A few days ago, I got to speak with Robert Rodriguez in Austin, Texas as I was visiting the set of Predators - along with a number of online journalists.  While a strict embargo prevents me from saying anything about that film, we've been given permission to run stories on other projects.  Since Robert Rodriguez is busy developing other movies, we got him to give us updates on Sin City 2, Machete, and what's up with the next Spy Kids movie.

Regarding Spy Kids, Rodriguez says he's already turned in the script to the Weinstein Company and it's a reboot that will be shot in March or April with new kids.  On Machete, he says he's "always talked about making him a franchise character".  Meaning he's like to do sequels.

Of course the news everyone wants to know is what's up with Sin City 2.  Like he's done in the past, he wouldn't give us any specifics regarding when the film is going in front of the cameras.  But he did reveal "there has been a script since 2007" and it has pre-existing material "with some original stuff added to it to kind of catch yourself up with some characters."

Rodriguez also said, "I know Frank (Miller) wants to do it I know I wanna do it and its always sort of time permitting kind of thing, but its not like I can tell you definitely we're starting...its not my next picture...I know that. Doesn't mean that its not the picture right after because that's still a possibility."  Much more after the jump:

Here's part of our very long interview with Robert Rodriguez.  Look for the rest of our conversation when the embargo lifts closer to the release date of Predators.

Can you a little bit about how Machete turned out?

Robert Rodriguez: I'm still turning it out (laughs), they're editing right now so I'm writing some score. But it's going really terrific it looks really great. I'm sure you'll see the posters there dope there in my office.

Some of us might have seen them at AFM,

Rodriguez: Ah okay so you've seen them.

Are those the posters that get release?

Rodriguez: No that was just for AFM, but they look good enough to be released. I like them; I like the color pallets. I think there really awesome.

Do you have a timetable set for Sin City 2 is that something you still have on your plate?

Rodriguez: Yeah we still talk about doing that as early as later next year, but I haven't gotten into that yet.

Is the Mariachi trilogy coming out on Blu-ray?

Rodriguez: All three of them are coming out on Blu-ray sometime next year; we've been working on that.

You're always talking about a million different projects and there is always a million things going on with you, have you started to think about you're 2010 is going to look like, and do you think you're going to be producing more movies now that you've gotten a taste of it?

Rodriguez: Yeah I definitely want to produce more because I have a bunch of projects that I've either written or half written and I want to continue developing them and if cant direct one right away cause I'm doing something else I will love to still see it get made. So I would probably produce that and have somebody come in and do it here at the studio.

Is there a project or two in your past that you've started thinking about that it would be a perfect thing for me to produce?

Rodriguez: Oh that I talked about doing in the past that now I would produce? Yeah I have several of those. Now I can say 'alright this will never get made unless I produce it' because all these other things going on and I don't want it to sit around cause the idea is really fresh for right now.

But getting back to the 2010 question, have you already thought about what some of the future or the next project you might be doing?

Rodriguez: Well I know I owe The Weinstein's another movie and I've already turned in a script for Spy Kids, another Spy Kids, which is a reboot of Spy Kids. It's different kids not the old kids and that one is really cool. I'd probably do that in the early part of next year March or April and then I do have something for later in the year, I can't say what that one is though. Spy Kids I can say that cause they already announced it.

What I like about this Spy Kids it reminds me of the first one where is not so much just the kids in fact it leans more towards the parents because you become a parent, you get a lot of ideas on where you can put some of this, you really couldn't put some of this stuff on a R rated movie that you want to put in a film.  This one I really like a lot and the story in it is good and that name is just such a probably name with kids, I mean I get stopped...that's your most loyal audience no matter how many people seen Desperado and Dust till Dawn, kids stop me more than their parents about how many times their kids have seen the Spy Kids films and how much that still goes on and so The Weinstein's really wanted to do another one and I had an idea for one. I even went back and pilfered off my old original first script and found some ideas that I couldn't bring to life back then I was like 'Wow these are good ideas.' So they get to finally come back up.  But they aren't necessarily done for my kids I did the first Spy Kids before I had kids, I wrote it. Because it was mainly my experiences growing up in a family of 10 kids and that's where a lot of that comes from just my siblings, I'm still really close to them and just remembering how we grew up, the parenthood part and the growing up part I like to utilize that somehow. They always say 'write what you know' I know that very well between having 5 kids and being in a family of 10 kids.

I don't mean to jump back to Sin City 2 but it seems that the last few years we constantly talk to you about it and everyone's asked about it, it's a project that everyone's seems to be very interested in, what would you categorize say like a percentage of this thing actually happening?

Rodriguez: I can't say no because I don't know its no. I know Frank (Miller) wants to do it I know I wanna do it and its always sort of time permitting kind of thing but its not like I can tell you definitely we're starting...its not my next picture...I know that. Doesn't mean that its not the picture right after because that's still a possibility.

Is there a script that actually is in existence that you're happy with?

Rodriguez: There has been a script since 2007.

But is it a script you're happy with.

Rodriguez: Well it's the one that Frank wrote and we have to look at it now and go is this really the one...I think its built up so much, like are we really going to satisfy everybody with what we have, should we add to it. It's the thing we've always talked about but now two years later going on three we'd probably make some adjustments but nothing that would take a long time.  It's just a matter of...once we start...we can go into production...we can already start and in pre production for this up to anything we wanted to.

There is rumor that it was going to be an original story is there any truth to that?

Rodriguez: Well that script it was pre-existing with some original stuff added to it to kind of catch yourself up with some character.

Are you involved with Madman:

Rodriguez: Yeah, I still have that.  It's at Weinstein, they still have that for me to produce so after doing this I have some ideas on how to bring that to life.  That will be good to do.

Is there anything new you added to the Blu-ray for the El Mariachi trilogy?

Rodriguez: There's something we're working on. I can't say what it is.  Its special though to kind of promote it, can't say yet. I know its no fun when you don't say anything but I just can't. I'd know they'd want to do their own press release about it, can't rob them of that.

Did Machete turn out so good that you might try and franchise it or is it a one off for you?

Rodriguez: We always talked about making him a franchise character.  Danny and I talked about it in '94...maybe Desperado that's when I first mentioned the Machete character.  So imagine that...he's been bugging me since '94.

I'm curious about Machete Kills and Machete Kills Again.  Do you like those names for sequels?  Or were you joking around?

Rodriguez: They're part of...when the original trailer came out I made those jokingly.  It could be.  They're fun titles.  I do like Machete in Space though.