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 With a three movie deal, FSU film grad writes horror for Hollywood

Eduardo Rodriguez

Rodriguez directing Marcie Seklecki on "Daughter" set

By Vida Volkert

 A year had not passed since Eduardo Rodriguez graduated from the FSU Film School before he was in Los Angeles writing a horror-movie script with "X-Files" writer Chip Johannsen.

Rodriguez, a 28-year-old Venezuelan national, signed a three-movie deal with Dimension Films after his thesis film "Daughter" caught the attention of producers in Los Angeles.

The psychological thriller "Daughter" displays "some photography that I have not seen in anyone else's movies," said Andy Ruben, FSU film instructor. "And if you watch this film, you can even turn off the sound and follow the story without it."

Ruben praised Rodriguez's talent to tell a story in pictures, build tension and explore human frailties. He also said Rodriguez did a good job directing the film crew and actors, which is not common at the student level.

When filming a movie, Ruben said, "this is your family and the director is the father, the parent in charge who gives love and support to his family. Eduardo has all these wonderful qualities.

"He is amazingly loyal and soft spoken. I think these are characteristics of someone who wants to be successful in this business, because filmmaking is a collaborative art. A director has to capture a novelist's internal dialogue through light, shadow, production design, angle, lens - and inspire other people with his vision."

Rodriguez's film "Daughter," said Kathy Barber of FSU's Film School, "creates more suspense than usually seen at the student-film level."

That's why the film went to many film festivals, including the popular festival Cannes, but it was at FSU's annual screening in Los Angeles that it was noticed by the right people.

Among them was Carlos Goodman, an attorney in the film industry, who sent "Daughter" to Dimension in New York.

Dimension, a subdivision of Miramax Films, has produced Hollywood films such as "Halloween," "Hellraiser," "Scary Movie," Wes Craven's "Dracula 2000" and "The Others."

After"Daughter," Dimension's co-chairman Bob Weinstein sent for Rodriguez.

A nervous Rodriguez flew from Tallahassee to New York City, where he met Weinstein at the Tribeca Grill for lunch. He said he was so nervous that he ordered water instead of food.

"When Bob figured out why I wasn't eating, he had the waiter bring me every flavor of ice cream they had."

"He said I had a potential to scare people," Rodriguez said, still in awe with his luck. "I am amazed. I was not expecting all this stuff to happen."

Rodriguez and Weinstein signed a three-movie deal, and Rodriguez is now re-writing "Symbiosis," a short horror film he wrote and directed at FSU.

"Symbiosis" is scheduled to go into production in about three months, and the other two movie schedules are still open.
Rodriguez began paving his road to Los Angeles long before he entered FSU. He studied communications in Venezuela at the Catholic University Andres Bello.

As a child, Rodriguez knew he wanted to be a filmmaker. He said he had a preference for horror movies, and Roman Polanski's classic, "Rosemary's Baby," helped him decide to do movies based on human fears.

David Cronenberg and Steven Spielberg also influenced Rodriguez' career and style.

Spielberg's "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial," with the main character's identity secretly guarded by a group of teenagers, became a theme in one of Rodriguez's scripts. In "Symbiosis" a supernatural creature hides at a diner, where the waitresses guard it in exchange for protection. (The script has changed for the coming movie.)

In "Daughter," Rodriguez explores the mind of a suicidal woman psychologically affected with the memories of her deceased daughter.

"The way I see the world, it is not a very nice place," he said.

He said he chose FSU's Film School because of the opportunities and convenient program.

"We are the only public film school that pays all the cost of the film developing," Barber said. "We don't ask them [students] to pay additional fees. We provide the equipment, film and developing."

Rodriguez said those advantages were important to him.

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