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9th out of 300 books
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97 voters
Rebel Without a Crew, or How a 23-Year-Old Filmmaker With $7,000 Became a Hollywood Player
In Rebel Without a Crew, famed independent screenwriter and director Robert Rodriguez (Sin City, Sin City 2, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Spy Kids) discloses all the unique strategies and original techniques he used to make his remarkable debut film, El Mariachi, on a shoestring budget. This is both one man's remarkable story and an essential guide for anyone who has a cell...more
Paperback, 304 pages
Published
September 1st 1996
by Plume
(first published August 1st 1995)
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This is probably the most inspiring film I've read on going out and just making a film. Rodriguez doesn't want to hear your excuses: if you have access to a camera, ANY kind of camera, there's no reason why you can't go out and make a film. My favorite insight in this book is early on regarding screenplays. Basically, he says that everyone has to write a bunch of crappy screenplays until they get good at it; likewise, everyone has to make a bunch of crappy films until they get good at it. His de...more
Robert Rodriguez so desperately wanted to make movies that he actually subjected himself to medical experiments so he could finance them. He really did: "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 bruta...more
"Rebel Without a Crew" is Rodriguez's daily diary about the making of his first full-length movie, "El Mariachi", and his bruta...more
Really, really interesting book. It's essentially the diary Rodriguez wrote while making his famous debut film "El Mariachi." He redefines creating by the seat of your pants. Rodriguez does everything from volunteering for a medical experiment to raise much-needed funds to casting people who don't even speak Spanish into his Spanish-language movie. He shoots for an insanely short number of days, hardly sleeping and improvising as he goes--he admits, for instance, that the theme song to the movie...more
The reason I discovered/picked this up in the beginning was because I read that the Soska Sisters (Dead Hooker in a Trunk, American Mary) started their filmmaking career after being inspired by Rodriguez's book. After reading it, I can understand how they were inspired. This is a great, easy read for people that are high on creativity but lacking in confidence. However, if your sole purpose for picking it up is a ticket to filmmaking success, you are probably not going to get what you want out o...more
I really wish there was a 4 1/2 stars option but there's not. This book contains Robert Rodriguez's journal entries from 1992 about the making and success of his film "El Mariachi." In case you don't know he made this film with a few actors and no crew for around $7,000 (he would later remake this film as "Desperado" with Antonio Banderas for $7 MILLION dollars), writing/directing/editing/producting/etc. it all himself.
Although these events are 20 years old now and some of the methods he discus...more
Although these events are 20 years old now and some of the methods he discus...more
I think I would give this book 2.5 stars really. Rodriguez definitely knows how to craft a story, whether it is in a film or this book laid out in diary form. It moves quickly, like the movie he describes making, but sometimes he goes a little too quickly, especially once he becomes enamored with Hollywood (he protests he isn't, but I think what he tells us about really shows that he is). One of the most frustrating parts is when Rodriguez tells us that Quentin Tarentino gives him some writing a...more
While Robert Rodriquez's "Rebel Without a Crew" will not win any literary awards, it is still a fun read. The book is an account of the director's personal journey to get his low budget movie, "El Mariachi" produce and sold. The novel is a collection of journal entries (from Mr. Rodriquez) on the process of: finding funds, getting actors, acquiring locations, filming the feature, and submitting the final product to film festivals and potential video and Spanish TV buyers. Written from the direct...more
This was a really helpful, inspiring, and often humorous novel, written by one of my favorite directors, Robert Rodriguez. He tells the story of how he wrote, directed, and cut El Mariachi, but he also includes bits of his previous life, such as getting rejected (then later admitted for his award-winning short film "Bedhead"), to becoming a lab rat for money, to his adventures in Hollywood, and his meeting with various people such as Roger Moore, Quentin Tarantino, and Steve Buscemi. The most im...more
This book is fantastic- A real page turner! I began reading it two days ago, and have barely been able to put it down since. Rodriguez' account of his trials, tribulations, and incredible adventure as he rises from a 12-year-old amateur filmmaker to a 23-year-old writer/producer/director/cameraman thrust into the Hollywood limelight make for very engrossing reading. The book contains Rodriguez' almost daily journal entries that he wrote while filming "El Mariachi," as well as during a month-long...more
What an inspirational story! I'm not even an inspiring film maker! It's the quintessential American Dream. It's a step by step how he made a straight to video movie with no money. It's great about achieving dreams. Call in favors and borrow equipment from friends. Get on the phone, a lot, and figure out the details of the steps that you need to do. Sell your body to medical science.
Most of all his energy is infectious and really brings across the point that is you work hard enough you can make...more
Most of all his energy is infectious and really brings across the point that is you work hard enough you can make...more
Aug 07, 2012
Anna
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
every film maker or writer or costumer or make up artist
Recommended to Anna by:
Robert Rodriguez
Coming from Austin Texas and having studied Film both at U of I in Chicago and in Austin at St Edwards University and now in Kansas City at AII for digital film... I still LOVE this book. It's real. If you like to make movies, or do make up or make costumes, or write... this is the book for you. JUST DO IT. Get your friends and family together and DO IT... theory is fine, but you learn from every failure and you learn more than those that might have read how, but have never done it. Making films...more
I'm a fan of Rodriguez, so naturally this was an interesting read. He writes so matter-of-factly about the whole process that he makes it seem easy to get noticed by Hollywood. It was inspiring, particularly at the end when he went back and examined how insanely fast all of his fame developed. As with any diary, certain facts are repeated quite a few times, but, for the most part, they deserve repetition. How the hell did some guy from Austin make a movie with $7,000 and sell it for a few hundre...more
Inspirational to the young filmmaker. Rodriguez is a living example how when life hits with roadblocks drop the whining and do what you want. Pragmatic solutions to writing screenplays and getting paid for it without being an irresponsible employee. Making it yourself when you have no body who CAN help you (because making it yourself doesn't compare with making it with skilled others, I don't care how knowledgeable you are). He goes into details on how he started with a camera and tape decks and...more
Oct 20, 2012
Kalisetty Srikanth
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Shelves:
biographies-memoirs,
film-making-related
How do you make a movie when you don’t have a Camera, don’t have known stars, don’t have crew to work you with, and more importantly don’t have enough money? The answer lies in the first 70 pages of this inspiring diary of Robert Rodriguez’s.
Robert is certainly a brilliant story-teller who knows his story well but his story comes down to only names once he made it to Columbia Pictures: Whom he met in Hollywood, big shots he had free lunch with and the interviews he gave.
His ten minute crash co...more
Robert is certainly a brilliant story-teller who knows his story well but his story comes down to only names once he made it to Columbia Pictures: Whom he met in Hollywood, big shots he had free lunch with and the interviews he gave.
His ten minute crash co...more
1 like · like · see review
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An exceptionally bland read which could essentially be condensed down to a blurb-Man sells himself to science to fund film, man makes cheap said film for 7,000, man becomes overnight Hollywood royalty. Everything else is just laboured repetition.
Also in order keep up with the nonchalant pretence of effortless film making vital information is constantly left out, often going from A straight to D.
A prime example being while struggling to write for film Quentin Tarantino gives him some great advice...more
Also in order keep up with the nonchalant pretence of effortless film making vital information is constantly left out, often going from A straight to D.
A prime example being while struggling to write for film Quentin Tarantino gives him some great advice...more
Film director Mat Whitecross has chosen to discuss Robert Rodriguez’s Rebel Without a Crew: Or How a 23-Year-Old Film-Maker With $7,000 Became a Hollywood Player , on FiveBooks (http://five-books.com) as one of the top five on his subject – Film Directing, saying that:
“…I remember growing up and really wanting to be a film-maker but it seemed like an impossible dream. When this book came out it was so inspiring because Rodriguez said, just grab hold of a camera and go off and shoot and practise...more
“…I remember growing up and really wanting to be a film-maker but it seemed like an impossible dream. When this book came out it was so inspiring because Rodriguez said, just grab hold of a camera and go off and shoot and practise...more
I've been a casual fan of Robert Rodriguez for a while-basically I think he makes damn fun action films with some inventive ideas in each, even if they're not "the best movie evar" kinds of deals. So when I saw this at the Traveler Cafe I snapped it up. About a year or maybe more later I've finally read it, in quite rapid-fire (I think it took less than a week). It's immensely readable, just Rodriguez's diary from the time he conceived of the idea of shooting a "practice" action film on film, tr...more
Mar 31, 2008
Alexia
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
aspiring filmmakers and the people who love them
now that i'm a month from earning my bachelor's degree in film production here's how i would do it if i were to do it all over again:
1. take out a student loan, but use it to buy a camera instead of classes.
2. get the super maxed out netflix subscription that allows for 10 dvd's at a time. start from the silents and watch every important film anyone ever mentioned (and some bad ones for balance)
3. purchase 'rebel without a crew'. read it in two hours (it really is a fast read) and follow every w...more
1. take out a student loan, but use it to buy a camera instead of classes.
2. get the super maxed out netflix subscription that allows for 10 dvd's at a time. start from the silents and watch every important film anyone ever mentioned (and some bad ones for balance)
3. purchase 'rebel without a crew'. read it in two hours (it really is a fast read) and follow every w...more
1 like · like · see review
This is the story of how Robert Rodriguez (Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Grindhouse, Machete) created his own path to Hollywood and a successful film career. I read this when I was in high school multiple times, and it is by no means a work of literary genius, but there is a beautiful simplicity to the journal-style presented in the book. The honesty in this book gave me hope when I was younger, and for me it made writing not so much about what I wish I could write, but more about what was and is.
This book consists of excerpts from the diary of Robert Rodriguez during the pre-production, production and aftermath of the making of his first feature film; El Mariachi.
This is a great read and absolutely fascinating to learn about all the extreme lengths he went to just to be able to fund and film his action flick. This is a must read for any aspiring film makers out there. Although I wouldn't recommend copying what he did. Don't make yourself a guinea pig for experiments, yeah really.
This is a great read and absolutely fascinating to learn about all the extreme lengths he went to just to be able to fund and film his action flick. This is a must read for any aspiring film makers out there. Although I wouldn't recommend copying what he did. Don't make yourself a guinea pig for experiments, yeah really.
Very inspiring. The book is written in diary form from when he started El Mariachi to when it was bought by Columbia and shown at film festivals. I read it in 2 days. I think his film making strategy of not worrying about doing it right, just go do it, is applicable to every creative process. Learning by doing will beat learning and then doing every time. Lots of very funny parts while filming Mariachi that reminded me of movies I used to make. I'm a big Robert Rodriguez fan now.
This book gets re-read by me at least once a year because it continues to remind me just how much fun it can be to make movies when you don't stress over the rules all the time. Reading the day-by-day diary entries of Rodriguez won't teach you a thing about the technical side of filmmaking but it will show you a thing or two about shooting a movie with little equipment, all of your friends and a budget funded by subjecting your body to medical experimentation.
Robert Rodriguez is the director of Sin City, Spy Kids and El Mariachi - his first feature film which cost $7000 and looks fantastic. He writes about making movies at home using an old video camera tethered to a Betamax recorder. He's passionate about making good films cheaply - I mean for nothing. Now he's one of the big players but he still turns in great work on time and under budget. It's a great read. Funny and inspiring.
Live the dream, even if it means giving your body to science for 3 months to fund you movie.
This is the diary that Robert Rodriguez kept when he was making El Mariachi. Very inspiring, informative about the process of film creation, and extremely entertaining. Robert has a very candid sense of humor, and it bleeds thru the ink here.
If you ever considered film school, or working on TV production, you must read this.
This is the diary that Robert Rodriguez kept when he was making El Mariachi. Very inspiring, informative about the process of film creation, and extremely entertaining. Robert has a very candid sense of humor, and it bleeds thru the ink here.
If you ever considered film school, or working on TV production, you must read this.
I wish I would have read this book 15 years ago. How inspirational to see how a neophyte filmmaker made a well-received, theatrical movie for under $7,000. He did almost everything himself and showed how you don't have to attend film school or be a Hollywood insider to break into the film making business. He had creativity, passion, determination, and a maverick attitude.
A great history of how Rodriguez created El Mariachi on a shoestring budget and farmed himself out as a guinea pig in science experiments so he could buy film stock... a very entertaining read especially if you have aspirations of making your own movie some day, I found myself screaming and cheering in places throughout the book.
This is the very entertaining story of how Robert Rodriguez made and sold his first movie! He is the master of doing action on a low budget and has lots of wisdom on how to get this done. This book, like his movies, is very fun. Highly recommended for fans of Rodriguez or low budget filmmaking.
... I have no doubt that most of this book is self-mythologizing, but I don't care. Along with Lloyd Kauffman's MAKE YOUR OWN DAMN MOVIE, this is the best book of practical advice for an aspiring filmmaker that I've read.
Rebel Without a Crew is the perfect book if you need some motivation to start making your own movie, or even just to learn about an inspiring experience.
Robert Rodriguez really has a style of filmmaking that I admire, so hearing about it in a book where he gives us all the details, I couldn't enjoy it more.
Robert Rodriguez really has a style of filmmaking that I admire, so hearing about it in a book where he gives us all the details, I couldn't enjoy it more.
Rebel Without A Crew is one of the more inspiration books about film making I've ever read. Telling the story of a very young Robert Rodriguez going through medical testing to make money to make his film, the book flows beautifully.
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Robert Anthony Rodriguez is an American director, writer, producer, cinematographer, editor and musician perhaps best known for making profitable, crowd-pleasing independent and studio films with fairly low budgets and fast schedules by Hollywood standards. He shoots and produces many of his films in Texas and Mexico.
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