The Texas-born director – known for films such as Sin City and Machete – has unveiled El Rey, a 24-hour TV network, which is billed as a channel for young men “and what we call kick-a** females”.<\/p>\n
Its first scripted original show, From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series, premieres this week and is a reimagining of Rodriguez’ 1996 cult classic movie, which starred George Clooney and Salma Hayek.<\/p>\n
But Rodriguez said it is just the beginning.<\/p>\n
“I don’t really want the network to be niche,” he said. “With us doing a show like Dusk Till Dawn, people say, ‘Is that the kind of shows you’ll be doing?’ But our next (original) series will be a little broader.”<\/p>\n
That series is Matador, created by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman. It focuses on a globe-trotting soccer champ and playboy who is also a top-secret CIA operative. It’s set for a July debut.<\/p>\n
“Then our next show after that might open things up even more,” Rodriguez continued. “We’ll keep surprising people.”<\/p>\n
The 45-year-old filmmaker plans to be very involved in the network.<\/p>\n
“As we grow,” he said, “our priority will be more about hiring and training the right people to run the network. But I’ll still have to be pretty hands-on. And right now, I do everything but turn your TV on for you.”<\/p>\n
“I’m the person who’s starting the network,” he continued. “But it’s not the Robert Rodriguez Network. It’s called El Rey because it’s bigger than me: Mi Network Es Su Network!”<\/p>\n
Press Association