or


[05/07/15 - 01:22 PM]
Robert Rodriguez Sits Down with Visionary Filmmaker Robert Zemeckis in the Next Installment of "El Rey Network Presents: The Director's Chair"
Said edition airs Sunday, May 31 at 8:00/7:00c on the cable channel.

[via press release from El Rey Network]

"The scene when Tom is talking to Jenny's grave. It was one of those days where we were in Vietnam in the morning and my AD came up to me and said 'Hey you know what, the company's parked here, the oak tree's right there. Let's shoot this after lunch. Hey Tom, how bout we do Jenny's grave after lunch?' and 4 takes. The second take is the one that's in the movie. I remember he started doing the scene and I started getting really emotional...and I said cut and I looked behind me and the entire crew was dissolved in these tears." - On the moment Zemeckis realized Forrest Gump was something special

ROBERT RODRIGUEZ SITS DOWN WITH VISIONARY FILMMAKER ROBERT ZEMECKIS, DIRECTOR OF BACK TO THE FUTURE, WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT AND FORREST GUMP, IN THE NEXT INSTALLMENT OF "EL REY NETWORK PRESENTS: THE DIRECTOR'S CHAIR"

TUNE IN: SUNDAY, MAY 31st AT 8PM/ET

"I think an artist should be a gambler, a risk taker, and incredibly vulnerable" - Robert Zemeckis to Robert Rodriguez

May 7, 2015 (Austin, TX) -- El Rey Network Founder and Chairman Robert Rodriguez sits down for an unforgettable evening of conversation with the visionary and relentlessly inventive filmmaker Robert Zemeckis in the next installment of "El Rey Network Presents: The Director's Chair," premiering on Sunday, May 31st at 8pm/et.

In this entertaining and insightful hour-long interview special, Rodriguez travels back in time with the Academy Award(R)-winning director, producer and screenwriter to chart a fascinating career that began with an award-winning USC student film that caught the attention of Steven Spielberg, continued with the well-reviewed but under-seen films I Wanna Hold Your Hand (1978) and Used Cars (1980), and then took off into the stratosphere with some of the biggest blockbuster hits of all time, including Back to the Future (1985), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) and Best Picture Oscar(R) winner Forrest Gump (1994).

Throughout his career, the tech-savvy auteur has also been a pioneer in special effects-driven filmmaking, pushing the medium forward with each film by utilizing the latest in groundbreaking special effects technologies, including early, breakthrough CGI in hits like Death Becomes Her (1992) and Contact (1997), and performance motion capture animation in The Polar Express (2004), Beowulf (2007) and A Christmas Carol (2009). Rodriguez and Zemeckis discuss all this and more in this can't miss interview.

Sound bites from the interview below:

"Films have always been the marriage between art and science. It is a technical art form; all the technology that we use to make a modern movie to me it's all equal. I don't give any more weight to a visual effect or a close up, which is a visual effect; it's to serve the story. " - Zemeckis

"Being a director and having Steven Spielberg as your producer is a dream...because you don't have any insane conversations. Because he knows what a director does, so everything is on a level of mutual understanding."- Zemeckis on working with Steven Spielberg

"An artist should be an anarchist, maybe a benevolent anarchist" - Zemeckis

"The scene when Tom is talking to Jenny's grave. It was one of those days where we were in Vietnam in the morning and my AD came up to me and said 'Hey you know what, the company's parked here, the oak tree's right there. Let's shoot this after lunch. Hey Tom, how bout we do Jenny's grave after lunch?' and 4 takes. The second take is the one that's in the movie. I remember he started doing the scene and I started getting really emotional...and I said cut and I looked behind me and the entire crew was dissolved in these tears." - On the moment Zemeckis realized Forrest Gump was something special

"That was the movie I wanted to make next before 'Romancing the Stone,' but no one would even give it the time of day...except one guy - Steven (Spielberg). Who read it and went, 'this is great'." - Zemeckis on Back to the Future

"What about we shoot the first half then we shut down for a year and you lose 60 lbs..{tom] said 'Can we do that?' and I said 'well let's find out'." - Zemeckis on filming Cast Away

"Everybody on that movie, every department, ever member of that cast...everyone was inspired. It was one of those movies where I would go...yeah, that costume is perfect, that prop is exactly what it should be. For some reason, we had that magical thing happen where everybody was there." - Zemeckis on Forrest Gump

"Spectacle is why you go to the movies" - Zemeckis on the film industry

"El Rey Network Presents: The Director's Chair" is a series of hour-long specials featuring the industry's most cutting edge directors as they engage in a revealing and unexpected exchange about the world of filmmaking. The series provides access to one-on-one interviews between Rodriguez and some of cinema's most iconic filmmakers. Past guests have included John Carpenter, Francis Ford Coppola, Guillermo del Toro, and Quentin Tarantino.

"El Rey Network Presents: The Director's Chair" is produced by Troublemaker Studios and Skip Film in association with FactoryMade Ventures. Executive producers are Robert Rodriguez, Skip Chaisson, John Fogelman and Cristina Patwa.

To find El Rey Network in your area please check out the channel finder at bit.ly/WatchERN

El Rey Network social media: Facebook: facebook.com/ElReyNetwork Twitter: twitter.com/ElReyNetwork Instagram: instagram.com/ElReyNetwork YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/ElReyNetwork Google+: https://plus.google.com/+ElReyNetwork

About El Rey Network

El Rey Network is a new 24-hour English language network founded by maverick filmmaker Robert Rodriguez. Curated by Rodriguez and his artistic collective, the network unites the most culturally diverse generation in history through fearless, badass and original content that awakens the renegade in everyone. The network's action-packed content is anchored by original signature dramas, feature films, grindhouse genre, cult classic action, and horror/sci-fi. El Rey Network LLC (www.elreynetwork.com) is jointly owned by Robert Rodriguez and FactoryMade Ventures with a minority stake held by Univision Networks & Studios, Inc.





  [may 2015]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
     


· DIRECTOR'S CHAIR, THE (EL REY)





[09/03/26 - 03:15 PM]
Brutal Murder Inspired by Horror Film Is First Original ABC News Video Podcast to Premiere Exclusively on Disney+ and Hulu Sept. 4
Based on the Hulu documentary, the six-part series - with new, never-before-seen material and hosted by the producers of the original documentary, Pat Rogers and Conor McCarthy - takes viewers deeper into the slaying of Idaho teenager Cassie Stoddart by killers influenced by a horror film.

[09/03/26 - 02:31 PM]
FOX Greenlights "Mammoth," A New Comedy Series from Emmy Award-Winning "Modern Family" Co-Creator/Executive Producer Christopher Lloyd and Executive Producer/Writer Danny Zuker
Based on the original BBC Studios U.K. production of the same name and created by Welsh comedian and writer Mike Bubbins, "Mammoth" is produced by FOX Entertainment Studios.

[09/03/26 - 02:01 PM]
"Famous Last Words" Honors the Life and Legacy of Gloria Steinem
Conducted by Emmy Award winner Brad Falchuk in February 2025, the episode captures Steinem not just as a media spokeswoman, but as a lifelong traveler on the road to justice.

[09/03/26 - 01:32 PM]
Video: Abbott House Rock - "Abbott Elementary" Season 6
No such thing as too cool for school(house).

[09/03/26 - 01:01 PM]
Netflix Expands Broadcast Team for First-Ever Regular Season NFL Game in Australia
The studio desk and in-game broadcast team will also return across Netflix's entire 2026-2027 NFL slate, with more names to come.

[09/03/26 - 11:03 AM]
Kevin Zegers, Paul Gross, and Milla Jovovich Join the Cast of "Heated Rivalry" Season 2
And the crowd goes crazy.

[09/03/26 - 11:03 AM]
Video: "R.J. Decker" Season 2 - Official Trailer - Premieres September 15
The stakes are higher and the cases are weirder, but R.J. Decker is just getting started.

[09/03/26 - 10:10 AM]
"Gold Rush" - New Season Premieres Friday, October 2 on Discovery Channel
As soaring gold prices attract a new wave of fortune seekers to the Yukon, mining veterans and ambitious newcomers alike risk everything in pursuit of life-changing riches.

[09/03/26 - 10:08 AM]
Deliciously Deceptive Desserts Hide in Plain Sight in New Food Network Series "Sweet Deceit" Hosted by Josh Peck
The series is hosted by actor Josh Peck, who hilariously commands the on-screen hijinks as he leads contestants through four rounds as they try to identify masterfully disguised sweets created by world-class cake artists.

[09/03/26 - 10:07 AM]
HBO Max Commemorates 25th Anniversary of HBO Original "Band of Brothers" with Debut of New Documentary "Band of Brothers: Legacy" and In-App Extra Content
Coinciding with the series' quarter-century milestone, the commemoration will feature the premiere of the new documentary, offering fans an intimate look at the series' production and enduring impact.

[09/03/26 - 10:01 AM]
Video: Meet the Competition - "The Traitors: New Blood" - NBC
Ordinary people. Extraordinary deceit. Meet the everyday Americans who accepted the invitation to play the ultimate murder mystery game deep in the Scottish Highlands.

[09/03/26 - 10:00 AM]
"Soul Train Awards" Returns to BET and Makes Debut on CBS
BET Her, VH1, MTV2 and Logo will also simulcast this year's event, airing Friday, November 27.

[09/03/26 - 09:34 AM]
"Everest: The Other Side" from Oscar-Winning Filmmakers Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin Receives Its World Premiere at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival
The documentary from Walt Disney Studios, National Geographic Documentary Films, and Little Monster Films was just announced as part of the official line-up for the 53rd Telluride Film Festival.

[09/03/26 - 09:05 AM]
Video: "Death and Mystery in the Amazon" - Official Trailer - HBO Max
Tatunca promised to take several people to the "Lost City." They never returned.

[09/03/26 - 09:02 AM]
Hit Series "The UnBelievable with Dan Aykroyd" Returns with a New Season Friday, October 2 at 9/8c on The History Channel
Each hour-long episode brings these stranger-than-fiction stories to life through vivid recreations, bold graphics, remarkable archival footage, and a cast of expert storytellers.