10 Books... With Context - Rebel Without A Crew

It’s a crossover point between books and film here - two of the key obsessions in this Baldy Fella’s life…

Rebel Without A Crew
(Or How a 23-Year-Old Filmmaker with $7,000 Became a Hollywood Player)
By Robert Rodriguez
First published in 1995

What’s It About?
It takes the form of a diary, following Rodriguez’s stint in medical research programmes in order to earn the cash to go off and make an ultra low-budget feature (El Mariachi) shot on 16mm film for only $7,000.

Background
In the early / mid-nineties, this book was a revelation. Prior to the home camera boom and well before it was possible to shoot high definition imagery on just your phone, the film industry held tight to the myth that making a feature film was only possible with a huge budget and a full size crew. Filmmakers like Rodriguez, Kevin Smith, Peter Jackson and Quentin Tarantino were part of a new wave who grew up fully immersed in film and pop culture with a strong desire to just get out and do their own thing. This book came out just as this was all starting to shift.

Why’s It Good?
Because, at the time, I was getting more and more interested in film and picking up whatever video cameras my mate and I could get hold off (including one that was housed at the training college my mate’s dad was the manager of which took actual full-size VHS tapes) to try and film something. This was a real shot in the arm to say that it could be done and it could be successful - El Mariachi was successful enough to lead to a Hollywood sequel/remake (Desperado). It’s also just an enjoyable read - Rodriguez describes the guerilla nature of the making of the film in an entertaining way and runs through the chances he took and the obstacles he had to work around on the fly in order to get it within the minimal amount of cash that he had (which was pretty much all spent on 16mm film stock). If you’ve got any interest in low to no budget filmmaking and how you can get it done then give this one a read.
(Side Note:- His follow up book, RoadRacers: The Making of a Degenerate Hot Rod Flick, which details the making of his first film within the studio system and how his attempts to do it guerilla style did not fit in with the established way of doing things, is also an entertaining read too.)