Source: http://www.heraldo-adi.com.mx

Financial earnings of 10 to 15 thousand dollars

San Miguel Allende, the capital Guanajuato and San Felipe Torres Mochas,

Those will be the movie sets for the movie that Robert Rodríguez directs and that Banderas and Salma star in by: Susana Medina

San Miguel of Allende, Gto., May 23. - colonial town, capitalGuanajuato and San Felipe Torres Mochas will become the main setting for the filming of the Mexican-American movie "Once Upon a Time in Mexico", with a budget of 30 million dollars, starring Salma Hayek and Antonio Banderas.

The film won't only offer this state international projection, but a strong financial spillover of 10 to 15 thousand dollars; so Sara Hoch de Long, directress of Filmings of Guanajuato, reported it, .

Robert Rodríguez films in Guanajuato

The picturesque Historical Center of San Miguel de Allende, the stateliness of the capital of the state and the mystery that San Felipe contains fit perfectly for filming the movie that will be directed and produced by Robert Rodríguez. For some weeks, the producers and technical personnel of the movie are in the state carrying out the necessary preparations for the filming that will begin in some days and that will be filmed for nine weeks, approximately. The film company Miramax is in charge of the realization of the saga of "El Mariachi" and "Desperado."

Extra guanajuatenses

The guanajuatenses will receive the benefits in a direct way, since in the biggest scenes more than 2 thousand extras and in Guanajuato 500 people will participate . Other benefits will be the hotel occupation that will house the production personnel, and restaurants, besides workers and personnel of technical area.

Scenes of action and explosions

"They will film action scenes and shots; for which the access will be strictly restricted, there will not be opportunity to enter on the film sets, they are cordoned off, owing to work with explosives", Hoch indicated. For this production will be used digital technology and cameras of high definition, as well as professional people in this area.

Salma will arrive later

Salma Hayek will arrive at Guanajuato some days before v finishes and she will settle in one of San Miguel's best hotels. "The Veracruzana actress will work in keeping with her agenda in the filming of 'Frida' ", the directress of Filmings commented. Without any doubt, the Mexican star will be protected by a personal escort and a security team. Unofficial sources indicated that Banderas could stay in the hotel Sierra Nevada which has a private patio, gardens, pool, a dwelling with chimney, dining room and bath. Once again, Guanajuato, in the eyes of Hollywood.

Without declarations about his arrival

Although the authorities have not declared anything about the dashing Hollywood actor Antonio Bandera's arrival to San Miguel's colonial city, among the city dwellers his arrival is already rumored; even some already spotted at the hotel in which he will stay. However, the mobilization security team has been quite discreet, because they have not left a clue. Far from thinking of a luxurious lodging, the actor, as well as the famous director Robert Rodríguez, will possibly stay in the hotel Sierra Nevada, located only some blocks from San Miguel's center, a strategic place for shooting. In a 10x12 room, that has entrance hall, bedroom, terrace, chimney and all the indispensable services of communication, the actor Antonio Banderas will be able to remain for a span of 9 weeks, the approximate time when the filming will last. However, unofficial sources affirmed that perhaps during the time that his stay will last and if he travels with his wife (also actress Melanie Griffith) and the rest of his family, they will decide to lease a house. Along with mentioning that, although Salma will join almost at the last weeks of the film shoot for reasons of her agenda, production personnel have already selected her demurrage (?) place.

A parade of stars

San Miguel de Allende is known for his culture and architectural beauty which attracts the foreigners who also feel the tranquility of the beautiful city and the cordiality of his inhabitants, apart from the good investment to work. But for Anthony Quinn, Michelle Pfeiffer, Antonio Banderas and Oliver Stone, San Miguel has been, more than a beautiful place to film, but also an ideal place to rest, because in previous months some of these stars have strolled through the streets, without avoiding the photographers and the autographs, and they lived with the city dwellers who have already gotten used to the visits of stars, as much international as national.

About explosions

Although very little information is provided by sources close to the production, it is known for certain will it will be cordoned off in a radius of at least a block some of the main avenues of the colonial city, because in several scenes there will be work with explosives that currently are preserved in the military area of Sarabia, because of its dangerousnes. Only some days ago a calling for extras was launched; the answer wast immediate and this production will work with more than 2000.

A tour through Guanajuato

Besides working in San Miguel, the capital Guanajuato and the municipality of San Felipe will also be part of the itinerary of the production for assembling sets. The relationships with the municipal presidencies of each town has been settled for months, carrying out such an agreement that many authorities charged with security like the highway administration offer an efficient support to the production. It is just like Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek will travel our state on a movie tour in a span of 9 weeks

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Hayek and Banderas begin the filming of Once upon a time in Mexico

Source: Terra May 23, 2001, Translated from the Spanish

The streets of San Miguel de Allende and Guanajuato will be the main settings of the Hispanic film director Roberto Rodríguez's new movie Once Upon aTime in Mexico which begins shooting this Thursday May 24 and has as its main main characters Salma Hayek and Antonio Banderas.

Banderas and Hayek, Reforma For nine weeks, Rodríguez and his team they will work in three state municipalities to shoot the film that will complete the trilogy that The Mariachi and Desperado compose, also directed by this film director who already united the talents of the veracruzana and the Spanish actor in Desperado.

Sara Hochs, directress of State Filmings, confirmed that the production house Sony-Miramax has already begun the preparations for the film (whose cost surpasses 30 million dollars) and the visit to the locations, for which some streets of San Miguel de Allende were already cordoned off by security personnel.

Hochs affirmed that this is the first occasion that a movie with these characteristics is filmed in the state, and an economic overflow of between 10 and 15 million pesos is expected . "We were fighting a lot for the project (to film here); then, the producers came and they loved the cities and their locations, and for some three weeks we concentrate on preparing all."

And although the producer refused to give more information of the arrival of the actors, an unofficial source said that Banderas arrived at Guanajuato on Sunday night, after having concluded his participation in the Cannes Festival.

It is expected that Hayek will arrives at another time once she finishes filming Frida's last scenes that is also filmed in Mexico.

In Once Upon a Time in México will participate, also, some national actors whose names was not revealed, and nearly 2 thousand extra natives from the region.

In the opinion of the state directress of filmings, the production will try not to interrupt the daily life of the cities as much as possible, and she said that the authorities of each municipality are already forewarned. "They have behaved very wonderful with us. People know about the importance of this and try to cooperate. The traffic agents, the municipal presidents and the lenders of services have made their best effort so that everything comes out well."

She added that during the time of filming the access to all areas will be restricted to any person by expressed orders of the production, since there are scenes where explosions with special effects are carried out and others that need to be prepared with the utmost care.

For the press solely has been contemplated this Saturday a press conference in San Miguel de Allende where the director and the main actors will be presented . After this, it is proposed to carry out two more conferences more at the most.

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ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO script (Nadusha) AICN article

Posted By: Nadusha, 23 May 2001

AICN revealed ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO script details Moco tells us about ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO Once upon a time on the Sony lot there was a spy named Moco, that wasn't really his name, nobody really knows his name, well... almost nobody. But this man we'll call Moco... He managed to lay hands ona script most desired... A script for the epic installment of Robert Rodriguez's ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO... This will give you the idea of exactly the type of scale and complication that the film has in store for you... There are no great spoilers, but there is a list of characters sans twists and lime... There is one paragraph of set up... but beyond that, you're on your own kiddo... Right now... somewhere in Mexico... this is all happening right now... You know when there's a disclaimer at the front of the script from Troublemaker Studios reading: "what you are about to see has little or no basis in reality. my apologies to Mexico, for this bears no resemblance to that great country. We just liked the title." that this film is gonna be f**kin' outrageous. Robert Rodriguez' Once Upon a Time in Mexico. Draft 5/7/01. a trim 90 pages. The players: El Mariachi - the gun-toting guitar player is back Carolina - this knife weilding beauty can kick your ass Sands - the CIA agent that's dirtier than a pig's scrotum Barrrillo - head of the largest Mexican drug cartel Cucuy - the muscle for Sands Belini - the informant Lorenzo & Fideo - Mariachi's new partners. Jorge Ramirez - retired-FBI, has old scores to settle with Barrilla Dr. Guevera - personal Dr. to Barrillo, killed Jorge's partner a long time ago Agent Ajedrez - female federale playing both sides of the fence Gen. Marquez - has a huge score to settle with the Mariachi Billy Chambers - reluctant criminal working off debt to Barrillo The Chicle Boy - he sells bubble gum, is that fuckin' cool or what? So far everything is set up to be bigger than Desperado. we're talking combining a double, triple cross story of Traffic with the gunplay of A Better Tomorrow and Hard Boiled combined. If the above doesn't give you a feel for what Robert Rodriguez has in store or you haven't seen Desperado/El Mariachi, this would be the Mexican version of a Hong Kong type action flick. it's not so much complex as it tries too much to BE complex. Robert has at the very least, 4 stories that intertwine into one tale. i guess that's the pre-requisite for triple cross tales. (not to mention backstory to get us caught up with what the mariachi has been up to since Desperado.) The main theme revolves around the assassination of the President of Mexico. Mariachi is recruited by Sands to take out Gen. Marquez, who has major beef with Mariachi to begin with. He sends Cucuy to shadow and keep tabs on the Mariachi. Marquez is working with Barrillo, and is about to assassinate El Presidente and assume power. Sands also convinces Jorge Ramirez to come out of retirement and take out Barrillo and Dr. Guevera, who brutally tortured and killed Ramirez' FBI partner. that's about all i SHOULD give you to keep Robert's storyline intact, but really, i don't think it's all to hard to figure out the rest as the backstabbing, two-timing and double-crossing come out. you can check it out with RR. Moco

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'SPY KIDS' DUO RETEAMING FOR 'MEXICO' ENTRY Hollywood Reporter, Wednesday, 9 May 2001

By Marla Matzer Rose and Zorianna Kit LOS ANGELES (The Hollywood Reporter) --- Hot off their blockbuster success with Dimension's "Spy Kids," writer-director Robert Rodriguez and star Antonio Banderas are returning to their roots, directing and starring in, respectively, "Once Upon a Time in Mexico" for Sony's Columbia Pictures and Miramax's Dimension Films. The action film, which begins shooting in Mexico late this month for slightly more than one month, is the long-anticipated third installment in Rodriguez's trilogy that began with 1992's "El Mariachi" and continued with1995's "Desperado," the latter of which also starred Banderas. "Desperado" actor Quentin Tarantino also is expected to return, and Salma Hayek is a possibility depending on her schedule. She is shooting "Frida," a biopic of artist Frida Kahlo, for Miramax. Mickey Rourke, who was not in "Desperado," also will join the cast of "Mexico." "I plan on returning to a down and dirty, more experimental style of shooting similar to 'El Mariachi,' this summer being the 10-year anniversary of when I shot that film," Rodriguez told The Hollywood Reporter, adding that he will use Sony high-definition cameras rather than traditional film cameras for the movie.

Columbia, which owns the rights to the first two movies in the series, will take domestic rights to "Mexico." The Dimension label, which has three pictures remaining in an overall deal with Rodriguez, will take international rights. By shooting on a tight schedule and using digital camera equipment, Rodriguez is expected to keep the budget at less than $30 million. "Mexico" is loosely based on Sergio Leone's classic spaghetti western "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly." "Mariachi" and "Desperado" were homages to Leone's "A Fistful of Dollars" and "For a Few Dollars More," respectively. Rodriguez and Rourke are repped by ICM. Banderas is repped by CAA. Hayek and Tarantino are repped by WMA

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NEW DIMENSION FOR "DESPERADO" SEQUEL May 9, 2001 By Claude Brodesser HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - In a move that will diminish risks and costs for both studios, Columbia Pictures is in final negotiations with Dimension Films to co-finance "Once Upon a Time in America: Desperado 2" the sequel to Robert Rodriguez' 1995 Western-themed actioner. With Antonio Banderas again heading the cast and writer-director Rodriguez aboard to helm, a start date is expected within a couple of weeks. Sources familiar with terms of the deal said Dimension would handle all international sales on the picture while Columbia would retain the domestic rights. The original picture grossed $25 million domestically. That Dimension is interested in a piece of the action on the Banderas/Rodriguez reteaming should come as no surprise: Rodriguez's "Spy Kids," also starring Banderas, has grossed a whopping $98.4 million since it opened in March.

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BANDERAS HEADS TO MEXICO
Words: Euroweb

Actor returns to Western role. *Seeing a very decent box office draw with "Spy Kids," Antonio Banderes is readying to reprise his Mexican bandit role, teaming up with writer-director Robert Rodriguez again for "Once Upon a Time in Mexico." The film is the third in the South of the border shoot 'em ups loosely based on Italian director Sergio Leone's classic spaghetti westerns "A Fistful of Dollars" and "For A Few Dollars More." The first installments were 1992's "El Mariachi" and its 1995 bigger-profile remake, "Desperado."

Shooting for "Once Upon" begins next month in Mexico. Quentin Tarantino and Salma Hayek, who co-starred in "Desperado" will return also. Meanwhile, his spy dad role in his current hit has evolved into a more daring espionage thriller about an anti-Fidel Castro CIA operative who's tricked into protecting the Cuban leader. Banderas will produce and star in the movie.

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SOUTH OF THE BORDER AGAIN

Chud.com, May 9th

Sounds like Antonio Banderas' gun-toting mariachi will be strumming, shooting and swaggering sooner rather than later. Writer/director Robert Rodriguez will reunite again with Banderas to film the "Desperado" sequel "Once Upon a Time In Mexico", which is now set to lens later this month in the hopes of having it in theaters for the holidays.

Rodriguez, who also acts as editor/producer/camera operator/effects supervisor on his movies (and probably manages a chain of Taco Bells in his spare time), will film "Mexico" for about a month using the new Sony 24-frame digital cameras, with a budget of about $30 million.

"I plan on returning to a down and dirty, more experimental style of shooting similar to 'El Mariachi,' this summer being the 10-year anniversary of when I shot that film," the overachieving multitasker stated.

Little is known about the film's story other than it will pay homage to Sergio Leone's "Man With No Name" trilogy. Due to the unavailability of an actual actor, the film will also star laminated meat puppet Mickey Rourke. Sometime- director and Rodriguez-chum Quentin Tarantino is also expected to return for the sequel, despite being severely shot to death in "Desperado".

Currently enjoying box office success with Banderas in Dimension's "Spy Kids", Rodriguez is expected to also start work on a sequel to that film shortly, as well as an adaptation of Mike Allred's groovy "Madman" comic and a biopic about the late bluesman Stevie Ray Vaughan. His busy-bodied Spaniard star will shoot "Mexico" once he finishes work on Brian De Palma's "Femme Fatale", and is also attached to the action thriller "Infidel", the musical "Phantom of the Opera", the biopic "Stompanato", the impending "Spy Kids" sequel, and a possible followup to "

The Mask of Zorro". Couple of ocupados muchachos, si?

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BANDERAS RIDES INTO 'DESPERADO' SEQUEL
By Brandon Gray, May 9, 2001 (Posted by Niki)

HOLLYWOOD (Zap2it.com) - Flush with the $98.7 million (and counting) success of Spy Kids, director Robert Rodriguez and star Antonio Banderas will team up again on Once Upon a Time in Mexico. Mexico is liberally derived from Sergio Leone's The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and the title itself an homage to the legendary director's Once Upon a Time in the West and America pictures.

Long awaited by fans, the Western-tinged action picture will mark the third installment in the "Mariachi" series after 1992's El Mariachi and 1995's Desperado starring Banderas, which were also inspired by Leone, A Fistful of Dollars and For a Few Dollars More respectively to be exact.

Desperado's love interest Salma Hayek may reprise her part, but it will depend on her schedule as she is currently filming the title role in Miramax Films' Frida, based on the life of the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, in which Banderas also has a role. Quentin Tarantino will return as well, despite the fate of his character in Desperado. Mickey Rourke, who has no Desperado connection, will also appear.

Shooting is expected to start late this month in Mexico and last around five weeks. With such a tight schedule and by using Sony high-definition digital cameras instead of film, Rodriguez will stay true to his low-budget ways by keeping the production cost at less than $30 million.

Desperado was shot on a budget of $7 million and grossed $25.6 million domestically plus an additional $32 million overseas. El Mariachi is famous for costing just $7,000. It earned $2 million at the box office. Sony's Columbia Pictures distributed and owns the rights to both.

Columbia will split expenses with Miramax's genre division Dimension Films, the studio behind Spy Kids which Rodriguez has committed to do three more pictures for. Columbia will distribute domestically, while Dimension will take international rights.

Rodriguez also has a sequel to Spy Kids in the works, which was greenlighted before the family-friendly caper even came out.

Banderas' name has been bandied about in relation to a plethora of pictures lately, including the title role in the movie adaptation of The Phantom of the Opera, a sequel to The Mask of Zorro and Infidel, a thriller about an anti- Castro Cuban dealing with an assassination attempt of the bearded dictator.

Variety reports that he's attached to yet another project based on the just released non-fiction book "Killing Pablo: The World's Greatest Outlaw," which details how Columbian drug lord Pablo Escobar was brought down. Under the direction of Gregory Nava (Selena), Banderas will play the police chief that headed the investigation.

Banderas is currently shooting director Brian De Palma's thriller Femme Fatale with Rebecca Romijn-Stamos.