Picking up where
TehBear left off, Robert Rodriguez released the sequel to
Desperado, shortened to
Once Upon a Time in Mexico, in 2003, with modest success. During that time he also wrote and directed a second
sequel to
Spy Kids and composed the
score for close friend and frequent collaborator
Quentin Tarantino’s
Kill Bill 2, for the fee of one dollar. Tarantino later returned the favor (for the same fee) by
directing a scene in Rodriguez’s most ambitious film project to date, an adaptation of
Frank Miller’s popular
graphic novel series
Sin City, released in
2005.
Upon hearing that Miller was so frustrated over an earlier unsuccessful attempt to option the rights to the series that he swore it would never be filmed, Rodriguez took the liberty of filming a segment from one of the books, entitled ‘The Customer is Always Right,’ and sent it to Miller as an example of his vision for an adaptation. Miller not only quickly agreed to allow Rodriguez the rights to the stories, he also co-directed the film, assisting him in the creation of shots that were not just adaptations but actual direct recreations of panels from the novels. Rodriguez was eventually forced to resign from the Director’s Guild after insisting that Miller be given co-director credit. He also sent the segment to actors he wished to cast, including Bruce Willis, Elijah Wood, and Benicio Del Toro, all of whom signed on immediately after viewing it (it was eventually added as the opening scene to Sin City later). The film, which used state-of-the-art green screen technology, was applauded by critics for its stunning photography and visionary effects, and was a hit with audiences, both those familiar with the novels and those who weren’t.
Though Rodriguez is mostly lauded for his unconventional filmmaking style (he refuses to work in Hollywood, doing most of the technical work in a studio across the street from his home in Texas), he does have his detractors. In his book The Unkindest Cut, humorist/pop culture commentator Joe Queenan declared that it was impossible to make a film of El Mariachi’s quality on only a $7,000 budget, and set out to prove it by making his own film on the same budget, failing miserably in the process. Nevertheless, Rodriguez still stands by his original statement, and remains a favorite of independent film fans everywhere.
Rodriguez’s producer, Elizabeth Avellan, also doubles as his wife. The couple has been married since 1990 and has three children.
Sources:
http://us.imdb.com/Name?Rodriguez,+Robert
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0401792/trivia