Get involved, create your own opportunities -- that's the advice to
would-be film-makers from Robert Rodriguez who tells William Russell
about his 'short' cut to big-time movie-making
SO you want to be in pictures? How is it done? One man who did it his
way is Robert Rodriguez whose film, El Mariachi, about mixed identities,
a guitar player, a hit man and a dog, is proof that if one gets off
one's bottom long enough to do something about it one can make a film.
He is in Edinburgh to give the benefit of his experience to
bottom-sitters and doers alike at the festival's Just Do It seminar.
El Mariachi has been acquired by Columbia. What you see is, give or
take an improved sound track and some minor details, the film he made 18
months ago in the small Mexican border town of Acuna for the Spanish
video market.
He decided that, if he could make an award-winning short film, eight
minutes long, for $800, he could make a feature film 80 minutes long for
around $8000.
''I reckoned I could make at least double my investment and I would
continue to make film after film to get practice,'' he said. ''Having
made so many short films I wanted to start on features. If the film was
no good it would be hidden on Spanish video and nobody would know and I
could redeem myself on the second and third parts of the story.
''The first movie was to be about the genesis of El Mariachi, the
character played by Carlos Gallardo, and the plan was to follow his
adventures. This movie was actually supposed to be the practice one
before the movie that would break me out.''
Rodriguez showed a trailer for his film and a copy of Bedhead, an
award-winning short he had made, to the Spanish distributors and to the
Hollywood agency ICM.
''The agency loved what they saw and I sent them the subtitled version
of the film,'' he said. ''I had transferred from my negative straight on
to video so they thought they were looking at a film print and sent it
to various people. Columbia bought it. They thought they might remake
it, but decided to make a film print to show to test audiences.''
The result -- Columbia decided to stick with El Mariachi and Rodriguez
set about remixing the sound in stereo for commercial release. As to how
he raised the $8000, 3000 came from working in a research hospital
during the summer of 1991 as a kind of human guinea pig, the rest from
family and friends.
He is proud of having made the breakthrough as a Spanish American and
his advice, directed to other Spanish Americans longing to make films,
is equally pertinent for would-be film-makers here.
''I told them not to wait for the industry to cast us in movies,'' he
said. ''We are like invisible people here in America. Do what I did. Go
make your own movie, prove to them we can be in movies people will
enjoy. Hopefully people will get the message from this picture. It is to
get involved, create your own opportunities. That is what the African
Americans did. Spike Lee sold tube socks. People got the message. That
is what we need to do. You have to make your movie yourself. No-one is
going to do it for you.''
His technical advice is to do what he did by accident. Shoot on film
and transfer and edit on video. The result will look beautiful and save
money. Editing film costs a lot and if nobody wants the result at least
you have not spent all that money on a film print.
''I have been making films, drawing little flip cartoons, since I was
at grade school,'' he said.''I felt bad going to school. My brother and
sister both were so much better than I was and I thought I would just
draw and make cartoons all my life. Then my dad bought a home video
camera for his business -- he sells cookware -- and I started making
films with it using the family. I made them for years. You hear of these
independent movies costing over $100,000. I never thought I would get
anywhere because I did not have that kind of money. But the films were
entertaining and with each one I got better. I just kept with it.
''I went to film school but I could not get into the film department
because my grades were not high enough. Eventually I won a local
festival with a film that beat movies from the school so they took me in
and gave me a 60mm camera. I made Bedhead.''
That led to writing El Mariachi with Gallardo. The two boys had
previously made films in Gallardo's home town so when they turned up
seeking permission to film they got it.
''We would show the films we made on the local TV station and when it
came time to make this movie everyone in Acuna knew us,'' Rodriguez
said. ''The guns we use in the film are real guns. The cops would close
the streets and they lent us their guns. We shot there for two weeks. We
got permission from the mayor and the army who knew we were doing
something positive. They helped us out. We would run around with the
cops' guns and go back inside before it got too hot. We did not have to
steal the location.''
A second Mariachi film starts shooting in September with Gallardo
again in the title role plus a few name actors to make it a little more
bankable and his aim is to create new Latino stars. Rodriguez is not
worried about being swallowed up by the studios now he has a two-year
production and development deal with Columbia.
''When you use low budget it is a pimple to the studio because even if
the film is awful they will still make the money back on video sales,''
he said. ''When you are using $20m or $30m they want more say. This way
they can get a return on their investment and I get more freedom.''
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