Advertisement
Freddy Rodríguez Finds There's Nothing Like the Holidays
Actor takes his turn behind the scenes
(Page 2)
FR: I think it comes after the day is done—or before—but I tried not to come across as “the producer” with the other actors, because I wanted to protect the sense of us as a unit, working as equals. I wanted everyone to feel comfortable. Sometimes when the producer is on set it can get uncomfortable from an actor’s perspective; I don’t want to come across as their boss.
MM: Which directors have had the strongest impact on your work and your perception of how to make movies?
FR: The Hughes brothers had an enormous impact on my career; I would watch movies with them every day. They taught me how to dissect movies and performances. They taught me how to distinguish who was really good and why. They taught me about nuance. I really learned a lot from those guys, they have incredible instincts. A lot of that came because I was young. I was a theater actor, I didn’t know anything about film at all; they taught me a lot about film.
MM: It is amazing how often great actors seem to be doing so little. They seem to be…
FR: ...I’m a great advocate of that—of subtlety, of nuance. I think that’s evident in Nothing Like the Holidays… I remember watching early Al Pacino—The Godfather movies, Dog Day Afternoon, Serpico—and it really blew my mind that the same guy was playing those characters; he had a nice balance of subtlety and external qualities. I remember watching Benicio Del Toro for the first few times and feeling what an incredible talent he was. And Anthony Hopkins—he’s like the master of subtlety—saying so little and yet so much at the same time.
MM: Do you see yourself directing at any point?
FR: I think so, sure. It’s definitely in the near future. I wanted to first try producing before I tried directing—to see if I was equipped to do it, to see if I liked it. I liked it very much. I think I’ll do a bit more producing before I try directing.
MM: Do you have a sense of the sort of material you’d want to direct?
FR: No, I just want to always try and tackle things that are new and different. I’m re-teaming with Rob, George and Rene to produce a film early next year in Puerto Rico; a film that will be a cross between Carlito’s Way and City of God. It’s going to be filmed in a ghetto in Puerto Rico called La Perla (The Pearl); there’s never been a full-length feature shot there. Kind of like City of God, where you actually got to see the favelas like that, in a full-length feature. Those are the types of films that attract me, as producer and actor: Something that is completely different.
Digg
StumbleUpon
Facebook
Del.icio.us
Reddit
YahooAdvertisement
COMMENTS | POST A COMMENT 
- Comment by Beatrice B on 12/16/08 at 11:00 am
Thanks for this interview. I really wish Freddy Rodriguez a lot of success in his now rising career as producer and as director. He is already amazing as an actor. Freddy, keep making us, latino, proud!!! We love you!!!
- Comment by geothermal on 1/02/09 at 2:38 pm
Awesome interview, thanks. He is definitely up and rising.
- Comment by buy eee 901 on 7/14/09 at 7:46 pm
Good luck with this. Sheesh what a control freak! Seriously though, most people with talent like to move beyond just acting. Harrison Ford, are you listening???
- Comment by Chicago Car Accident Lawyer on 12/03/10 at 4:27 pm
The reference to Anthony Hopkins is spot on. How nice to see an actor and now producer recognizing these kind of people. Getting his feet wet as a producer rather than a director sounds like a good idea.
 cover_archive.jpg)
This story was published in the Fall 2008 MovieMaker Magazine. The headline was:
Freddy Rodríguez Produces a Star Turn
Order this issue | Subscribe to MM
posted 05.25.12
posted 05.22.12
posted 05.15.12
SITE DELIVERY OPTIONS
