Machete Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Discuss: Wackiest Ensemble Casts
Filed under: Casting »
It seems like people all over the Web are exclaiming today about the final casting for Machete, Robert Rodriguez's feature-length expansion of the fake trailer he made for Grindhouse in 2007. Imagine all these people together in one room: Danny Trejo, Robert De Niro, Steven Seagal, Jessica Alba, Don Johnson, Lindsay Lohan and Cheech Marin, among others. It sounds a little crazy, doesn't it? Wouldn't you love to be invited to a dinner party with them all? Since they're shooting Machete here in Austin, I can daydream about walking into a local restaurant and finding that cast tucked away in a private dining room ... hmm ...
But the big-name Machete casting actually worries me a bit in that "too good to be true" way. Movies with wacky, high-profile ensemble casts often raise my expectations very high, and then it turns out that the filmmakers may have spent too much time casting and not enough on the script. Next thing I know, I'm watching a great group of talent that should be fabulous, but instead make me feel bored or annoyed, and ultimately disappointed.
'Machete' and the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Casting Twists
Filed under: Action », Comedy », Horror », Casting »
The Machete casting news is official. Buried in a longer article, Variety has listed the final cast list for the feature-length adaptation of Danny Trejo's man with the knives. Almost all the rumors are correct, with the exception of Jonah Hill. The roster: Trejo, of course, plus Robert De Niro, Jessica Alba, Michelle Rodriguez, Steven Seagal, Lindsay Lohan, Cheech Marin, Don Johnson, and Jeff Fahey.Strange? Yes. Surprising? Yes. Perfect? I don't know. Now don't get me wrong -- you could fill the film with tween celebs and I'd still head out to see it as long as Danny Trejo was the star. Yet while I usually love big casting twists, this one isn't invoking a reaction either way. It's not due to disinterest, as I've been dying for this to become a reality for a long time -- from rumors of a DVD spin-off, to big-screen potential, to love of Machete as a gun-toter, to silly fangirl hopes from a fake poster.
Lindsay Lohan to Face Off Against 'Machete'?
Filed under: Action », Comedy », Horror », Casting », RumorMonger », Fandom »
The time is almost upon us. At first it seemed like a wonderful and impossible rumor. Then it seemed like it could possibly happen. Now, Machete is about a week away from production, and the cast is getting finalized. MTV chatted with Robert Rodriguez at Comic-Con, and the director confirmed some cast, teased about others, and is remaining really tight-lipped until all deals are signed.Danny Trejo is, of course, holding the machetes and Michelle Rodriguez is definitely on-board. As for De Niro? Hill? The director isn't saying, but he did admit that they've sent the script to lots of big names, one of whom could be Ms. Lindsay Lohan. Rodriguez refused to confirm or deny when he name came up, but did say: "Lindsay's cool. There's actually cool part in the movie for her if she takes it."
More right here...
Robert De Niro and Jonah Hill Join Rodriguez's 'Machete'?
Filed under: Horror », Casting », RumorMonger »
(if this rumor is true, we officially have the strangest casting of 2009 so far. Here's Elisabeth Rappe reporting on a wicket Machete rumor for Horror Squad.)While you'll have to file this firmly under "rumor" and "dreams," you can do an air punch at the very thought of just who Robert Rodriguez and Ethan Maniquis lined up for Machete. Bloody Disgusting reports that joining Danny Trejo in the Grindhouse spin-off are the following: Michelle Rodriguez, Jonah Hill, and (wait for it) Robert DeNiro.
Pause for a moment and repeat that: Robert DeNiro will share the screen with Danny Trejo in Machete. While it's still unconfirmed, BD notes that the source is none other than the one who sent them news of the Alien and Predator reboots, and those turned out to be true. So you can keep hope alive that you'll see DeNiro rocking the grindhouse world.
Read the rest at Horror Squad
Trejo's Sharpening His 'Machete'
Filed under: Casting »
James Wallace over at Gordon and the Whale had the cojones to corner Danny Trejo at CineVegas and got some tasty details from the tattooed tough guy. Trejo confirmed that he is still starring in Robert Rodriguez's Machete as the title character, and that it's going to start filming in just five short weeks. Machete started as one of the fake trailers in Grindhouse, which was, some might say, one of the best parts of the double feature. The other fake trailer rumored to get the full-length treatment, Eli Roth's Thanksgiving, is listed as in development on IMDb, but as the other news from Trejo proves, even IMDb sometimes gets it wrong.
Although IMDb lists Trejo as a rumored cast member of Stallone's next blow-'em-up, The Expendables, Trejo told Wallace "his name was associated with the film for some unknown reason and he was never contacted by Sylvester Stallone or anyone involved with the film." Kind of a bummer -- for them!
Meanwhile, I'm really looking forward to another upcoming Trejo flick, The Haunted World of El Superbeasto, which is Rob Zombie's first animated film. Am I alone here, or what?
UPDATE: Robert Rodriguez Grabs 'Machete' and Fights Some 'Predators'
Filed under: Action », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Deals », Scripts », Remakes and Sequels »
This time they f**ked with the right Mexican!When I wrote about Eli Roth cooking up a feature helping of Thanksgiving, I couldn't help but think about Machete, and wish he was heading for the big screen. Just a week later, my wish has been granted! If only that could happen every day. Variety reports that Robert Rodriguez has written a script for Machete, and hopes to grab Danny Trejo and start production this June in Austin. But he won't helm this alone; this time around, he's grabbing longtime editor Ethan Maniquis to co-direct.
This blissful non-studio film (his first since El Mariachi) will follow Machete, a Mexican ex-Federale who hides as a day laborer until he gets "double-crossed by a corrupt state senator." He is, of course, also an expert knife-wielder and dude who can do some stunning things with a bike and a gun.
But that's not all. We've all been wondering what Rodriguez has been doing when he should have been making Sin City, Barbarella, and all the other projects that he's talked about. He's been writing Machete, and, well ... Predators -- yes, a sequel to Arnold Schwarzenegger's 1987 alien fest Predator. There's no further word on the project right now, so I'll leave it up to you to imagine what RR will make of it.
Are these the projects you want Rodriguez focusing on? Or is there something else you want to see him busy himself with?
UPDATE: 20th Century Fox has set a July 7, 2010 release date for Robert Rodriguez's Predators, meaning this will be one of next summer's biggest films. Rodriguez, while producing, will not write or direct. Will it be R-rated, or will they try to get a PG-13 out of it to appeal to a wider audience during the peak of the summer movie season? These are things we'll definitely be talking about ... [via erc Box Office]
Cinematical Seven: Top Seven Movies Within Movies Since 2000
Filed under: Comedy », Fandom », Cinematical Seven », Lists »
It is inevitable -- any form of art will, at some point, turn inwards. Instead of focusing on other forms of life, the form will attempt to reveal itself -- whether exploratory and serious or sarcastic and mocking. In Hollywood, the camera has spun inwards countless times. Sometimes it's earnest, but most often it's a great serving of satire and irony.
There are a ton of great examples of this, from Boogie Nights to Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, Strange Brew to The Big Lebowski. If I had 50 slots, I could make this comprehensive, but I only have seven. So you're getting the best mock-filled flicks of this century -- films ranging from the year 2000 all the way to 2008. Check them out after the jump, and weigh in with your picks below.
WARNING: The following videos are NSFW. They contain, among other things, violence and foul language. Watch at your own risk.
'Shorts' Gets a Script Review
Filed under: Comedy », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », RumorMonger », Scripts », Family Films »
It's not easy reconciling the two sides of Robert Rodriguez. One likes to make pseudo-schlock flicks with machine-gun-leg chicks, and the other likes to make kids movies -- not exactly an expected transition is it? Latino Review has posted a script review for Rodriguez's latest kiddie romp, Shorts. So let's get right to the point, shall we? Review's scooper liked what he saw. Sure there were some complaints, and we'll get to those in a moment, but overall it's a solid thumbs up.Shorts is the story of Toe Jackson, a young boy in a Texas subdivision who narrates four stories set in the heart of the suburban neighborhood. Now for the bad news. According to the review, the script is a little heavy on the "fart jokes" -- also, it may be a little too focused on the boys. This is a shame considering what a great young female character Rodriguez created in Spy Kids. Then again, he also managed to make a list of the most misogynistic flicks, but I digress. The reviewer also had some complaints about character names, because the script is loaded with cutesy ones like Loogie and Nose.
It's likely that most of Rodriguez's fans are focused squarely on the long awaited sequel to Sin City, not to mention those of you out there hankering for a full-length Machete feature, so Shorts probably won't be high on your list of priorities. If, however, you've got some rug rats at home, then you might want to get used to the idea of seeing this movie in theaters. Shorts is tentatively scheduled for release in 2009.
Does This New Poster Mean We'll Get to See Machete?!
Filed under: Horror », Thrillers », RumorMonger », Remakes and Sequels », Posters »
I loved Grindhouse. Well, I loved Planet Terror, loved the ads, and liked Death Proof. But I loved, loved, loved the Machete trailer. Being a huge fan of Danny Trejo, Machete gave me just what I wanted -- a silly movie focused on someone I love watching. Of course, after Grindhouse came out, there were tons of rumors about Machete getting his own feature film. Some believed it. Some didn't. I just hoped.The other day, The Movie Blog threw up the poster to the right, which you can see on their site in all of its full-sized glory. Is this really an official poster for Machete? Is it really on its way? Was a script completed before the strike? I would hope that "yes," is the answer to all of those, but I'm trying to reign in my excitement for now.
In the meantime, we can fangirl and fanboy away. What do you think of the poster? Me, I like it, but it would lose a lot of its charm if its grainy artwork was shown on a shiny, slick new poster. My thought: keep it as-is, but send it to all theaters folded where the folds are, and printed without gloss. That would be sweet, but not as sweet as the decent man who was living a decent life, but now he is a brutal savage who must slaughter to stay alive!
Cinematical Seven: Uber Cool & Quotable Gun-Toting Antiheroes
Filed under: Fandom », Cinematical Seven », Lists »
Shoot 'Em Up opens this week, and Clive Owen is making Bugs Bunny look all sorts of tough and cool. He banters. He sexes up the ladies. He handles guns like a pro. Heck, he even tries to buy them with food stamps. All this badness and guns has thrown me into an antihero state of mind. But before I can go a-listing, we've got to decide what an antihero is.
Blending all of the vague definitions together, your antihero is basically the person who doesn't imbue the classic attributes of heroism. This could mean being inept and stupid, but for the means of this list, I'm going for the antiheroes whose methods, manners and intentions can be questioned. Some are good guys who do bad things, some are bad guys who do good things. Some just don't care as much as a good hero should. But they're all so uber cool that whether you've seen the films or not, you know who they are, and you might just be quoting them.
Note: Only one cop is included on this list, and it isn't John McClane -- he's much more of a bitter hero than a questionable antihero.
Harry Callahan -- Dirty Harry (1971)
I know what you're thinking: "Did he fire six shots or only five?" Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement I kind of lost track myself. But being as this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself a question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?
While I love most of the guys on this list, the one who has to be there above all others is Dirty Harry Callahan. He might be a cop trying to keep the streets safe, but instead of upholding the law, he enforces morality with his gun, boot, or whatever else he can find. In the first of the action series, Callahan is hunting down Scorpio, a serial killer loosely based on the Zodiac killer. He tortures suspects when he needs to, and does it all in a suit, tie and sweater. Most of all, he's "Dirty," but no one knows the specific reason why.
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