From Dusk Till Dawn
Available now on Blu-ray
Written by Quentin Tarantino & Robert Kurtzman
Directed by Robert Rodriguez
Starring George Clooney, Quentin Tarantino, Juliette Lewis, Harvey Keitel, Cheech Marin, Ernest Liu, Salma Hayek
Miramax
Rated R | 108 minutes
Release date: January 19th, 1996
Fathom Events screening: November 6, 2016

“Psychos do not explode when sunlight hits them, I don’t give a f*ck how crazy they are!”

Twenty years ago, my father took a young 13-year old to the movie theater to see From Dusk Till Dawn. The movie was written by Quentin Tarantino who I had recently dubbed my idol after watching Pulp Fiction for the first time, and directed by Robert Rodriguez who did Desperado, another of my early favorites. It has since become something of a legend to us, and the phrase “don’t tell Mom” is part of the family vernacular. So when Fathom Events and Miramax put From Dusk Till Dawn back in the theaters, I knew I had to carry on family tradition and take my 12-year-old son to it. Sure, From Dusk Till Dawn is very rated-R. But this was a rite of passage.

More below.

Twenty years ago, just before my 14th birthday, my father took me to see From Dusk Till Dawn in the movie theater. The phrase “Don’t tell your mother” is now part of our family lexicon. Thanks to Fathom Events and Miramax, From Dusk Till Dawn will return to theaters in the United States for 2 days on Sunday, November 6th and Wednesday, November 9th for its 20th anniversary. The theatrical screenings will include an exclusive brand new Q&A with director Robert Rodriguez and writer/star Quentin Tarantino hosted by film critic and host of The Treatment, Elvis Mitchell.

Born out of the twisted minds of its writer/director, From Dusk Till Dawn begins as an action movie about a pair of murderous bank robbers, The Gecko Brothers, who are trying to get over the U.S./Mexican border while being chased by Texas Rangers. Seth, played by George Clooney in his first starring role, and younger, crazier brother Richie (Tarantino) leave a trail of blood, bodies, and fast food wrappers before huddling up at a hotel where they see their salvation: a winnebago. The owner is former preacher Jacob (Harvey Keitel), who is traveling with his two kids Kate (Juliette Lewis) and Scott (Ernest Liu). After surviving a tense border search, they hit their rendezvous spot, a grimy Mexican biker bar, The Titty Twister. The bar however is a front for a ring a bloodthirsty vampires led by Santanico Pandemonium (Salma Hayek).

Alita: Battle Angel has been one of James Cameron‘s long-gestating projects. The adaptation has taken somewhat of a backseat with Cameron focusing on his Avatar sequels. Despite the filmmaker declaring that the film would have to be pried out of his cold dead hands, it has been given to Robert Rodriguez – much to Cameron’s approval.

With Rodriguez in the driver’s seat, the film can proceed that much closer to production, and it seems as they are close to finding an actress to play the lead role. According to new reports, Maika Monroe, Zendaya, Rosa Salazar, and Bella Thorne are the new frontrunners for the title role. More on the story below.

James Cameron has made the two highest-grossing films of all time, Avatar and Titanic, so he is in a position with his career now where he can do pretty much anything he wants. For many years he has developed a film adaptation of Yukito Kishiro‘s manga series Battle Angel Alita for 20th Century Fox, but that endeavor has seen its share of production delays while its would-be powerhouse director paid several visits to the planet Pandora.

Even still, Cameron has long desired to make a movie based on Battle Angel. That is until he decided that he would no longer make anything but sequels to his billion dollar sci-fi blockbuster Avatar – three of which he intends to film back-to-back. That means the Battle Angel movie that has long been relegated to the backburner spot on Cameron’s development slate is going to be in need of a new maestro to bring it to the silver screen, and that maestro is Robert Rodriguez.

The Texas-based director of Desperado, From Dusk Till Dawn, and the Spy Kids and Sin City movies is currently in negotiations with Fox to take the helm of the feature that has been renamed Alita: Battle Angel. Cameron will remain on board to produce along with his longtime producing partner Jon Landau under their Lightstorm Entertainment company.

When I was 13, my dad took to me the movies to see Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino’s From Dusk Till Dawn. That became known as the “Don’t tell Mom movie” from then on. That film launched the film career of star George Clooney and featured Mexican vampires devouring a biker bar. Nearly two decades later, has Rodriguez brought the story of the Gecko Brothers to the El Rey Network. Midway through its second season, Rodriguez and the cast of the From Dusk Till Dawn TV series appeared at New York Comic-Con on Saturday to promote their show and the network.

Appearing with the director on the panel were DJ Cotrona (Seth), Zane Holtz (Richie), Eiza Gonzalez (Santanico), Jesse Garcia (Freddie), Madison Davenport (Kate), and Brandon Soo Hoo (Scott). Clarke Wolfe from Nerdist was the moderator.