BPS 175: Making El Mariachi and Troublemaker Studios with Elizabeth Avellán

Get ready to have you mind blown. If you ever wanted to know the
TRUE STORY on how the mythical El Mariachi, written and directed by
Robert Rodriguez, then this is the conversation you want to listen
to.

Today on the show we have producer Elizabeth Avellán.

Elizabeth Avellan was born in Caracas, Venezuela, where her
grandfather, Gonzalo Veloz, pioneered commercial television. At
thirteen, she moved to Houston with her family and later graduated
from Rice University, where she had her first behind-the-scenes
experience working as stage manager and prop master for several
student productions.

She moved to Austin in 1986 to work in the Office of the Executive
Vice-President and Provost of the University of Texas, continuing
her studies in film production, art, and architecture. There she
meet Robert Rodriguez - cult filmmaker and her husband to
be.

Avellan worked as an animator on Rodriguez's award-winning 16mm
film, Bedhead, which aired on PBS after gathering acclaim on the
festival circuit. She and Robert co-founded Los Hooligans
Productions when the two began work on El Mariachi (1992)
in 1991. Since then, Avellan has co-produced Robert
Rodriguez's From Dusk Till
Dawn (1996), Desperado (1995), The
Faculty (1998), and upcoming Spy Kids (2001).

Besides she developed several scripts and produced with Pamela
Cederquist and Rana Joy Glickman, Real Stories of the Donut Men, a
dark comedy written and directed by Beeaje Quick, which premiered
at the South by Southwest Film Festival in March, 1997.
Additionally, Avellan served as producers' rep. with Rana Joy
Glickman for Love You Don't Touch Me, a romantic comedy premiered
at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival.

She co-founder Troublemaker Studios with Robert and have been
causing "trouble" in Hollywood ever since. Elizabeth and I have an
epic two-hour conversation spanning decades in the history of her,
Robert and Troublemaker Studios.

We did a bit of myth busting on the now legendary indie film El
Mariachi. Elizabeth also discussed what it was like working inside
the Hollywood machine, the moment she introduced Robert to Quentin
Tarantino, the uphill battles she faced becoming a producer and so
much more.

Get ready for one heck of a ride. Enjoy my conversation with
Elizabeth Avellán.

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