Rebel Without a Crew: Or How a 23-Year-Old Filmmaker With $7,000 Became a Hollywood Player
by Robert Rodriguez
Review by Sean Doorly

Have you ever wanted to make a movie? I have -- and I still do. Robert Rodriguez so desperately wanted to make movies that he subjected himself to medical experiments so he could finance them. No big whoop for him: "Naturally, the research hospital fit the bill. I knew that if I checked in for a month long drug study I could clear about $3,000, with room and board paid for, and have plenty of time to kick back and write my script."

"Rebel Without a Crew" is Rodriguez's daily diary about the making of his first full-length movie, El Mariachi, and his straightforward guide to making movies.

All this 23-year-old had was $7,000, ingenuity and one hell of a work ethic. Basically, Rodriguez handled the shooting, the sound, and the editing. There was no crew except for the actors, who sometimes held a ladder for him.

I live in New York, and I've seen a few movies being shot. I'm sure they spent $7,000 in the ten minutes I was standing there watching them set up a shot that might last 10 seconds.

Rodriguez reveals all of his secrets and makes you say, "I can do that. And why does anyone need to go to film school?" He demystifies the whole film biz, and I'm sure he pisses off some people in Hollywood, not to mention film school professors and students. Not everyone can have Rodriguez's determination. I wouldn't sign up for medical experiments, but you have to admire the guy for sticking to his guns and making the movie against impossible odds.

Rodriguez originally made El Mariachi just for the Mexican action video market. He never intended it to be seen outside of Mexico because he saw this movie and its sequel as experiments. He figured he would perfect his craft and then make a truly great movie that would blow Hollywood away.

Through some good luck and perseverance on his part, the movie was courted by Hollywood. A fierce bidding war erupted, and you find out what lengths the movie studios went to get this "new hot talent" first.

Through all of the Hollywood hoopla, Rodriguez remained a very down-to-earth, practical family man, especially in the part where he talked about his per diem expenses. "I told them that I loved the Westwood Marquis and that if I had to spend money I would stay here, but if I could keep whatever was left over, then I'd rather stay at the Howard Johnson and keep the rest. I have nine brothers and sisters, ya know. They tell me no one has ever asked this before. Most people just spend it all and live it up."

As for the moviemaking shortcuts, here is one of Rodriguez's tips: "I think some famous filmmaker once said that all the technical stuff you need to know in order to make movies can be learned in a few weeks. He was being generous. You can learn it in ten minutes." Rodriguez then devotes an Appendix to his ten minute moviemaking school, and some of the ideas are quite good. "I started off with a borrowed 16mm camera. I knew nothing about it, but in a few minutes I learned everything I needed to know by simply making some calls to companies that dealt in used camera equipment."

After reading this book, I went out and rented the video "El Mariachi," even though I had seen it in a few years ago in an art house. When I watched it again, I told my girlfriend, "See, he was running alongside the guy with the camera," and so on. I'm sure I ruined the experience for her with my constant behind-the-scenes narration.

"Rebel" also includes the original screenplay for "El Mariachi," with new sidebar notes by Rodriguez about certain shots. This one cracked me up: "The sign that said 18 miles was written into the script again, because it existed already. We had to drive 18 miles out of town for these shots. In a real movie you would just pay someone to make you a sign and put it anywhere you want. Again, we were too cheap for that and had to settle for the real thing."