Rebel Without a Crew

"Rebel Without a Crew" (subtitle: "Or How a 23-Year-Old Filmmaker with $7,000 Became a Hollywood Player") is a 1995 non-fiction book by Robert Rodriguez. Presented in a diary format, "Rebel" details Rodriguez' beginnings as a young filmmaker; his stint at a medical testing facility to raise money for a feature film; the making of that film ("El Mariachi") for $7,000, and his subsequent experiences in Hollywood selling the film and going to film festivals promoting it.

Later editions of the book also feature one of Rodriguez' tutorials on low-budget filmmaking ("Ten Minute Film School") and the screenplay to "El Mariachi".

Influence

Rodriguez' rags-to-riches story, detailed in "Rebel", as well as his vociferous support of low-budget techniques (such as digital cinematography) to allow anyone to make a movie cheaply, have made him an icon of modern independent filmmaking.