“I haven’t worked a day in my life”
IN HOLLYWOOD HISTORY, few directors have been as much of a one-man band as Robert Rodriguez. From the moment he exploded onto the scene in 1992 with the gonzo action movie El Mariachi, he’s been a multi-hyphenate so prodigious they were in danger of running out of hyphens. Writing. Directing. Editing. Composing. Operating the camera. You name it, chances are Rodriguez did it, as he established his base of operations, Troublemaker Studios, in Austin, Texas, far from the gimlet-eyed glare of Hollywood.
That changed with this year’s Alita: Battle Angel, the first true blockbuster of Rodriguez’ career. Working with his old friend, writer-producer James Cameron, Rodriguez found himself at the helm of a $200 million behemoth — but one that benefited from all those skills he had honed on the likes of Desperado, From Dusk Till Dawn and the Spy Kids movies. And, true to form, he still managed to make it at his home. Here, he tells Empire about the lessons he’s learned from a long career of being the ultimate independent filmmaker…
Your entire career has been leading up to a big studio movie like this. The way you
