USA: The new Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez concept film "Grindhouse" premieres in Los Angeles

Record ID: 220581

  • Title: USA: The new Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez concept film "Grindhouse" premieres in Los Angeles
  • Date: 28th March 2007
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTRESS ROSE MCGOWAN SAYING: "Well, one, I saw it the other night and somebody said the most perfect thing. They said they'd never laughed and dry-heaved at the exact same moment. So I think for Tarantino and Rodriguez that is, they should put that on a movie poster, I need to go call Harvey right now." PRESS LINE. (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTRESS ZOE BELL SAYING: "I think it was a combination of things. I mean, I think that my first reaction was, 'What if I'm terrible at it?' because I could very well be terrible. But Quentin was like 'Look. I see something in you. I know it's there.' So my theory was that if I just learned my lines inside out, I just hand it over to the Big Man, you know."
  • Embargoed: 12th April 2007 13:00
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  • Location: Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Reuters ID: LVADMAWJLF5YZPF9542G3LIYQQF8
  • Story Text: Directors Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez showed up with the nearly two dozen stars of their "Grindhouse" at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Los Angeles Monday (March 26) night to talk to the press and take in the premiere of their new film. The term "grindhouse" refers to the ageing cinemas that used to play B-movies nearly day and night.
    The motion picture is actually two separate screenplays integrated into one (complete with faux trailers) -- "Planet Terror" and "Death Proof" -- and mimics the low-budget slasher, revenge and cannibal films of the 1960s and 70s that were known for their over-the-top gore and violence.
    Rodriguez, who also directed "Sin City," "Spy Kids" and "The Faculty," said that he and Tarantino were quite pleased with the final result.
    "Quentin and I were watching it together and said, 'This is exactly what we were talking about when we first had that first five-minute conversation about it. We actually did it,'" said Rodriguez.
    "So, it's great that it came out. You know, things don't always come out the way that you expect. And this one came out even better than we expected," he added.
    Tarantino is one of the few directors who has achieved a larger-than-life pop-culture persona, thanks to his previous films "Reservoir Dogs," "Pulp Fiction," "Jackie Brown," and "Kill Bill" (Volumes 1 and 2).
    Veteran actor Kurt Russell, who played a deranged leading man in the Tarantino half ("Death Proof"), agreed that the unique film delivers.
    "Yeah, it is quite an accomplishment," said Russell. "It's really something different. I think, I think that everybody's just going to have fun. I think it's a step back in time and a step forward in filmmaking . This guy is really something. I mean, he's just, um, unique and different and smart. He's some kind of cinema savant. And, what a great pleasure to work with and I think that we did create something completely different."
    Meanwhile, actress Rose McGowan, best-known as a star of the hit television series "Charmed" and the unlikely heroine of the sci-fi horror ("Planet Terror") half by Rodriguez, summed up the sentiment of many who have seen the shocking joint effort.
    "Well, one, I saw it the other night and somebody said the most perfect thing. They said they'd never laughed and dry-heaved at the exact same moment," said McGowan. "So I think for Tarantino and Rodriguez that is, they should put that on a movie poster, I need to go call Harvey right now."
    The film relies upon riveting special effects and stunts to deliver its fast-paced succession of plot twists, turns and punches. And, Tarantino even cast one of his favorite stuntwomen, Zoe Bell, to play herself in one of the many leading roles. The New Zealander has worked with Tarantino in the past as a stunt double in the "Kill Bill" movies. When asked how she made her leap to a speaking part look so effortless, Bell deferred to Tarantino.
    "I think it was a combination of things," said Bell. "I mean, I think that my first reaction was, 'What if I'm terrible at it?' cause I could very well be terrible. But Quentin was like 'Look. I see something in you. I know it's there.' So my theory was that if I just learned my lines inside out, I just hand it over to the Big Man, you know," she added.
    The ruggedly handsome Josh Brolin, son of actor James Brolin who stars as a creepy doctor, worked with friend Rodriguez to craft the perfect role.
    "Robert had created an outline for this character and then he called me and said, ' Do you wanna do it?'," said Brolin. "And then we started riffing, cause we talk on e-mail a lot. We go back and forth. He's in Austin, I'm in Los Angeles. So I was writing something at the time. He liked that idea. We kind of merged the two, and you know, we kind of-- listen, it's just two kids, man, creating a backyard play. That's what we did."
    "Grindhouse" also stars Rosario Dawson, Jordan Ladd (daughter of actress Cheryl Ladd), Sydney Tamiia Poitier (daughter of actor Sydney Poitier), twins Electra and Elise Avellan (nieces of Rodriguez), Marley Shelton, Freddy Rodriguez (no relation to the director), Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Naveen Andrews, Tracie Thoms, and Vanessa Ferlito.
    "Grindhouse" opens in the United States on April 6.
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