A little over twenty-five years ago,Robert Rodriguezburst on the scene with his almost no-budget debut film,El Mariachi. Made for only $7,000, Rodriguez used every shortcut he could think of to make his movie, including raising some of the money by signing up for medical experiments. He actually documented the experience in his widely read book,Rebel Without a Crew, which showed everyone how you could make a movie for almost no money.
When the twenty-fifth anniversary of the film hit, Rodriguez decided to make another $7,000 film using the notes he wrote while in the Medical Research Facility, and documenting the process on video for the digital age. The result were two films that premiered a few days ago at SXSW:Red 11(the small-budget movie) andThe Robert Rodriguez Film School(which is a six episode docuseries, running 135 minutes, exploring how they did it). If you’re someone who has always wanted to make a movie with no money, Rodriguez wants to show you how to hack the system.
Shortly before the world premieres, Robert Rodriguez stopped by the Collider Studio at SXSW to talk about the projects. During the wide-ranging interview, he spoke about where the idea came from, the importance of refusing to spend money, the “profound experience” of going back and making a film with $7,000 again, and howRed 11is inspired by what happened to him. Plus, why he wanted to make a new movie for that low cost and then document the process digitally, how creativity dominates when resources are stripped away, and so much more.
In addition, he played “Get To Know Your SXSW Attendee,” which includes a number of questions like what TV show he’d like to guest-star on, what he collects, what’s his favorite fantasy or sci-fi movie, what film scared him as a kid, his first movie or TV show crush, if he prefersGame of ThronesorBreaking Bad, and a lot of other fun stuff.
Finally, I’d also like to take a moment to give special thanks to our Collider Studio partner, A-List Communications. At the Supper Suite venue in Austin, libations were flowing courtesy of El Tesoro Tequila, Blue Moon Belgian White, and Hint Water. Without these fine folks, we wouldn’t be able to share conversations about movies likeRed 11with all of you, so another big thank you to our partners for their support.
Robert Rodriguez:
