Movie Forum: From 'Spy Kids' to 'Sin City'

Director Robert Rodriguez ("Spy Kids," "From Dusk Till Dawn") was so set on making a movie version of Frank Miller's ultraviolent graphic novel "Sin City" that he invited the author to a test shoot in Austin, Texas. Miller caved. When he arrived, he found actor Josh Hartnett and a fully rigged set waiting for him. "This was no damn test," Miller recalls. "This was the first day of principle photography." And so "Sin City"--starring Bruce Willis, Clive Owen, Benicio Del Toro, Mickey Rourke and what seems like the past six cover models of Maxim magazine--was made. It's gory stuff, but it's also a visually arresting blitzkrieg with action so bare-knuckled you'll leave the theater spitting out teeth. Rodriguez answered questions submitted by NEWSWEEK.com readers about the making of "Sin City" and his other movies.

Westminster, CO: I love your movies, but I hate comic books. Will I like "Sin City"? Robert Rodriguez: You will be "Sin City"'s biggest fan. I like comics, but am not a big comic book fan. I always found Frank's books to stand apart from other comics. What we ended up with is something that will entice cinema fans. It's very different from anything you've seen before, and will be exciting in a new way. You won't be able to point to it and say, "comic book." It seems to be from another planet entirely.

San Francisco, CA: Robert, I saw that you were active in pushing for low-cost digital shooting and production in your previous features ("Spy Kids," "Once Upon a Time in Mexico"). What unique cost-saving tricks and high-tech filmography have you employed during the making of "Sin City"?

Robert Rodriguez: Just about everything. We shot on green screen like on "Spy Kids 3" in order to create a world that doesn't exist. It also saves a lot of time to shoot digital. Bruce Willis was on [the] set 10 days. We'd get around 60 set ups per day. That is very fast. It's what allows us to make a movie that has as many effects shots as a "Star Wars" movie, but done for a fraction of the cost.

Detroit, MI: I love the central role that family takes in many of your movies. What is your definition of "family values?" Does that come into play with "Sin City?"

Robert Rodriguez: "Sin City" is a series of morality tales and love stories told in the darkest ways. I have a lot of family values in my own material, but since "Sin City" is Frank Miller's creation, his emphasis is more on telling gritty stories about our inner darkness.

Apex, NC: Do you see any connection between "From Dusk Till Dawn" and the "Spy Kids" series?

Robert Rodriguez: Only that they were both fun to do and are a mix of genres. In fact just about all my movies mix different genres.

New York, NY: What are your own favorite movies?

Robert Rodriguez: I haven't updated my list in a while, so this is ancient, but some of the top movies in my top 100 are: "Vertigo," "Jaws," "Godfather," "Notorious," "Heat," "Terminator," "Road Warrior," "Escape From New York," "The Thing," "The Shining," "Blade Runner," "Night of the Living Dead," "Glengarry Glen Ross," "Sunset Blvd," "Some Like It Hot," "Close Encounters," "Raiders of the Lost Ark," "Akira," "Rock All Night," "Kiss Me Deadly," "Wolf," "What's Up Doc?," "Near Dark," "The Hitcher," "Paper Moon," "Double Life of Veronique," "Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein." To name a few.

Austin, TX: What is the deal with "A Princess of Mars"? Will it get made? Will you direct? Robert Rodriguez: "Princess of Mars" is being made by Kerry Conran right now ("Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow"). Should be very cool. I was working on it for about a month but had to leave the project when I left the [Directors Guild of America], since "Princess" was already being developed by the studio which is a Directors Guild signatory. But no biggie, I hear George Lucas wanted to make "Princess of Mars" once but couldn't get the rights to it, so he made "Star Wars" instead. That's what I should be doing, more of my own projects.

San Antonio, TX: Did you see "Savvy" at SXSW? What do you think?

Robert Rodriguez: I didn't get to SXSW at all this year, I was so slammed finishing "Sin City," and the upcoming "Shark Boy and Lava Girl in 3D." That's what happens when you start making movies, you run out of time to see other movies.

Los Angeles, CA: Hi, Robert. I've been a fan for many years and I love your work. I'm also a fan of Frank's and I'm excited to see your version of "Sin City." One of my favorite Miller tales is "The Dark Knight Returns!" I'm hoping that with the success of "Sin City," Frank might consider a movie version of that famous Batman tale with you at the helm. Any chance of that happening?

Robert Rodriguez: I love "Dark Knight Returns" as well--they've just done so many Batman movies, I'm more interested in doing another "Sin City." I think Stallone and Bruce Willis would make great Dark Knights if they ever did make Frank's version of the movie. It would take an iconic actor like that to play such an iconic character.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: Hi Robert, I'm a screenwriter in Brazil and I would like to know what is harder for you to write: to create a plot, later the characters to [create] the history; or to write dialogues for the characters?

Robert Rodriguez: It's all difficult! There's nothing more intimidating than a blank page, you have to really battle to write a script and it never seems to get any easier. I find that the case with most writers I know. And each script is a very different writing experience, so you can't even draw on past experiences to help you.

Brooklyn, NY: Can't wait to see "Sin City." I heard that [Quentin] Tarantino directed a scene. Was that payback for the music you wrote for "Kill Bill"? What if he had screwed the scene up? What would you have done then?!

Robert Rodriguez: Quentin is such an amazing director, there was no chance of him screwing anything up, I was more afraid he'd make the scene too good and make Frank and I look like bums, and that's exactly what happened. I figured it wouldn't hurt the movie to have a sequence that was too good, though. And yeah, it was payback for me doing the score for "Kill Bill 2." But also I wanted him to experience what it was like to shoot in hi-def with actors on a green screen. He really enjoyed it.

Boston, MA: It seemed to me that "The Incredibles" owed a lot to "Spy Kids." I know that you (sort of) work for Disney, but did you think the same and if so did it bother you? Robert Rodriguez: It was strange seeing "Incredibles," because I know they'd been working on it for so long, and a lot of ideas are similar. I'm sure they felt worse seeing my movies come out with similar ideas to what they were working on! I know Brad Bird and the guys from Pixar, it wasn't that they were borrowing ideas from "Spy Kids," but the fact that we're fans of the same type of material. We love classic Jonny Quest and James Bond movies, which were really our inspiration for both "Spy Kids" and "Incredibles." The rest are coincidences. Brad Bird and I both had been working on our projects independently for 10 years. Austin, Texas: How hard or easy is it to adapt from a comic book into a movie and what elements of a comic do you hope to translate to the medium of film?

Robert Rodriguez: It's hard to make the images Frank conjured up when you compare it to drawing. It only took Frank pen and inks, with moviemaking, we need all the tricks in the book and new ones to make it happen and to get the feel of his books. We tried to translate everything to cinema, all his visual ideas, and I think we were successful. But it took a lot of trickery.

Highland Falls, NY: What do you lose by being out of the Directors Guild? And what does it mean to have a "special guest director?" Is it a "Four Rooms" (underrated, especially your [Antonio] Banderas sequence) vibe type of thing?

Robert Rodriguez: We just made up our own way of working on this movie. Frank and I were always on set together and tag teamed the actors as far as directing went. I operated the camera as well as did the lighting and effects, so we were always right there with the actors. Quentin came in for a few days to direct certain sequences. We let him take the director reins when he was there. It was terrific fun for the actors to have a "special guest director" those days. Being out of the Directors Guild just lets me have the freedom to experiment like that in the future. What I lose is pretty superficial stuff, like I don't get insurance, residuals, can never be nominated for a directing Oscar, and can't make a movie developed by a studio. I prefer the freedom.

New Orleans, LA: I actually have three questions for you. Two suggested by my husband. 1: Judging by the previews, this is the most comic-book-looking film ever made. Was it difficult to get funding for such a stylistically unique film? 2: How can we, his fans, repay you for getting Mickey Rourke back in mainstream film? 3: Do you have any plans to work with Mickey Rourke again?

Robert Rodriguez: 1: It was easy actually, but that's because I work with Bob and Harvey Weinstein. They believe in the artist and let me make the movie, no questions asked, even though they didn't understand it completely when I started it.

2: A lot of it has to do with Mickey. Quentin and I both wanted to cast him in "Dusk Till Dawn," but he was not acting any more at that time. But he realized that acting was his main love and came back to it. I was able to work with him on "Once Upon a Time in Mexico," and he really proved to me that he wanted to come back to acting, and was a hard worker. I was anxious to do something else with him, and "Sin City" was the perfect fit.

3: I'd work with Mickey again in a heartbeat. He's one of the most tortured souls I've ever met, and that really comes through in his work.

State Road, NC: When are Tito and Tarantula going to record an album? What great music.

Robert Rodriguez: They are amazing. They've been actually recording a lot in Europe where they have an even bigger following. They do so well out there, they hardly play in the States, which has a much stranger music business.

New York, NY: You are obviously capable of switching genres and styles from film to film. Is there yet a genre or style that you have not attempted that you really want to?

Robert Rodriguez: I'd love to do a romantic comedy. My favorites are "What's Up Doc?" and "Some Like It Hot."

London, England: What are the technical challenges for a self-taught hands-on filmmaker like yourself in making a movie like "Sin City," which is so reliant upon CGI?

Robert Rodriguez: I self taught myself CG a number of years ago, because I could see that was where the industry was going. It's good to be versed in all technologies, it really gives you the freedom to create anything. By knowing effects, I can make a movie like "Sin City" very guerrilla style, where people tend to think that effects movies take a lot of planning. When you know effects and CG you can make up shots on the spot and really improvise.

Santa Clara, CA: Hello Robert, I am waiting with great anticipation for this watershed of a movie. One question, very interesting casting choice (and one the I love wholeheartedly BTW) was casting decidedly British actor Clive Owen as Dwight. What was the impetus for such a choice?

Robert Rodriguez: It was hard to find someone that was a good physical and character match for Dwight. I've always wanted to work with Clive, and showed Frank the John Woo-directed BMW short film on the Internet. I said, "This is the guy I think is Dwight." Frank said, "If you think it's him, cast him, you've been right so far ... " It was a leap because I had never met Clive, but there was something in that short that made me believe he was the guy. People say I have a good eye for casting, but I've usually found it to be more of a gut feeling than a visual impression.

Dallas, TX: My daughter and I really enjoyed your "Spy Kids" series ... will there be more? Will you be making more movies geared toward kids? We sure hope so.

Robert Rodriguez: There are no more "Spy Kids," for the kids are no longer kids. But I do have a new family film that I'm very excited about, and in fact I wrote it with my 7-year-old, so it's very authentic to a child's imagination. It is called "The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl in 3D." and it comes out this summer. I think families will take to it at least as much as they did to the "Spy Kids," if not more. It's a very special project.

Alexandria, VA: Was there ever a moment during the shoot when you had to curb your own ideas about how a certain scene should play out in order to stay true to Frank Miller's vision, or was it more of a give-and-take relationship?

Robert Rodriguez: There wasn't much give and take. I really wanted to make Frank Miller's "Sin City," not Robert Rodriguez's "Sin City." I make my own movies all the time, I really loved Frank's books and wanted to make the movie as much like his book as possible. I was the one actually keeping it very true to the book, because I just really value those first ideas as being the most authentic and vital. It's easy to start changing things, but I feel you just make it different, not better. I remember Frank coming up to me and saying, "Hey, how about we do a silhouette shot here?" I said, "I don't know Frank, I think what you've got in the book is better, you've got WHITE silhouettes, no one does that!" He looked at his book and said, "You're right, that is better. I like your discipline."

Grand Forks, ND: Any future collaborations with Frank Miller? Possibly bringing Miller's "The Dark Knight Returns" graphic novel to screen?

Robert Rodriguez: I would do another "Sin City" with Frank. We're hoping to do that. Frank owns the rights to his "Sin City," but the "Dark Knight" he doesn't.

Diamond Bar, CA: Are you concerned at all that the majority of the audiences will react negatively to the "comic book" look of the movie?

Robert Rodriguez: I don't really think it's a comic book look, since Frank's comics are so unique, they stand apart from other comics as well. I think the visuals are so compelling, that people can't really label it as a comic book look. It really is something new visually that will excite fans of cinema. I think anyone that likes movies will really enjoy the visual storytelling we do in this movie. It feels very unique and unlike anything seen before.

Miami, FL: If it turns out that you need to make cuts to earn an R rating, can we expect an unrated version on DVD?

Robert Rodriguez: We didn't have any problems with the MPAA, actually. They are usually pretty squeamish, but they found this movie to be so stylized and abstract that the violence was not a problem. They didn't ask us to cut anything.

Washington, DC: I am a big fan of your movies. I could watch "Desperado" over and over again and my boys (11 and 8) could watch all three "Spy Kids" in a row. I am also a big comic book fan. What other comic books do you enjoy/read regularly/would consider translating to the screen?

Robert Rodriguez: I've had the rights to Mike Allred's "Madman" for a number of years and would like to turn that into a movie as well as doing another "Sin City."