Michelle Rodriguez

Yeah, me and Nina, in the costume department, basically hooked up and came up with the concept of a bra ...[laughs]…she took my La Perla bra, which does the boobies some justice, and put some leather over it, and then I grabbed some Genetic jeans that fit me like a glove, and I grabbed these Prada boots that I have that are like superhero boots that they don’t make anymore – I’ve tried to get them to, but they won’t – and then we went over to the props department and started gearing it up. We were hooking up straps, and the next thing you know… I’m a cowgirl, man. All I need is my steed. You know when you’re working with Robert that you’re not gonna be in one of his movies and not be hot. It’s just not gonna happen. He wouldn’t hire you, I don’t think. Unless your whole purpose was to be a mutant! Then you might still get a gig with him.

Yeah, that was a minute ago!

Dude...there’s this makeshift weapon that they created, I think it’s like an M4. It’s an AR-M4. That sucker is huge, and it was a makeshift thing by the props and weapons department. Those guys are so cool! And it’s uber-heavy. I’ve got, like, marks on my shoulder from just holding it for like a half-hour to take photos.

No, but I decided to go shooting on my own, like a dumbass, and I thought I was all cocky shooting this shotgun, and you know what? I’ve had this cracking noise in my shoulder ever since. That was a bad idea.

Oh yeah, honey. I’ve got that whole thing down pat. All the gun and NRA stuff is within me, for sure. I am definitely a believer in the right to carry.

No, I don’t, but I do believe in it. I have at home. And I’m not allowed to carry -- you have to be either a cop or a marshal or something, to have the right to carry a weapon around. But I ain’t worried, honey. Nobody wants to hurt me. I haven’t done anything to anybody. I’m chill.

Again I have to disappoint you! [laughs] It’s not true for me, I’m a horrible shot.

Well, the thing is that I wasn’t there long enough to make that determination. I know that he directed me in most of my scenes, but Ethan had a lot to do with the job as well. He was there and he was planning everything along with Robert – it was really a collaboration between the two of them.

But that’s the whole thing – working with Robert is never a little thing, and you always consider it a blessing. He is so much fun, first of all. He may not make the hugest movies on the planet, but boy, does he make some interesting stuff, and it’s like, you will watch it. There are scenes in his movies that you will never forget as long as you live. I mean, Desperado? Come on. From Dusk Till Dawn? Dude, come on. I could go on forever. Sin City? That was the first time I had ever seen that texture, that kind of art, on screen before. That kind of comic book-esque thing was so awesome, so classic, that it was almost surreal. Robert always makes things look really amazing and unforgettable, really. If you want to be immortalized, you should go work with him. It’s a guarantee that there will be scenes in his movies that people never forget, and along with the scenes are the actors in them. So, it’s a privilege. I can almost promise you that there are at least three scenes in this film that you will never forget as long as you walk this planet, if only because of the shock factor and the way things are shot. You’ll be amazed by how all of these very familiar elements are used, the context that they are used in. It’s pop culture-esque, but it’s done in an exploitative fashion, so you’re like ‘Is this pop culture, is this pulp culture, what is this culture?’ [laughs] You know what I mean? You can’t really tag it, but it’s definitely shock value-enhanced.

It’s definitely collaborative, I’d say it’s about 65 to….whatever is left. [laugh] I suck at math. What is left, like 45?

Right, anyway, what I mean is that he is collaborative and one thing that’s for certain is that when you walk onto his set you know that this man knows what he wants and is very sure of what he wants before you even come on board. That’s what I find amazing, and then he gives you that extra 45 percent at the end to kind of be open to other options, which is great. But at the end of the day a director without a vision isn’t a director, to me, so I just love the fact that he knows what he wants, because it makes everything work so fast and smooth. You’re in and you’re out, and the next thing you know you’re sitting in the movie theater and going ‘Whoa!’

Yeah, honey, I’m really picky. I didn’t really get into the business to be an actress, I got into the business to be a writer, and because of that I feel like when I act it should be something that’s pleasing to me. It shouldn’t be a labor. Some people become actors because they love the chameleon aspect to it, they love interchanging and taking on different lives, and I can understand that appeal, but personally, for me, I would prefer to play characters that I would respect and that I would admire, as opposed to playing any character just because it’s, like, an interpretation of life. Should I be open to that? No, because I’m not! [laugh] I honestly just want to kick ass and take names.

Not unless it is incredibly funny! I do like comedy, I’ll flip my script for a comedy, as long as it’s really, really funny. I just wanna play, you know? I like to play, I like things to be light-hearted. Don’t send me a script that compromises me in any way, because I won’t have fun doing it. Why do you need to compromise me as a woman, or as an integrity-carrying individual? I just can’t drop that for anybody, especially to millions of people around the world – what am I saying to them? What is the point? What message is behind it? ‘I understand your pain?’ Great. Big whoopty-doo, you know? I don’t want to understand anybody’s pain. I just want to share joy and revel in victory.

Well, it is called Troublemaker Studios, so you know for sure that there’s going to be some trouble.

I thought it was funny, and I thought it was neutral. At the end of the day, it’s just a voice. And it’s not just one side talking to the other side, both sides are represented in the film, so I think it’s fine. At the end of the day, it’s like, are you going to beat up the guys who make South Park? Are you going to beat up the creators of The Simpsons? Are you going to beat up the guys from SNLor Family Guy? They all make fun of current events and news and sometimes they’re incredibly controversial in their content, but nobody ever really attacks them hard core, and why? Because you can get away with that stuff when it comes to comedy -- that’s the venue to do it in. The minute you start to take things seriously people will come after you with hatchets. They’ll try to destroy your career and stuff, but this isn’t that kind of situation. It’s just lighthearted and fun.

No, no. For that I have to partner with people, for sure. But I’m all about networking and finding the people who are all about tomorrow, the youth, mostly. I’m slowly starting to learn about what’s going on out there within the community. I want to make connections with the young people and try to understand what’s going on. The social networking systems like Twitter help me out a lot, and my website helps me out a lot, and slowly but surely I’m going to start doing webcams. I really want to just feel what people want, and then from there I’ll assess what I can provide. But I really am all about the youth, I want to see what’s on their minds, and then I want to take the ideas that I’ve had since I was fifteen years old and start collaborating.

I know! Isn’t it insane? But you know what? I’ve had this script idea in my mind since I was a little girl, since I was about fifteen, and it’s about these little kids who undergo this crazy adventure. It’s kind of like The Goonies meets Jumanji. It’s this amazing story about these little kids who are kind of eco-warriors. The Avatar green event used the term eco-warriors, so I’ve taken that name, and I really need to learn about that world. So far, all I’ve done is appreciate activism from the outside, I haven’t really gone in on a nitty-gritty level and found out what the troubles are and what the real issues are in the world with animals, and with the planet. It all kind of started with Battle in Seattle, when I got to meet a bunch of activists and learn from them first hand: guys from Green Peace, Global Green guys, all of these sort of different experts, and I slowly started to grow fond of them. My heart goes out to them now, but I also realize that there is something blocking them from success, so what is it? Is it conscious capitalism? Do they need to adapt to the environment that we live in today? What is the issue? So, I’m going to go out there, to Antarctica, on the ship, and help save some whales, and learn from a man who helped start Green Peace, Paul Watson, because I admire him. I think if there’s anyone who can be a teacher it’s this guy who’s been around since the freakin’ 60s. He’s been hooting, hollering, and fighting about this same subject for the last forty fucking years. I’m so excited about it. I don’t even care about the cold weather or anything.

Oh yeah. Jim walks around with his heart out. He’s just that kind of guy. He could inspire anybody.

Dude, could you please tell him that? I would love to come back aboard.





Machete opens in theaters everywhere on September 3rd.