Robert Rodriguez Co-Directing Grindhouse Spin-off Machete, Only Producing Predators

Posted by on April 27th, 2009   Filed under: Action, Indie, Sci-fi
Source: Variety

machetecodirect

Is Robert Rodriguez finally learning to work well with others? Last week Wintle reported that a Predator reboot was indeed among the director’s vast array of upcoming projects, which also included Nerverackers, Machete, Sin City 2 and even The Jetsons. Clearly, if he hopes to get even a few of these done within the next couple of years, he’s going to need a little help from his friends. Well, this week we have some updates on a couple of these projects, and they seem to indicate that the man who wrote Rebel Without a Crew is now learning to take a slightly less hands-on approach to his filmmaking.

According to Variety, Rodriguez’s next immediate project will be Machete, starring Danny Trejo as the blade-wielding Mexican featured in one of the mock trailers from Grindhouse. The movie is scheduled to go into production in June, but Rodriguez will not be going it alone. He is co-directing the film with his longtime editor Ethan Maniquis.

Also, we are now hearing reports that Rodriguez is not actually going to be the director on the proposed Predator reboot, Predators, just the producer. According to ERC, he will “shepherd the project at his Austin facility, however no writer or director has been hired as of yet”. This kind of explains how he will still be able to direct his sci-fi thriller Nerverackers for Dimension, which has an April 15th, 2010 release date, while Predators is now being set for July 7th, 2010. However, I’m a bit confused because I thought that Rodriguez had already written the script. I guess they’re probably looking for a rewrite. What do you think, is it good news that Rodriguez is just a producer on this project? Who would you like to see directing a Predator reboot?



  • natural direction of building your own studio and owning a business – you are now responsible for mouths to feed. he has to take on more projects as a producer to support the studio and staff. this is why directors, like his buddy Tarantino, don’t build their own studio.

  • Bob The Slob

    rus, you know that scene in SAVING PRIVATE RYAN where the german slowly stabs the Jewish soldier in the heart while “shushing” him and staring into his dieing eyes?

    Just admit you want to do that to Rodriguez. It’s ok, none of us will be shocked.

  • what in my post was negative? I’m pro business, I own two.

  • Robert Rodriguez could do all of these movies is he wanted to. His movies are typically shot in a week, for crying out loud. Just get some help in the pre and post production, and he could do them all.

  • Joe Cloyd

    This isn’t the first time that Rodriguez has co-directed. Frank Miller has a co-director credit for “Sin City.”