Robert Rodriguez

Promises no action. No one's gonna watch it. But I thought if someone actually picks it up and has the balls to watch this thing, they're gonna be surprised I put a lot of action in. It was just to learn from. I just needed to make it for as little as possible, see how much I could sell it for, If I could double my money, great. I can make another one and just get more practice.

It was just, I was so intrigued by this idea because you've heard advice about screenwriting. I heard advice back then that I thought was ridiculous. It said, it's going to take you a long time to be a good screenwriter. So write three scripts and throw them away. The fourth script will be the good one. It's so hard to write a script.

It was just, I was so intrigued by this idea because you've heard advice about screenwriting. I heard advice back then that I thought was ridiculous. It said, it's going to take you a long time to be a good screenwriter. So write three scripts and throw them away. The fourth script will be the good one. It's so hard to write a script.

It was just, I was so intrigued by this idea because you've heard advice about screenwriting. I heard advice back then that I thought was ridiculous. It said, it's going to take you a long time to be a good screenwriter. So write three scripts and throw them away. The fourth script will be the good one. It's so hard to write a script.

Who's going to write three full scripts knowing they throw them away? Wouldn't it be better if you write three scripts and then shoot each one and be the cameraman, be the sound guy, be everything. Cause that way you're learning, not just writing, you're learning how to make a movie. So that was my idea. I'm going to make three of these, hide it on Spanish video, but make money back.

Who's going to write three full scripts knowing they throw them away? Wouldn't it be better if you write three scripts and then shoot each one and be the cameraman, be the sound guy, be everything. Cause that way you're learning, not just writing, you're learning how to make a movie. So that was my idea. I'm going to make three of these, hide it on Spanish video, but make money back.

Who's going to write three full scripts knowing they throw them away? Wouldn't it be better if you write three scripts and then shoot each one and be the cameraman, be the sound guy, be everything. Cause that way you're learning, not just writing, you're learning how to make a movie. So that was my idea. I'm going to make three of these, hide it on Spanish video, but make money back.

That's like my own film school paying me, paying me to learn. So the first one I thought, let me just shoot it. one take each because my friend Carlos lives in Mexico. If we shoot two takes, most of the cost is to film. I've just doubled my budget. So let me just shoot one take. Some of it's gonna not come out, but I'm not gonna know what. I'm not gonna shoot a safety one.

That's like my own film school paying me, paying me to learn. So the first one I thought, let me just shoot it. one take each because my friend Carlos lives in Mexico. If we shoot two takes, most of the cost is to film. I've just doubled my budget. So let me just shoot one take. Some of it's gonna not come out, but I'm not gonna know what. I'm not gonna shoot a safety one.

That's like my own film school paying me, paying me to learn. So the first one I thought, let me just shoot it. one take each because my friend Carlos lives in Mexico. If we shoot two takes, most of the cost is to film. I've just doubled my budget. So let me just shoot one take. Some of it's gonna not come out, but I'm not gonna know what. I'm not gonna shoot a safety one.

That doubles my, let me see. Some things might come out. I expected like 70% of it to maybe be okay, but 30% I might have to come reshoot, which is fine. I just drive back there and then I just reshoot just those shots, right? So I just went, let's shoot.

That doubles my, let me see. Some things might come out. I expected like 70% of it to maybe be okay, but 30% I might have to come reshoot, which is fine. I just drive back there and then I just reshoot just those shots, right? So I just went, let's shoot.

That doubles my, let me see. Some things might come out. I expected like 70% of it to maybe be okay, but 30% I might have to come reshoot, which is fine. I just drive back there and then I just reshoot just those shots, right? So I just went, let's shoot.

we stop we come back then I send it off to develop because we're shooting two weeks consecutively to get film shipped back and forth from Mexico to see if it came out you just couldn't do it I just had to you know, double down on it, do it. One take everything. I remember one time I was still an actor, man, I told you to run through that shot and you, and you go, Oh, let me do it.

we stop we come back then I send it off to develop because we're shooting two weeks consecutively to get film shipped back and forth from Mexico to see if it came out you just couldn't do it I just had to you know, double down on it, do it. One take everything. I remember one time I was still an actor, man, I told you to run through that shot and you, and you go, Oh, let me do it.

we stop we come back then I send it off to develop because we're shooting two weeks consecutively to get film shipped back and forth from Mexico to see if it came out you just couldn't do it I just had to you know, double down on it, do it. One take everything. I remember one time I was still an actor, man, I told you to run through that shot and you, and you go, Oh, let me do it.

No, one take, dude, just think about next time. Do what I say. I didn't think anyone was going to see it. So you, and because you don't think anyone's going to see it, you end up doing something remarkable, which is, well, I'm just going to make something for myself. Because if I was making a movie that was going to go to Sundance, I wouldn't have made that movie.

No, one take, dude, just think about next time. Do what I say. I didn't think anyone was going to see it. So you, and because you don't think anyone's going to see it, you end up doing something remarkable, which is, well, I'm just going to make something for myself. Because if I was making a movie that was going to go to Sundance, I wouldn't have made that movie.

No, one take, dude, just think about next time. Do what I say. I didn't think anyone was going to see it. So you, and because you don't think anyone's going to see it, you end up doing something remarkable, which is, well, I'm just going to make something for myself. Because if I was making a movie that was going to go to Sundance, I wouldn't have made that movie.

I would have thought, okay, I got to get serious. But because I made this movie that was just entertaining myself like bedhead, it entertained audiences. So that naivete is really important when you're starting out or at any point in your life, be naive about what things are going to, and just do something for yourself. That taught me a very valuable lesson because I didn't want anybody to see it.