Robert Rodriguez receives star at Paramount Theatre

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas filmmaker Robert Rodriguez was honored in Austin on Saturday.

Rodriguez got a star on the Avenue of Paramount Stars out in front of the historic Paramount Theatre.

It was part of the weekend kicking off the 50th year of the theater’s summer film series.

The director of “Desperado,” “From Dusk Till Dawn,” and “Machete” said he was honored to receive the star in front of his “favorite theater in the world.”

“I’m just so overwhelmed. I love the classic movie series. I love the performing arts. I love theater. I love Austin and I adore the Paramount Theatre,” Rodriguez said during his speech.

Rodriguez’s sister said he’s played a major part in developing the film culture in Austin.

“They call it Hollywood, Texas, you know that right?,” Rodriguez’s sister, Patricia Vonne Rodriguez, told KXAN on Saturday.

She said she felt Rodriguez was one of the filmmakers who paved the way and built an infrastructure for movies to be able to film in Austin– to have the freedom and autonomy.

“That’s what my brother has always told me. Autonomy in any platform of business is so important because you have your own vision,” she said.

Rodriguez is the seventh person to receive the honor of a Paramount Star, joining the likes of Jerry Jeff Walker, Lyle Lovett and Delbert McClinton.

“The only next best thing to have than a star here would be to come back in the next life as one of the many ghosts that reside here. We’ll be able to haunt and watch concerts and movies forever, but the star will do for now,” Rodriguez said.

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