Listen To Two Podcast Interviews With Robert Rodriguez, Director Says He'll Make A $7000 Movie Next Year
For well over two decades Robert Rodriguez has been an inspiration for young, broke filmmakers hoping to cobble together a feature length film in their own backyard on their own dime. The incomparably talented writer-director-producer-cinematographer-soundman broke onto the scene in 1992 (the same year as his longtime friend and collaborating partner, Quentin Tarantino) with his dusty gangster flick, “El Mariachi,” which he shot all by himself on the super cheap. Looking back at the paltry $7,000 Rodriguez filmed the movie for, the figure is impressive even today — most noticeably for the fact that roughly $6,400 was spent on film alone. While inflation has risen in the years since, so too have young filmmakers’ abilities to actually make a film. Most everyone carries a high resolution camera in their pocket. No matter how you cut it, Rodriguez was a pioneer, a director who revolutionized independent film, and one who continues to push boundaries.
In recent years Rodriguez has...