RODRIGUEZ DROPS HIS DGA TO CO-DIRECT WITH MILLER AND TARANTINO

Days before beginning production on the Dimension drama "Sin City," Robert Rodriguez resigned his DGA membership so that he could co-direct with Frank Miller, a film neophyte who created, wrote and illustrated the three-book graphic novel series on which the movie is based.

DGA rules dictate that there be only one director assigned to direct a motion picture at any given time, although the guild occasionally grants a waiver to that policy.

On Thursday, a DGA spokesman said, "The guild regrets Mr. Rodriguez's resignation, however, we stand firmly behind the principle of one director-one film."

Rodriguez asserted that since his movie is so unorthodox, he decided it would be easier both for him and the DGA if they're not shackled together when production begins Monday on his soundstages in Austin, Texas.

For one thing, Rodriguez plans to have Quentin Tarantino direct part of the film, along with Miller and him. Tarantino may be billed as a "special guest director" or whatever title Rodriguez wants to bestow, now that he's no longer under strict DGA guidelines about who gets behind-the-camera credit.

It's not the first time that Rodriguez has quit the DGA. He did so a decade ago so he could take part in the Tarantino-orchestrated film "Four Rooms," released in 1995.

"I didn't want Frank to be treated as just a writer, because he is the only one who has actually been to 'Sin City,' " Rodriguez said.

"I am making such a literal interpretation of his book that I'd have felt weird taking directing credit without him. It was easier for me to quietly resign before shooting because otherwise I'd have been forced to make compromises I was unwilling to make. Or set a precedent that might hurt the guild later on."

Rodriguez often agrees with the spirit of DGA policies, but they "make it very hard to do something that is exciting and different, which is exactly how I sold this project from the beginning," he added.

Rodriguez has always been comfortable making films by the seat of his pants, even though he has built studios in Austin grand enough to accommodate both "Sin City" and the pic he'll direct right after, the $100 million Paramount sci-fi blockbuster "A Princess Of Mars." He hardly seemed rattled, for instance, that aside from his DGA defection and welcoming a new baby, he was in the thick of assembling cast for a film that begins shooting in four days.

Rodriguez has been talking with the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Johnny Depp, Bruce Willis, Steve Buscemi, Brittany Murphy, Christopher Walken and Michael Douglas.

All that's certain is that Mickey Rourke will anchor the story segment that will begin shooting Monday. The remaining cast will draw from those who are available for a reasonable price to work a short shift in a cool film.

None of this would have been possible if Rodriguez hadn't pledged to make Miller a major part of the creative process.r.

The helmer also asserted that the DGA needs to do a better job of judging individual cases rather than working from a rulebook.

"I'm fine with leaving and they're fine with my leaving," he said. "Someone in my position doesn't need the protection of the guild as much as a newcomer who might get strong-armed by a film company. In my case, the obstacles I face come from the guild. Studios are only too happy when I suggest shooting something in digital, or when I try to do 20 jobs at the same time on my movies. I don't consider this a negative thing, and perhaps it's better that I resign and come back later than have someone use my precedent as an example to strong-arm a directing credit they don't deserve on some future film."
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