Candi’s Corner: Interview with Robert Rodriguez, Danny Trejo, and Alexa Vega

“Spy Kids”, Ray Liotta, and Bikinis:
Robert Rodriguez, Danny Trejo, and Alexa Vega
Talk “Machete Kills” in Philly

By Tinsel & Tine Blog Contributor Candace Cordelia

After enjoying the crazy fun of screening “Machete Kills”, I was lucky enough to sit down with Robert Rodriguez, Alexa Vega and Danny Trejo during a roundtable interview.

It was wonderful to meet these three in this intimate setting and to see how close they are with one another. I must admit that I never saw the magic from all of the Spy Kids movies, but now I have to check out each one again on Netflix; I hadn’t recalled that Robert, Alexa and Danny first worked with each other starting with the first Spy Kids movie and, wait for it…Danny’s character in the series is named “Machete”! It’s the intertwining of all three movies – Spy Kids, Machete and Machete Kills that made me see how much more there is to learn about the director and his creative mind.

Rodriguez clearly has passion for his chosen profession and I could not imagine him doing anything else with his life. When asked about if he was a fan of the new 3D technology in movies today, Alexa cries out, “He brought it back!” Indeed, many die-hard fans of film and Rodriguez’s work agree that he ushered in the era of 3D (“I made the time”, Rodriguez avows). As for the rusty, brown car that Mel Gibson’s character Voz jumps into towards the end of Machete Kills, Mad Max 2 fans will be happy to know that Rodriguez put that unscripted bit into the film as a homage to the iconic figure.

We also touched on Alexa’s transition from child to adult actress and her preparation for the role of “KillJoy” in Machete Kills. Alexa gave a proper “Huh!” with a smile, as her first word response, and then quickly added “With Robert, you have no idea what you’re going

to be doing. And with KillJoy, she had a one-sentence description and that was it. She was written for an extra out of Austin [TX].” Trejo immediately jumped in to express that “if she [Alexa] wouldn’t have owned it the way she did, Robert would have sent her packing. She would have done an hour shot…but she owned it.” Sitting at the table, I could see how comfortable Alexa, Robert, and Danny were with each other due to their long work history, and everyone died laughing when Danny likened seeing Alexa kick butt in her role as “KillJoy” as if it were “the first time I saw my daughter in a bikini.” “Get back…are you crazy?! You’re not going out of the house in that! You crazy?”, Trejo exclaimed. For a role that only should have taken an hour to shoot, extended to being a three-week adventure for Vega because of her ability to completely embody the essence of “KillJoy” without resistance.

As for Danny Trejo, you can’t help but have an immense respect for the man. From reading the biography on his IMDB page, you would not expect him to be so humble. His journey started as a child drug addict, in and out of jail eleven times, to starring in Hollywood movies; perhaps this is why Trejo is extremely down to earth, hilarious, and introspective. We listened to him remark that “the warmest hug from any man” came from Ray Liotta after his mom passed away. And describe the time that Robert Rodriguez first approached him with the idea for “Machete” while they were filming “Desperado” in 1995 (!), you just hang on to his every word and there’s never a moment when you can’t help but smile or laugh. Danny Trejo is a naturally gifted storyteller and inspiration.

So, what’s next for this awesome threesome? Robert is working on some new, top secret ideas for his new cable television network, El Rey. Alexa has completed a comic book that she wrote titled “Suicide Layne”, of which she sounded very excited about and will be available in stores in a few weeks. She also has a handful of films coming out between this year and next, including the horror-thiller The Remaining, The Hunters, and Wicked Blood which will also star Abigail Breslin, Sean Bean, and James Purefoy. Finally, in the future we will see Danny in a sitcom (fingers crossed!) with George Lopez called St. George and a whole host of other movies that have either just been announced, are in pre-/post-production, completed, or currently filming like – Badass 2, Badass 3, Bullet, Dead in Tombstone, and Muppets Most Wanted, where audiences will have the privilege to see Trejo dancing with Ray Liotta and sing a solo).

This was my second time doing a roundtable interview of this magnitude, and I left wishing all the best for Rodriguez, Vega, and Trejo. They are charming, positive, and filled with life experiences, qualities that help to encourage a bright path in the arts. While Robert had to leave earlier than Alexa and Danny, the two actors were very happy to take pictures with us journalists. I took a pic with Alexa (and felt like a giant next to her!), but was too late to pose besides Danny. I’ll get you next time, Machete! cause
I, for one, I’m praying that “Machete…In Space” gets the greenlight.