Robert Rodriguez launches Brass Knuckle Films, turning movie fans into investors

Robert Rodriguez wants to give you a cut of the action—in more ways than one.

The director, writer, and producer behind movies including El Mariachi, From Dusk Till Dawn, Spy Kids, and Sin City recently announced Brass Knuckle Films, a new initiative inviting fans to become investors in action films.

Powered by global investment platform Republic, Brass Knuckle Films will allow everyday fans to back projects from Rodriguez’s production company Troublemaker Studios, share in the profits, and access perks including exclusive previews, set visits, discussions with Rodriguez and his creative team, and even the chance to have their own idea made into a movie.

Each Brass Knuckle Films investor will have the opportunity to submit a movie concept, which Rodriguez and his team at Troublemaker Studios will review based on originality, feasibility, and market potential. Ten finalists will be selected to pitch their concepts directly to Rodriguez, who will choose one to be developed into a full-length feature as part of the Brass Knuckle Films slate.

“When I talk to studio execs, they’re like zombies in suits. They don’t watch movies. They’re not fans of movies. They’re in it for a business,” says Rodriguez, cofounder of Brass Knuckle Films. “You talk to a fan—you see the passion. They should be making the money.”

Brass Knuckle Films is coming to the scene behind a similar company Legion M that launched in 2016 and billed itself as “the world’s first fan-owned entertainment company.” What could set Brass Knuckle Films apart is Rodriguez himself who’s built something of a cult fandom from his body of work, as well as how streamlined his Austin, Texas-based production company, Troublemaker Studios, operates with him as the writer, director, producer, and editor of his projects.

“Studios have never made things efficient,” says Alexis Garcia, cofounder of Brass Knuckle Films. “So if you can offer [efficiency with] less cooks in the kitchen or because you own and control more of the food chain to making movies like we do with a studio here, that’s a value that nobody would argue with.”

What’s also unique about Brass Knuckle Films is its specific focus on action films. Not only is it Rodriguez’s go-to genre, it’s what he’s seeing is in high demand—and that he could fill quickly and profitably.

Rodriguez recalls a conversation with an executive at Netflix a few years ago where he was told the streamer needed more family films. Rodriguez took the prompt and wrote, directed, and produced the 2020 film We Can Be Heroes. To this day, the film remains in the top 10 most popular Netflix films globally.

“Now when I ask, what do you need?, [studio executives] say, action, action, action. We just don’t have enough action movies,” Rodriguez says. “There’s such an appetite for these movies. [Studios] don’t care where they come from as long as they come. They can’t make them fast enough and they don’t know how to make them efficiently. So you’re solving their problem.”

At the core of Brass Knuckle Films is Rodriguez’s desire to amplify his indie approach to action filmmaking and to give fans more equity in movies they’re ultimately supporting at the box office or by hyping them up on social media.

“If it’s going to end with the fans anyway with them watching the movie, let’s begin with the fans and let them be a part of it, get a piece of the action,” Rodriguez says. “They’ll be more motivated to go tell their friends to go watch it because they’ll make more money.”

“Democratizing and demystifying has always been a part of my DNA as an independent [filmmaker],” he adds. “Now I want to do that with an audience.”

View the full article