NEW MEDIUM: Robert Rodriguez, creator of such films as From Dawn till Dusk, the Spy Kids movies and Sin City, has founded the new network, the El Rey, aimed at English speaking Hispanics and those who love his innovative filmmaking.
Filmmaker Robert Rodriguez reveals his mantra of success as he launches a new TV channel.
By Luaine Lee
Filmmaker Robert Rodriguez says the secret to success is failure. The man who made his first movie at 24 for $7,000 has never stopped moving in spite of setbacks. “When I do a seminar on filmmaking I tell people the biggest mistake you can make is to fear failure,” he says, perched on the edge of a desk chair in a meeting room here in Pasadena California.
“You should always fear forward. If you have a fear, you should go, ‘Oh, that means I’m on the right track. That means I’m doing something I didn’t try before.’ If you play safe, you’re probably wasting your time.”
Known for films like Sin City, the Spy Kids franchise and From Dawn till Dusk, Rodriguez faces his biggest challenge yet.
He is founder and chairman of the new TV channel, the El Rey Network, an English language network aimed at Hispanics. He’s creating and producing its first original 10-part series, From Dawn till Dusk, based on his movie. It begins airing this week.
Even when he was a kid, Rodriguez, 45, never let defeat deter him. The problem was he couldn’t concentrate on any particular goal. He made poor grades and didn’t excel at anything. “I had scattered focus,” says Rodriguez, who’s wearing his signature black leather jacket and cap.
“I hated sports. I wanted to be a cartoonist. I loved photography. I loved music. I loved filmmaking. I had so many hobbies. And you just realise you want to find something that you’re passionate about, that you can focus your attention on and put all of your ‘thing’ into it. I’ve been doing it since I was 12, and I’m still doing it.”
One of 10 kids, Rodriguez worried his parents. “My older brother and sister were great in sports, great in school, and I was always drawing in class. I couldn’t pay attention. Not that I was hyperactive at all, just very quiet. I was worried about myself thinking, ‘What job am I ever going to get? I’m not getting very good grades. I’m going to be stuck in some menial labour job because I’m not going to make a living drawing.’ That’s all I liked to do — and making little movies.”
But his dad, who sold cookware, supported his quixotic ways. “When I said, ‘I think I want to play saxophone.’ My dad got me a used saxophone. When I said I wanted to study piano, they gave me piano lessons. When I said I wanted to borrow his video camera to make a home movie, they let me do that. They wanted me so badly to find an interest. And I found it was ALL those things.”
Mastering technology has been one of his missions, ever since he was 16 and worked part time in a camera shop. Though he didn’t know it at the time, that experience changed his life. The owner told him to learn the camera so he could sell it more effectively.
“So I went home and shot pictures of my brothers and sisters, brought them back, and he’s like, ‘These are so creative. These are amazing photos. You have to learn how to be technical, though, because most creative people are not technical and technicians are never creative,’ he was told.
“’A creative person — if they apply themselves — they can become technical. It’s against their nature. But if they really apply themselves they can be technical. And if you’re creative and technical you’ll be unstoppable.’ I remember at 16 hearing the word ‘unstoppable,’ going, ‘Wow, that makes so much sense.’”
Launching a new network is part of his unstoppable drive. Through El Rey, Rodriguez will have a built-in distributor for his films. It also offers newbie Latino filmmakers a place to display their wares. But it doesn’t stop there, says Rodriguez, sketching a timeline on a piece of paper. — MCT
Bloody ancient Greece fantasy-action movie 300: Rise of an Empire slayed the competition at the North American box office, industry figures showed. The gory follow-up to the 2007 hit 300 raked in $45mn in its opening weekend, although it was some way off the $70.9mn the original film earned on opening.
The latest film, based on a not-yet-released graphic novel by Frank Miller, sees the return of several characters from the first film, notably the fearsome Persian warrior Xerxes played by Rodrigo Santoro. In second place was another debut, animated children’s film Mr Peabody & Sherman. The film, based on characters from the 1960s television cartoon Rocky and Bullwinkle follows the adventures of a super-intelligent canine who adopts a human infant.
The Fox movie took $32.2mn, box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations reported. In third spot was last week’s number one film, Non-Stop, the Liam Neeson action movie set on a long-haul flight. The film added another $15.8mn to its total earnings. Fourth place was occupied by The Lego Movie, the hit animated film inspired by the children’s toy building blocks, with $10.9mn. Religious epic Son of God meanwhile added $10.4mn to take fifth spot. — AFP
JLo feels as young as 28
Singer-actress Jennifer Lopez, 44, has so many projects in her kitty as of now that she almost feels like she’s as young as 28. She is a weekly host of reality show American Idol; she’s busy shooting a new TV drama; she’s about to release her tenth studio album; she is also the head of her own clothing empire; and a mother to 6-year-old twins. Still, the 44-year-old maintains her energy levels more than ever.
“I feel like I felt when I was 28, my bones don’t hurt. I feel great. I actually feel better, more confident,” Lopez told Instyle magazine, reports people.com. “Of course, I still have the nerves, but now I know how to control them. When I was in my 20s, I wasn’t sure of myself,” she added. She is not afraid of failure anymore either. “Now I can really stretch. I don’t have to stay in the box. At this point I can say to myself, so what if I fall, so what?, I’m going to get back up,” she added. — IANS
Myers skips fest for fatherhood preparation
Actor Mike Myers cancelled his appearance at the ongoing Miami International Film Festival in Florida as he is occupied with preparing for the arrival of his second baby. The Shrek star was scheduled to attend the event to promote his documentary Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon, about the hell-raising music manager behind Alice Cooper and Jimi Hendrix. But he decided to stay in New York to look after his heavily pregnant wife Kelly, reports New York Post gossip column Page Six. — IANS
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YOUNG AT HEART: Jennifer Lopez