Trivia / Machete

• Awesome, Dear Boy:
  • Robert DeNiro accepted the role of Senator McLaughlin purely because he thought it would be fun to not have to take such a character seriously.
  • Lindsay Lohan agreed to play April because she found the character's arc "cool".
• The Danza: A variation. Don Johnson plays the similarly named "Von Jackson".
• Defictionalization: It began its life as a fake trailer attached to Grindhouse. Rodriguez was planning on making it a direct-to-DVD movie in the first place, however, but was eventually convinced to make it for theatrical release.
• Deleted Role: Two separate examples, seen in DVD deleted scenes:
  • Sartana had a slutty identical twin sister, also played by Jessica Alba by split-screen, who was constantly whacked out on NyQuil. The two lived together and greatly disliked each other.
  • Osiris had a female partner named Boots McCoy (complete with her own title card introduction, and played by Rose McGowan), who seemed to be quite crazy. In the deleted scenes she is the person who shoots Luz in the eye (by using a live cat as a silencer no less) instead of Von Jackson, and she also kills Sartana's twin sister by slitting her throat with a razor blade in her mouth, followed up by a scene of Sartana finding the sister's body and showing she really did care about her.
• Deleted Scene
  • Sartana questions Senator McLaughlin and Booth in the hospital about the assassination attempt.
  • A scene of the Senator being interviewed by the Latina reporter at the station.
• Dueling Movies: Went up against The Expendables for title of "Most Action-Packed Movie of 2010", and also the most manliest movie of 2010. It grossed less (37 mil for Expendables, Machete got 10 mil - it was a slow movie weekend, apparently), but gained better critical reaction.
• Dyeing for Your Art: Lindsay Lohan, a natural redhead, went blonde to play April.
• Extremely Lengthy Creation: The screenplay was first written in 1993, and the film was not released until 2010.
• Fake Nationality: Robert Rodriguez seems to have a fondness for this, as he acknowledged the on-purpose, over-the-top silliness of a spray-tanned Willem Dafoe playing a Mexican drug lord in the DVD commentary of Once Upon a Time in Mexico.
  • Steven Seagal as a katana-wielding Mexican drug lord? That could work... Genius Bonus: Katanas were popular weapons in Mexico of the 16-17th centuries, brought over by Spanish ships to Aisa.
  • Senator McLaughlin isn't actually from Texas. His southern accent is totally fake. His real voice is simply Robert De Niro talking normally. This is probably a reference to the fact that George W. Bush is actually from Connecticut.
• Flip-Flop of God: At one point it had been stated that Machete was indeed the manny/bodyguard from Spy Kids, but more recently Rodriguez seems to favor a view of any link as a Mythology Gag or Alternate Self situation, stating that the two series take place in separate universes.
• The Other Darrin: Many of the actors from the fake trailer got replaced. Notably Shea Wigham replaced Tito Larriva as the sniper who shoots Machete.
• Playing Against Type: Steven Seagal is the villain, in his first theatrical film in nearly a decade.
• Production Posse: Danny Trejo and Daryl Sabara were both in Spy Kids directed by Rodriguez and Alba and Alexa Vega ended up in the next one. Robert Rodriguez's nieces, doctor and girlfriend Rose McGowan in a deleted scene are again in this movie.
• Reality Subtext: Lindsay Lohan as a drugged-out amateur porn star who's trying to have a legit career? Awkwaaard. But hilarious.
• Real-Life Relative: Jorge, the kid who spends all his screen time drawing pictures, is played by Danny Trejo's son Gilbert.
• Throw It In!: Apparently the awesome line "Machete don't text" arose from a real-life communication between Danny Trejo and Robert Rodriguez.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Chris Cooper was the first choice for the Senator McLaughlin role. He turned it down as he thought the script was too weird.
  • Jonah Hill was cast as Julio, but dropped out and was replaced by Daryl Sabara.
  • Von Jackson was called Lt. Stillman in the script. He would also have been Sartana's superior.

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