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Quint & Robert Rodriguez take a tour of the SPY KIDS set, come along...
Hey folks, Harry here... My trusty scab of the seven seas is peeling back and letting ooze with the empty set blues... Actually, he's walking around the SPY KIDS sets with Robert Rodriguez and the Fair Spanish Maiden... gathering pictures and stories about how SPY KIDS came about, what's going on in the sequel and so on... He also conducted a full blown interview with Rodriguez where he finds out everything that Robert is willing to fess up to having up his sleeve in terms of future projects. Now sit back and enjoy....
Ahoy there, squirts. ‘Tis I, the super busy and very crusty seaman, Quint,
here once more this time with a little peek into the world of Spy Kids. A
guided tour if you will hosted by none other than Robert Rodriguez himself.
The film has enjoyed the number 1 spot on the box office for two weeks and
it’s a good bet that a lot of you have seen it by now and I’d go so far as
to say you have enjoyed it, or else you wouldn’t be interested in reading
this little “tour” in the first place. If you disliked the movie, I’m sorry.
I wish you had liked it. But why are you here? I’m sure I’ll find out in
Talkback...
Anyway, I was scheduled to do an interview with Robert Rodriguez in person,
the day after Spy Kids opened, at Sleeping Shark Productions’ base of
operations. It seemed that the Spy Kids sets were still standing (a
complete rarity in this business, afterall most sets are struck not hours
after the film is wrapped) and Robert invited me out for a little tour of
the sets before the interview.
I didn’t really plan on writing this up, but just to use the pictures that
My Fair Spanish Maiden took of the set in the interview itself. But, I have
been called to Los Angeles where I’ll be for over a week (starting Tuesday)
and without my own personal computer or the time to transcribe the rest of
my interview with Robert. I just happened to have my tape recorder on for
this little tour, so I had Robert’s words... and pictures... and felt bad
for not getting the interview up before this weeklong delay. So, this is for
you guys to take a peek at while I’m away... I’m planning on doing some on
location write ups for you guys while I’m out there, though, so keep your
eyes peeled, squirts.
This is the tour I took, being led by Sr. Rodriguez through a fairly
ordinary warehouse filled with extraordinary things. I felt like Charlie
walking through the chocolate factory along behind Willy Wonka as he’s
telling me secrets he probably shouldn’t be. Unfortunately, Robert didn’t
give me the Spy Kids sets when it was all said and done, but the rest was
just like WillyWonka!
The tour started late. Robert showed up in the same casual wear that I’ve
never seen him without. T Shirt, loose pants with lotsa pockets, etc. He
began almost immediatly, taking me back through the office part of the
warehouse, navigating through a hallway or two (and a breakroom), trying to
find the door that led into the room of wonder and amazement.
“Have you ever been back here?” he asked me.
“Yep, a few times when I was an extra in Faculty. This was the area I wasn’t
supposed to be, though. Right over there is where Chris McDonald asked me
where craft services was...”
Robert laughs as he pushes open the door to the warehouse
revealing lots of exposed wood wherein the grand sets of Floop’s castle’s
interiors lay dormant, waiting to be discovered by one Crusty Seaman and his
Fair Spanish Maiden. We all just stood there in amazement... I could’ve
sworn I heard faint music growing...
“Hold your breath... Make a wish... count to three... Come with me, and
you’ll be in a world of pure imagination,” Robert started singing... OK, so
he didn’t, but he should’ve, dammit!
He did say this, though, “Ah, yeah. Since you were here on Faculty, you’ll
notice that the sets are built very similar, with all the hallways and all.”
We entered into the first hallway and what struck me first was how much
smaller the sets were in real life.
“Remember the scene when the kids were doing the fight scene at the end with
the bubble gum and all that?” Robert said. “That’s right here. I just used a
10 mm lens right here when it shows them as they’re walking to face each
other. That’s from here! It just warped the whole thing out! I wanted to use
a lot of wide lenses. When Floop’s running down the hall and he skids. This
little piece! It’s also the piece at the end of the credits. Shot really low
with a 10 mm.”
Cool... the first big set piece we went into was Floop’s main, big room and
we ended up spending more time in that room than we did in any other during
the tour. This is the room with the hand chair, the weird table... the room
where the final fight scene takes place. Robert told me that he wanted the
room to keep circling up.
“I thought we should make this just sorta curving up like a corkscrew so
that things aren’t straight. Windows are a little whacky. I wanted this
(room) to be built for the lens, so I put a really wide lens here, figured
it be like a 10 mm, I wanted to be able to fit all in, but so that’d have
sortuva warped feel. You’d start close the parents and pull back and have it
all fit in the lens. So, I build sets now to lenses (laughs). ‘Cause so many
times you’ll build a big set and you won’t see it. You can’t ever shoot it,
so I say, ‘Well, pick the lens then build the set to fit inside. It fits
perfectly inside of a real wide lens. I just chop the set off.
“I just said, ‘Well, have the pillars keep going. We’ll just frame it out on
top.’ I was in Europe with my parents and taking pictures of them in front
of a cathedral and I thought, ‘These go all the way up, but you just have to
take a picture of the body and you got the feeling of a cathedral.’ I
thought, ‘That’s so weird. I wonder why that is.’ It was just ‘cause the
pillars kept going out of frame.
“So, when it came time to do the set, I wanted it to be this big, grand
room, but because of the ceiling (on the warehouse) it couldn’t be that
tall, so the drawings I started bringing always had all the windows
contained within the set. I’d have it go up and just chop it off. So, when
you frame like this (holds his hands up in that famous director’s rectangle
thing that they’ll look through to similulate looking through the lens of a
camera)... it just looks like it keeps going. Then a couple shots we did
back here, again with a 10 mm, we’d do one shot from back here and just let
it go off frame and then we painted in the rest. Then that other shot,
looking up at Floop, we just put a little piece of green behind him and edit
that in digitally. Then this is where the parents get lowered down and
dropped into... This was a big room.”
Then he sees the table and starts pointing.
““Here’s all the Austin artists at work,” Rodriguez said. “They poured this
resin inside... when we made this table, I had them put all these little art
things and things that reflect... I love that shot of Floop, when the
parents land, when those sets are lit right, (the hallway) just keeps going
all the way back. It’s really cool.”
He then goes over to that cool hand chair thing, sits down in it and starts
describing exactly why this particular chair was included in the movie.
“Look at this chair! I always wanted a chair like that with all the faces
arguing with each other.
I’d just put the remote control here (indicates the mouth of the thumb
face).”
He then points along the walls of the room, going into his Floop frame of
mind, and why Floop would have designed the room the way he did.
“It’s like, why would he just do pillars?” he said. “They should just make
the room go up like a corkscrew again and have the trim sorta sagging like
it’s melted.
Then every once in a while throw in (something) a little different. He
always throws a monkey wrench in everything, so I was like, “Put a monkey
wrench up there!” (laughs) It was sorta, “Really, you want a monkey wrench?”
I said, “Yeah, that’s sorta the idea. You can’t make it too straight... even
this podium has a little Floop shape to it. It’s a little Floopy. We started
using the term “Floopy.” It was fun walking around being Floop. “Well, what
about this?” I’d be, “Yeah, I think he’d put that in here. That there...
like those fruit people ... the big lipstick...”
Then Robert basically told me that a lot of the inspiration for Floop came
from himself. I knew it! Robert really is Willy Wonka! How’d I find this
out? Well, he asked me if I had ever been to his house. I told him, “No.” He
just smiled and said:
“It has like secret passages and everything ‘cause when you’re building your
own thing you can put something like that in. As long as you’re building it,
why just build a regular house? It’s fine, put a hidden door while we’re
here. From that idea I figured if someone can do anything they want, they
will. (laughs)”
Then Robert said something scary.
“Let’s go this way, into the dungeon. Cary White brought me a ‘60s like
room... you know, those kinda round cells? Yeah, that would be good for the
cells... then make ‘em metal... Of course, Austin doesn’t screw around, man.
This is real! Real bars!”
We then break off from the main part of the set, the hallways that lead into
the different rooms. We stop off in the arrrsome room that is used to turn
people into Fooglies in the movie and Robert stops to admire his reflection.
Then he stops at a curious little structure made out of cardboard and
various lengths of wood. What could this be?
“This is where the kids are going up... You know, “Thumb-Thumbs everywhere!”
We did this so we could get the cameras in there, so we didn’t have to get
the cameras to go all the way up. Easy! Believe me, this is easier. Just
build this little thing out of cardboard tubes. That’s much easier than
trying to haul the kids up there.”
Then he rounds the corner, still outside of the main sets and low and behold
there is a large, yellow pod, the Super Guppie from the movie.
“This is made out of foam, too. This is just carved out of foam (scratches
the foam), then they just bondo-ed it, sanded it down and painted it. We
pushed in (on the boy hanging from the front), then composited it. We just
did it outside. Hauled it out into the parking lot and shot. And that shot
of her reaching, trying to grab him, I was on a crane as she reaches over
and we put an upper green screen behind them, panned down to him. When I was
on the lake, I just aimed the camera and got some sides and composited it.
You can’t even tell that’s an effects shot. You can do anything now.”
As the tour wound down, we found ourselves standing outside Floop’s main
room, looking in. This is when Robert started telling me about his plans for
Spy Kids 2.
“What I wanted to do was use all these sets again in Spy Kids 2, but they’re
all going to be underground caverns and stuff. So, they’ll be completely
redressed. If I have it in the same structured layout it’s easier to write
the script thinking, “Oh, yeah... they can go into a room that’s got
chambers and long, mossy overgrown hallways.... Then a big volcano room with
a volcano in the middle and make this all molten lava (indicates the outside
of Floop’s main room, the one with the jigsaw puzzle windows).”
Can’t you just see the molten lava just running off that, boys and girls?
It’ll be glorious!
Anyway, that’s just about it from me. Hope you had fun going through the set
with me and Willy Rodriguez... Robert Wonka... damn! You know what I mean.
As always keep yer eye on the horizon squirts. Robert goes into all his
upcoming projects in my interview, which’ll be up next week when I get back
from LA. Plus I got that onset report thingies comin’, too. Just watch out!
If you email me, give me a few days to get back to you as I’m not really
sure what the computer situation is going to be while in LA.
‘Til next time, my fellow seamen and lovely mermaids... I bid you a fond
farewell and adieu.
-Quint
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+ Expand All
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Now I REALLY want to see this movie! I haven't seen this much imagination since Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory!
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Confused me there.
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Ba dee, ba die, ba doy, ba dot'n doy! Ba dee ba dot'n doy! Kudos to Harry and Cartuna for reliving the hardest I've ever laughed in a movie theater. I hope Jamestown 14 Cine isn't still miffed at me. For a minute I thought it was from "The Thing", and that shaggy moppet was Kurt Russel. Ha ha! Whew! This has been a McDonald's Tie-In with User ID Indeed! You can dream my dream, you can... damn! Get that song outta my head! No me gusta nada, Rodriguez! No frio! Not cool!!!
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As I was watching Spy Kids on opening night, I thought that if they are determined to remake Willy Wonka they might as well do it right and get RR and Alan Cummings to do it...agree disagree?
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That was great! This is one of my favorite movies. Good to see some behind-the-scenes photos. I have an erection.
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I don't care about this Spy Kids nonsense. What I do care about is the fact that Quint stays in character as himself(whoever Quint is) playing AICN Quint, playing Robert Shaw playing Quint. That character Quint rules and it's great to see someone obsessed with the great performance of Robert Shaw as Quint.
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Ya know, despite the things I've said before, I actually LIKE many of Rodriguez's ideas. But, c'mon, is a KID'S movie worth THIS much time? Maybe it's just me. I remember when this site was panned by most directors because of the interesting info the directors didn't want us to see before movies came out. Now the "reporters" are walikng around the set. I respected Harry when he talked about not going to Skywalker ranch because of the bigger picture. But this story is all about kissing Rodriguez's ASS!! You can NEVER pan one of his movies, or you'll lose access to him. That just seems AGAINST what this web site was originally about. But hey, it's your web site, do what you want, right? I'll probably still visit...
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After E.T. came out in '82, every other movie we got was about "three kids who..." Some were good, some stunk. The problem was that these movies weren't being made for kids. Those were just the movies we got. The filmmakers fell into two camps, I believe. You had the young ones who had gone from high school to film school to filmmaking. They were under the spell of STAR WARS and pretty much clung to the fantastic edge of the fantasy spectrum -- it's ALL fantasy, but we didn't have Tarantino in those days reminding us of THE SEVEN UPS or THE TAKING OF PELHAM 1-2-3. Then, you had the filmmakers who got on the band wagon because that's where the bread and the jobs were and that was pretty much all that was offered. So I got pretty sick of kid flicks and the people who made them. Has anybody else read BOY WONDER by James Robert Baker (I'm not talking about WONDER BOYS, which was pretty damned good too). It's about a gonzo producer named Shark Trager who seems to be part of every major film trend from his film student days in the 60s to his death (crashing his car into a multi-plex) in the late '80s. Probably the funniest book I've ever read. The best thing, is that it skewers the juvenile filmmakers of the '80s. Shark, out of rehab and high on life ( no, I didn't write this, I only wish I had!) gets ahold of an edgy script that he doesn't understand is edgy. He wants to make an alien love story so he hires this young, rich immature kid from USC. I know Columbus is working class, but I always pictured Columbus as Gary. Gary eliminates all sex from the script because it's dirty. He's a 24 year old virgin until Shark, coming to his senses, hooks Gary up with this minor actress who looks innocent but has done every player in Hollywood. Gary doesn't know he's hooked up until he calls the woman whom Shark has always been obsessed with an "aging slut" and Shark tells him the truth. Gary ends up on heroin, "with a mean little porn actress who has mainstream dreams". Eventually, Gary cleans up and gets his oil baron Daddy to promise to ruin Shark. Fuckin' hilarious, much, much, much better than I can make it sound. That's what kids movies mean to me. Anyway, I can get behind a kids movie like SPY KIDS or THE 5000 FINGERS OF DR. T., which SK reminds me of, as long as someone isn't telling me it's not a kids movie and I'm gettin' other kinds of movies.
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I was a little perturbed when I got home Sunday night to find Quint and Robert Rodriguez sitting around my flat taking pictures of each other and giggling like little school girls. I asked Quint to housesit on the good faith that he would water my ferns and feed my cat. Turns out he's watered the cat and Lord knows what happened to the fern. I'm already pissed at Rodriguez because he cut my scene from "Desperado" where I say, "What's with all these crazy Mexicans." He's acting all "Hey, I got another part for you," and I was all like "Whateverrrrrrrr." Now days later, I've noticed that my Olsen Twins photo still book has gone missing and all the mayonnaise has suddenly disappeared. What gives Quint??!!
Well that's all for now. Join me next time when Quint will be housesitting while I attend the unveiling of the Patrick Swayze wing at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
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Apr 11, 2001 9:11:26 AM CDT
Yeah, I think Rodriguez and the production designer have seen TH
by twindaggerturkey
which is cool. Anyone know if Floop is going to be in the second movie?
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I have only been coming to this site for...let's say less than a year. In that time, I am fairly sure that I have read several disses of RR by AICN staff and uncountable ones by you oh-so-open-minded-and-intelligent-and-in-no-way-living-out-your-inside-the-movies-fantasies-through-this-website talkbackers. I am going to 100% disagree with the sell out of AICN. And why would a director, actor, producer, or front office studio schmuck not talk to AICN after being ripped here? Kevin Smith keeps coming back even though his own website kicks ass and shares more info with fans than this one. And Kevin Smith has definitely been torn several new assholes here. But he is smart! Even if J&SBSB sucks mass shit out of a desease infested rectum, I bet you he would still come back and talk about it. Same with RR. They now that we will listen and give a no holds bared opinion.
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Hey, I have nothing against RR personally. In fact I LIKE his A LOT of what he does. I also have nothing against Harry or Quint. BUT, if they're going to have a web site such as this, which I do enjoy, they are open to criticism. Harry and his people KNOW this. So does RR. It is our job, as readers, to hold them accountable and remind them that AICN is a small community of fan boys who LOVE movies. And here, we are all HONEST about movies. I'm just trying to help remind Harry and his people to REMAIN honest, and in my opinion, getting such close access to such directors is dangerous to that honesty. In my opinion, "Spy Kids" has recieved a bit too many articles on this site. And they seem INORDINATELY positive. Now maybe I'm wrong in all of this, but I'm just trying to keep AICN true to its word and purpose. End of lecture. Dig it.
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Those of you that dislike Rodriguez or his movies miss the point of praising the filmmaker entirely. This man has a fan base of filmmakers(including me) and fans that he has inspired by his fearless attack on the industry and on the art of filmmaking. Read his book, "Rebel Without A Crew" and you will understand why he gets his praise. He is an inspiration to everyone with a dream and a camcorder. We need filmmakers like this to challenge the establishment or we end up with #$@%*& films like Joe Dirt and Josie and the Pussy Cats. Maybe Robert Rodriguez
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