“The idea of Spy Kids, just like boom, hit him.” Coming off a string of successful Hard-R genre movies, Robert Rodriguez decided to make a surprising pivot into the world of family films. Enter the Spy Kids: a wildly popular franchise that now spans five films and has grossed over $550 million at the box office.  We sat down with Robert’s wife and producing partner, Elizabeth Avellan, to discuss how they launched the first ever Latino superhero movie and Alexa PenaVega, the titular Spy Kid and star of this beloved series, who shared stories from the set.

“The idea of Spy Kids, just like boom, hit him.” Coming off a string of successful Hard-R genre movies, Robert Rodriguez decided to make a surprising pivot into the world of family films. Enter the Spy Kids: a wildly popular franchise that now spans five films and has grossed over $550 million at the box office.  We sat down with Robert’s wife and producing partner, Elizabeth Avellan, to discuss how they launched the first ever Latino superhero movie and Alexa PenaVega, the titular Spy Kid and star of this beloved series, who shared stories from the set.

S2: On this season of More Than a Movie, host Alex Fumero takes us through some of our favorite films that have impacted Latino Cinema. From Andy Garcia’s 1990 breakout role in Godfather III to Natalie Morales’s 2021 double directorial debut with Plan B and Language Lessons, this podcast looks at the story behind the story of Latino movies over the last several decades. Every episode will reveal something about the movie you didn’t know, feature interviews with the biggest actors, directors, writers and producers behind them, and tap into the history of Latinos in film.



S1: When Edward James Olmos set out on his directorial debut, American Me, he wanted to accomplish two things: to represent Chicano culture on the big screen and to save part of his community from gang violence. But when people were allegedly murdered because of their participation in the film and Olmos himself was allegedly extorted by the real life Mexican Mafia, it exposed the unintended risks of trying to represent someone with an agenda in mind, even a well-meaning one. On the 30th anniversary of the cult classic, host Alex Fumero and producer Nigel Duara delve into the true story of American Me and the legacy the controversial film left behind.

S2: On this season of More Than a Movie, host Alex Fumero takes us through some of our favorite films that have impacted Latino Cinema. From Andy Garcia’s 1990 breakout role in Godfather III to Natalie Morales’s 2021 double directorial debut with Plan B and Language Lessons, this podcast looks at the story behind the story of Latino movies over the last several decades. Every episode will reveal something about the movie you didn’t know, feature interviews with the biggest actors, directors, writers and producers behind them, and tap into the history of Latinos in film.
 
S1: When Edward James Olmos set out on his directorial debut, American Me, he wanted to accomplish two things: to represent Chicano culture on the big screen and to save part of his community from gang violence. But when people were allegedly murdered because of their participation in the film and Olmos himself was allegedly extorted by the real life Mexican Mafia, it exposed the unintended risks of trying to represent someone with an agenda in mind, even a well-meaning one. On the 30th anniversary of the cult classic, host Alex Fumero and producer Nigel Duara delve into the true story of American Me and the legacy the controversial film left behind.

Advertisement