REVIEW
INHOLLYWOODHISTORY,fewdirectors
havebeenasmuchofa one-manbandasRobert
Rodriguez.Fromthemomentheexplodedonto
thescenein 1992 withthegonzoactionmovie
ElMariachi, he’sbeena multi-hyphenateso
prodigioustheywereindangerofrunningout
ofhyphens.Writing.Directing.Editing.
Composing.Operatingthecamera.Younameit,
chancesareRodriguezdidit,asheestablished
hisbaseofoperations,TroublemakerStudios,
inAustin,Texas,farfromthegimlet-eyed
glareofHollywood.
Thatchangedwiththisyear’sAlita:Battle
Angel, thefirsttrueblockbusterofRodriguez’
career.Workingwithhisoldfriend,writer-
producerJamesCameron,Rodriguezfound
himselfatthehelmofa $200millionbehemoth
—butonethatbenefitedfromallthoseskillshe
hadhonedonthelikesofDesperado,FromDusk
TillDawnandtheSpyKidsmovies.And,trueto
form,hestillmanagedtomakeit athishome.
Here,hetellsEmpireaboutthelessonshe’s
learnedfroma longcareerof being the ultimate
independentfilmmaker...Yourentirecareerhasbeenleadingupto
a bigstudiomovielikethis.Thewayyouhave
carvedoutyourownpersonal fiefdom up there
atTroublemaker...
I’veamazedmyself.I imagineHollywoodcamecallingrightfrom
theoff.
Theydidearlyon.TheysawI wasa frugaland
newpersononthescene.I dabbledwiththe
ideaofdoingsomebiggermovies,butwhat
usuallyhappenedwastheywouldbringme
a bigprojectandthescriptwasinsuchdisrepair
thatit wasgoingtotakesomuchworktoget
it uptoshootablequalitythatit wasalmost
inventinga wholeotherscript.I thought
I shouldbedoingmyownscripts,myownideas.
I didn’tdoit purposelyatfirst.It wasmore
outofnecessitytodomyownideasandoriginal
filmsliketheDesperadofilmsandSpyKids
andMachete, ratherthanwaitfora bigscript
thatI wouldjustbea directoron,andthestudio
wouldhaveallthesay.AccidentallyI found
thatI hadmorefreedom,since[El]Mariachi, by
doingmyownthing.Iftherightbigprojectcame
along,I wouldtakeit,butI neverreallyfound
onethatI wasreallythatinterestedin.Until
Alita, andpartofthecircumstancetherewas
thatI wouldbeworkingwithmyfriendJim
[Cameron],ratherthanjustworkingunder
a studio.Thatwasa bigdifference.Jimis the
studioatthatpoint.Hehasallthesay.That
felta littlemorelikewewerestillmaking
a bigindependentfilmratherthanworking
forsomebody.I likethefeelingofworkingfor
myself.I feelI’veneverworkeda dayinmylife.
Anyideayoucancomeupwith,youcando.
You’renottold,“Youcan’tdothat.”I started
becomingaddictedtothefreedomI had.It
wasn’treallythatI hada plan.It’sjustthat
I enjoyed that way of working, and if I could ❯ROBERTRODRIGUEZonhowbeing
hisownbosspreparedhim
for directingAlita: Battle Angel
“I haven’t
worked
a day in
my life”