Robert Rodriguez, Red 11, $7000 feature

It's obvious you can make a movie for $7,000, but can you make a violent action/science fiction movie for $7,000?

Robert Rodriguez has made a new $7,000 feature, Red 11. It wasn't intended for public viewing, but it turned out well enough that he decided to release it. It hasn't been decided how it would be made available for public viewing, but making his money back shouldn't be a problem.

I just read the Variety review. It doesn't sound very good, but it should be interesting to see anyway.

Just how hard should critics be on a movie made for $7,000 (or less, according to the director’s final calculations)? If anything, it’s more tempting to scrutinize that budget claim, since it assumes that directors can borrow the cameras and equipment they need while convincing their actors to work for next to nothing. (Rodriguez paid his entire ensemble roughly $3,000, calling in favors from old friends like “El Mariachi” star Carlos Gallardo, who has a cameo.) Then again, quibbling over how he spent the money distracts from the purpose of the exercise.

Considering that Hollywood tentpoles cost somewhere in the ballpark of $25,000 per second to produce, and that even the lowest low-budget movies typically run well into the six-figure range, Rodriguez wants to show that being smart about the resources you have — which for him evidently includes a few trippy uses of the “Alita” set, even if most of the film takes place in his nondescript production offices — allows filmmakers to focus on problem-solving. Too many of his solutions involve quick cutting and canned sound effects (the fake punches are especially egregious in a fight scene between test subjects), and post-production color tricks actually make the HD footage look cheaper, instead of adding atmosphere. Another lesson: “El Mariachi” was aided enormously by the fact that subtitles covered the clunky Spanish-language line readings. Here, you get what you pay for, performance-wise.

It might have been more interesting to me if he had used a consumer camcorder and the complementary tripod that came with it. But what am I complaining about.

See HERE's the real lesson. He made the movie as an exercise. If it failed, fine, it's a failed experiment. What did you expect? He hadn't planned on releasing it anyway.

THAT should be the inspiration to impoverished filmmakers.

Rodriguez shot El Mariachi in Mexico. He wanted to be able to "fail quietly" out of public view.

Make your own experimental movie just to see if it's possible to do for a tiny sum, and if you fail, it was just an experiment. Nothing to be humiliated by. Try to do something good, but take the pressure off.