Michelle Rodriguez – Machete

It’s been 10 years since actress Michelle Rodriguez broke into the film industry by beating out 350 other young women for the lead role in the independent, award-winning film “Girlfight,” which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in 2000.

Since that performance, Rodriguez has gone on to earn a number of roles in both independent and mainstream movies including “The Fast and the Furious,” “Blue Crush,” and last year’s history-making blockbuster “Avatar.” She now stars in director Robert Rodriguez’s new exploitation film “Machete.”

In the film, Rodriguez, who is of Puerto Rican and Dominican descent, plays Luz, aka Shé, a taco-truck employee who moonlights as a revolutionary. She helps title character Machete (Danny Trejo) seek revenge on the men who double-cross him and leave him for dead.

What attracted you to the role of Luz other than the fact that she is one of these strong female characters you’re known for playing?

I liked the fact that she’s about the people. There’s just something really beautiful about that – about the idea that you can have somebody that is attracted to innocence and attracted to struggle and peace and justice and will literally dedicate their life to that cause. I admire that in people. I personally feel like there’s a more democratic and efficient way to go about things, but this isn’t reality. (Laughs) This is an exploitation film. I enjoy taking things to an exaggerated fantasy limit.

Speaking of fighting for a cause, you recently joined the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. How did you get involved in that organization and what do you hope to accomplish in a group that is considered by many as very controversial?

I have a love for…anything that can’t defend itself or doesn’t have a voice. I’ve feel an innate connection and empathy towards it ever since I was a little kid. Not to be mushy or anything, but it’s something that rings true with me. I go back to Puerto Rico and I would cry because I would see that they were just destroying all the mountains. I was just always really frustrated at this lack of appreciation for man’s creation over nature. It wasn’t until I shot “Battle in Seattle” where I really started to think that maybe this activism thing isn’t necessarily the way everyone wants to go about it, but they’re doing something about it and I have to respect that. I started getting involved in different organizations and then I landed “Avatar” and [director] James [Cameron] started introducing me to other organizations and people that were seriously involved. There was a whole network. He opened up a gateway. I was like, “OK, this is where I belong. This is where I need to be.” So, I was out at the Cannes Film Festival deejaying some gigs and while I was out there I saw one of the Sea Shepherds. I was partying on a yacht and I saw this Sea Shepherd in Cannes! (Laughs) I was like, “What the hell is a Sea Shepherd doing in Cannes?” I had to go out there and meet him and see what he was all about.

Well, this does sound like a cause that you are definitely willing to fight for, but is it a cause that you’re willing to face danger for? I don’t know if you watch “Whale Wars,” but some members of the Conservation Society were kidnapped during the first season.

What’s that famous scene in “The Lion King?” It goes, “Danger? Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. I laugh in the face of danger!” I feel like the baby lion. I think they called him Simba.

You’re celebrating your 10-year anniversary as an actress this year. Does it still surprise you when you think back to “Girlfight” a decade ago and realize how far you’ve come?

You know, it doesn’t surprise me because now it feels so right and everything that I’ve gone through and everything that has happened is perfect. Even the hardships and the struggles and all the fights that I’ve had at studios, it’s great to be in a place where you’re like, “Finally, I get it.” I’ve established who I am and it’s just beautiful that I’ve been able to do it and that I’ve had the opportunity to it and that the business has been so open-minded to letting me grown as a person. [When I started] I was a kid, dude. I was 20 years old. I never had money in my life and I get thrust into this game and all of a sudden I’m doing “The Fast and the Furious” and taking mad dough. Next thing you know I’m in Hollywood movies just because Vin Disel liked my character in “Girlfight.” I’m like, “Dude? Do you even know what’s going on?” I’m a girl from Jersey City who knows nothing about cash and nothing about the lifestyle being thrust into it. I had so much education thrust at me so fast, I couldn’t even blink without learning something. It was amazing. I wouldn’t take back a second of it.

Some people are calling Danny Trejo the first big Latino action star…

Wait a minute. I don’t know about all that. People are forgetting Antonio Banderas in “Zorro.” He’s not the first Latin. And you can’t forget “El Chapulin Colorado.” Come on now. You have to give some props where it’s due. Maybe the first Mexican-American superhero. Because Cantinflas, even though he was funny, he was my hero.

Were you able to match Danny’s toughness?

Dude, that guy’s got a heart of gold. All you can do is accent it. It’s like he’s so hardcore but then you look in his eyes and he’s got this pureness about him. You feel like you’re in a good place with Danny…as long as you don’t get on his bad side. That’s one Mexican you don’t want to fuck with.

You’ve done you’re fair share of action movies and have carried a few guns in some of them, but nothing as massive as what you carry in “Machete.” How did making a Robert Rodriguez movie compare to the rest?

I feel like I’ve never really been truly allowed to be sexy before this. I feel like I’ve been able to explore a little bit more of my feminine side.

I guess it’s easier to feel sexy when you have a big gun in your hand.

(Laughs) That and a bra.

Danny Trejo – Machete

Danny Trejo’s never met a movie role he didn’t like. Since breaking into the film industry in 1985, after spending a majority of his adulthood in and out of prison, Trejo’s familiar chiseled-with-a-serrated-edge look has earned him screen time in over 140 movies, including “Bound by Honor,” “Con Air,” and just about every film directed by his cousin Robert Rodriguez. In “Machete,” Trejo, 66, plays the title character, a revenge-seeking, blade-wielding former Mexican Federale with an ax to grind (literally). He spoke to me via phone about starring in the first lead role of his career.

You’ve been in the industry for over 20 years. Did you always think a lead role like this was going to come sooner or later if you were just patient enough?

You know, acting to me is like any other job. It’s like a painter or a plumber. You just keep working. It’s just a job that I love. Everybody’s asking me if I’m just going to take lead roles now. Hell no! Give me a job. Like a housepainter, I’ll paint whatever house you want me to paint.

You must be the hardest working house-painter in the business. Your imdb.com page lists you in 20 movies this year.

(Laughs) Yeah, I’m starting to do everything. I just did a movie in Austin with a young, first-time director. They paid me $100. My son is producing a movie right now called “Skinny Dip.” He better give me a job.

Can you give me an example of a role you might turn down?

If the bad guy wins, I probably wouldn’t do it. They always say, “Oh, you’re always the killer or the robber,” but I always die! Even Al Pacino got killed off in “Scarface.” That’s life.

Yeah, I was a bit disappointed you made an early exit in “Predators.”

(Laughs) Well, they had to kill me off quick because I made everyone else look too soft.

This movie has been a rumor for a long time. How much pestering did it take from you to get Robert to finally do it?

I was calling him every day! There’s a line in the movie that says, “Machete don’t text.” It’s in the movie because Robert kept telling me, “Stop calling me! Just text me! I can’t always answer the phone!” I told him, “Machete don’t text.” So, he put it in the script!

Any dramatic roles in your future?

Well, I did a movie called “Sherrybaby” [in 2006]. But dramatic movies…they bore me, holmes. It’s like, “Wake me up when I gotta be on set!” I love action roles. I love shooting and running over buildings and jumping through windows.

And it’s probably easier to cuddle up with actresses like Jessica Alba and Michelle Rodriguez when you’re playing a badass.

Oh, you watch. The things I do with Jessica in this movie, I’m like, “Thank you, Jesus!” God worked overtime for me on that one.

Machete

Starring: Danny Trejo, Michelle Rodriguez, Robert De Niro
Directed by: Robert Rodriguez (“Sin City”) and Ethan Maniquis (debut)
Written by: Robert Rodriguez (“Planet Terror”) and Alvaro Rodriguez (“Shorts”)

Continuing where he left off after teasing audiences with a faux trailer in 2007’s “Grindhouse,” filmmaker Robert Rodriguez (“Sin City”) serves up a dish of entertaining mayhem and timely political satire in the form of “Machete.” It’s a contemporary exploitation flick with all the aesthetics of the hardcore vigilante films of the 70s, but with one discernable difference: This time a Mexican’s in charge.

In “Machete,” veteran actor Danny Trejo (“Con Air”) stars as the title character, a former Mexican Federale out for revenge against the men who set him up during an assassination attempt against racist politician Senator McLaughlin (Robert De Niro). The senator, who spends his free time playing border enforcer and shooting Mexicans who cross into the U.S., is betting that his idea to eradicate all illegal immigrants and erect an electrified border fence will garner enough support to win the upcoming election.

Tied to the senator is Torrez (Steven Segal, who was smart to take this role instead of embarrassing himself in “The Expendables”), a drug cartel kingpin who just happens to be the same man carrying the sword that beheaded Machete’s wife.

On the run, Machete is reeled into “Operation Network,” an underground group of activists fighting for the rights of Mexican immigrants everywhere. Led by a revolutionist known as Shé (an obvious homage to Ché Guevara), “The Network” is a complex system of justice-seekers watching out for their fellow hombres.

Michelle Rodriguez (“Avatar”) plays Luz, a taco-truck owner who may or may not be a major part of “The Network,” but takes care of her own nonetheless. Jessica Alba (“Sin City”) is Sartana, an official with the U.S. Immigration Department who is forced to choose between the law and her empathy for the cause. Precious time is wasted on a topless Lindsay Lohan (“Georgia Rule”) as April, Booth’s meth-head daughter who is on screen long enough for her to flash her breasts and dress like a nun for the final shootout.

Already labeled as a “Mexploitation” film, “Machete” doesn’t disappoint in delivering incredibly campy violence by way of swords, surgical tools, and even a customized weed whacker with a little extra cutting power. No matter what, if any, political stance the film takes, Machete himself is simply a fun character to cheer for despite his lack of real personality.

Nevermind how much disarray immigration reform is across the country, Machete has actually taught us something that can’t be learned from watching Fox News or CNN. He’s taught us about survival. He’s taught us that a man can only be pushed so far before he starts pushing (slicing in this case) back. Most importantly, he’s taught us that whoever coined the first rule of modern warfare – “never bring a knife to a gunfight” – didn’t consider what a vengeful Mexican could actually do with a bad attitude and a blade.