seemed like the exact
opposite: it takes so long to do anything, you lose your groove. I’ve
been trying to turn filmmaking more into the immediacy of playing music
or drawing. The actors love it. While I’m still shooting, the guys
upstairs [in Troublemaker Studios] can composite a shot and come down
and show us how it looks. It’s like real-time jazz.
F&V: What’s your favorite stage of production?
I think the last part is always the most fun. It’s kind of like cooking
– when you’re shooting, you’re at the store getting the ingredients –
at the end you can taste it. Everything’s at the peak of creative
activity and you’re seeing everything come together. As soon as it’s
done, people say, "You must be happy it’s over," but I’d like to jump
back into the tornado.
F&V: What was it like co-directing Sin City – how do you split duties, etc?
Co-directing was wonderful – I told Frank [Miller] "Look at your
drawings- you’re already a writer, director, cameraman." It’s all
storytelling- you learn from artists in another medium, their
techniques of problem solving.
I learned a lot of great ideas from Frank. I think I learned more about
directing from him than he did from me. I also saw a kinship with him-
he keeps it immediate and moving at the speed of thought, so I knew
he’d love this way of working. He created entire worlds sitting at his
table.
F&V: What was your comfort level working remotely with visual effects houses- The Orphanage, Cafà© FX and Hybride?
I developed a look and shot the Sin City opening sequence before
we even had a deal for the movie. My guys did the effects in a week for
the opening sequence. Then I did the music. I had that whole opening to
show actors- that’s how we got a great cast- and convinced the studios
it would work. Then all the other VFX houses followed that lead.
Since the first Spy Kids, I’ve been using this QuickTime synchro
program where I can sit in my editing room, talk to VFX houses and see
a shot play out in real time. I can draw on it, so I can have a VFX
meeting with them any time of day or night. It saves so much time and
money- I can say, put a light here, fix this, do this. It’s so
efficient, as if they’re in my editing room. They can be in California
or Canada.
F&V: You’ve often been quoted as saying "film is dead." Has your opinion
on this changed at all? What do you say to your critics who call
celluloid a superior medium?
They’re really living in denial. It’s all going that way, and when they
embrace it, I can say, "I’ve already done 10 movies – what took you so
long?" People ask if I would go back to shooting film. I say, "I’m
driving a Ferrari- why would I go back to a horse and buggy?" Artists
are usually technology-averse, although there are some who are
pioneers, cutting-edge people. The movie industry is still shooting
film, but everyone else is shooting digital. The directors are
interested in learning digital, but cinematographers don’t want to
learn a new craft. Editors used to say that about the Avid. Now you put
a gun to their head and they won’t go back to editing film.
F&V: What’s the best advice you’ve ever gotten?
When I was 15, my first job was working in a photo shop. My boss wanted
me to learn the cameras so I could help sell them, so he gave me the
cameras to go shoot photos. I took my photos back and he told me I was
creative- and that I needed to learn to be technical. "You can learn
how to be technical," he said. "You have to apply yourself. And when
you’re creative and technical, you’re unstoppable." I’ve spent my whole
life since then learning about technology because I knew that
technology would free me as an artist.