Robert Rodriguez Reveals Upcoming Projects at Comic-Con
On Thursday afternoon, Robert Rodriguez took the stage of the infamous Hall H at the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con with a plethora of announcements, and I was fortunate enough to be there to hear them all. The Austin filmmaker started his panel with an overview of a number of projects in varying states of development.
The first project he mentioned was the imminent release Spy Kids: All the Time in the World in 4D. Rodriguez spent time explaining Smell-o-vision -- a scratch-and-sniff card that's a throwback to gimmicks of John Waters and William Castle. He also took credit for reinvigorating 3D technology. I'm not so sure I'd list this as an accomplishment, but that is just one man's opinion.
In more exciting news, Rodriguez announced Troublemaker Studios is greenlit to make two sequels to the grindhouse classic Machete (Jette's review). These sequels will be named Machete Kills and Machete Kills Again. Rodriguez joked that the last one would take place in outer space and will bring to the world (I paraphrase) "The first Mexican in space." Maybe he forgot Khan.
Finally, Rodriguez gave the status of a project we've all been waiting for: Sin City 2. Frank Miller has completed a script, which is another anthology of three stories. One is an already published Sin City book, A Dame To Kill. The other two stories will be new stories, one of them titled "Long Bad Night." The third's title was not mentioned. Rodriguez said this is the furthest they have been on the project, and didn't have a start date yet.
Rodgriguez then launched into an announcement of his new endeavor: the formation of a new production company, Quick Draw Productions. Quick Draw Productions will focus on raising capital to acquire properties and greenlight their own projects. Rodriguez didn't come empty handed with this announcement. He said there are currently two properties in development under the Quick Draw umbrella.
The first project in development is a new movie based on stories and art from Heavy Metal magazine. Rodriguez has been a fan of Heavy Metal for years and though a series of serendipitous phone calls and lunches, he met the current owner of Heavy Metal magazine, Kevin Eastman (also the co-creator of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles). Eastman came out on stage and they discussed each other's philosophy of doing things their own way, which lead to the partnership for a Heavy Metal film project. Find out more about the Heavy Metal film and submit your own ideas for inclusion at local blog Badass Digest.
Rodriguez's final announcement of the day has the most significance for people in Austin. He's partnered with the family of the late fantasy artist Frank Frazetta, leading to a couple of items of major importance. The first and most exciting to me is the establishment of a new Frank Frazetta museum. This museum will house all of the works of Frank Frazetta and will reside in Austin.
The second announcement was a new film project surrounding the famous story Fire and Ice, adapted from a Frazetta painting. Extensive (and awesome) production artwork was shown in Hall H today. This project looks exciting and I cannot wait to see how this progresses.
It was a banner day for Robert Rodriguez and the people of Austin. The next couple of years will be very interesting for film fans in Slackerwood.
[Editor's Note: While Rodriguez was in San Diego yesterday, Austin Film Society announced a gala premiere screening of Spy Kids: All the Time in the World in 4D on Saturday, August 13 at the Long Center. Tickets go on sale at noon today for AFS members, and on July 26 for the general public.]
[Photo credit: Rod Paddock]