Rodriguez 'Bonds' With 'Spy Kids'

With such hyper-kinetic thrill rides as "Desperado," "From Dusk Till Dawn" and "The Faculty," filmmaker Robert Rodriguez has never had trouble attracting audiences.

That is, until recently, when he was put to the ultimate test. He had to screen his new film, the family action-comedy "Spy Kids" for his toughest audience yet -- his children.

And the verdict?

"My oldest son is 5 and he loves it," Rodriguez told me enthusiastically during a recent interview.

Somehow I get the feeling that no matter how favorable reviews the review are, or how much money it makes ? this film is already a hit to the family-man filmmaker.

If anybody knows the meaning of success close to home, it's Rodriguez. Before "Desperado" brought his work to the masses, he made waves at Sundance with his action flick, "El Mariachi." Made for a paltry $7,000, the experience defined Rodriguez as the ultimate "can-do" filmmaker.

Rodriguez not only wrote and directed that film, but also edited it and produced it. He even subjected himself to medical experiments to help with the financing.

"It really didn't seem weird at the time to do it because it was just a way to make money really fast," recalled Rodriguez, laughing. "I already had a job that had to pay for the rent and tuition, and there was nothing left over."

Now, nine years and six films later, Rodriguez has been able to forgo being a medical subject, although his work ethic is as solid as ever. Not only did he write, direct, produce and edit "Spy Kids," he contributed to some of the songs that appear in the film as well.

Antonio Banderas and Carla Gugino star in the film as Gregorio and Ingrid Cortez, a married pair of super-spies drawn out of a 10-year retirement to save a group of fellow agents that have mysteriously disappeared. But trouble ensues when the couple is nabbed by the enemy, Fegan Floop (Alan Cumming) -- an evil Willy Wonka-type who's formulating a devious plan that involves robotic kids.

Armed with gadgets like flying jetpacks, submarine pods and electroshock bubblegum, the Cotez's children, Carmen (Alexa Vega) and Juni (Daryl Sabara) must fly to Floop's castle to not only save the day, but keep their family together.

While having kids in real life (along with his wife, "Spy Kids" producer Elizabeth Avellan) obviously gave Rodriguez the incentive to make the film, the story essentially began to write itself years ago.

"I actually started thinking about the idea for this particular movie before I had kids of my own," said Rodriguez, who came up with the idea while working with Banderas on a segment for the film "Four Rooms" in 1994. But certain elements of the film came about even before that.

"I wanted the movie to feel like the little kid in me, so I went back to look at the drawings I made as a little kid," Rodriguez said. He put his imagination to work at age 12 with a movie camera, and had the benefit of having nine other siblings to help fuel the imagination.

Because it deals with spies, don't assume "Spy Kids" is only a junior James Bond movie. Thanks to Rodriguez's childhood influences, the film is not only influenced by 007, but much, much more.

"It's also like 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang' (which, like Bond, is another Ian Fleming creation) and 'Escape From Witch Mountain' ? films that I grew up with," Rodriguez said. "You don't see films like that anymore. They are so wildly imaginative."

Bringing his childlike imagination and enthusiasm to the screen presented an interesting challenge to Rodriguez for "Spy Kids," however: He wanted a film reminiscent of other spy films and his childhood favorites, yet wanted it have an identity all to its own.

To find the answer, he had to look no further than at his two young actors. Essentially, it's all about the kids.

"I wanted a family adventure that not only offers imagination to kids, but empowerment," he said.

On top of that, "Spy Kids" is refreshing in the fact that the driving force in the movie isn't money or power. It's something much more valuable than that.

"It sells the idea that keeping a family together is worthwhile," Rodriguez said. "I really wanted the movie to be about growing up in a strong family. My mother and father are still together and my brothers and sisters are all very close. That foundation is important to me and I wanted to play it up in the movie, and in a fun way."

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