The Never-Happened Fake-Trailer Was Supposed To Star Stallone, Schwarzenegger & Willis
Alright, we’re on IndieWire now (hold on, don’t groan, there is a point to this) and before the move this interesting could-have-been tidbit got lost in the moving shuffle. You’ll recall earlier this month Austin filmmaker Robert Rodriguez took part in a Facebook livechat and it was there he revealed that “Sin City 2” would be the follow-up film after “Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World,” not “Deadpool” (and obviously that was his way of saying. “I’m passing” as Swedish filmmaker Adam Berg appears to be the frontrunner for the directing gig).
Anyhow, Rodriguez was extremely forthcoming and basically answered any question he was posed, including that, yes, “Nervewracker” is eventually coming, and yes, he hopes to do more “Mariachi” films with Antonio Banderas and even more “Grindhouse” films if possible (and a lot more too, Rodriguez-o-philes must read).
Speaking of his 2005 double bill with friend Quentin Tarantino, the filmmaker was asked several questions about the film — it definitely seems to be a fan favorite. The two-picture ode to grindhouse B-movies obviously featured a slew of fake trailers helmed by filmmaking friends — “Werewolf Women of the SS” helmed by Rob Zombie, “Don’t” by Edgar Wright, Eli Roth‘s “Thanksgiving” and “Machete” by Rodriguez himself that obviously became its own feature earlier this year (and yes, “Hobo With A Shotgun” kind of counts too; Jason Eisener, John Davies, and Rob Cotterill’s fake trailer contest winners).
Evidently there was one more that almost happened, but wasn’t quite meant to be. At least not during the “Grindhouse” shoot. Rodriguez revealed one more fake trailer that was never shot that was mostly appropriated for “The Expendables.” He said the trailer was titled, “Three The Hard Way” (also the name of a 1974 blaxploitation film with Jim Brown that he admires) and was to star Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger, but “we ran out of money.”
“He actually believed he could do it,” Rodriguez said of Arnold’s participation, despite being the governor of California at the time. “That would have been the best trailer. Stallone liked it so much he put the scene in ‘The ‘Expendables.’ ” There’s your Friday, what-could-have-been. Frankly, we’re assuming it would have been more clever than this pretty rote exchange turned out to be. The two-disc Collector’s Edition of “Grindhouse” is out on Blu-ray now so that will have to suffice.
