Word: rodriguez
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...Dropping out at 17, Rodriguez earned her GED and spent a full year "without any direction," composing poetry and short stories before deciding to write screenplays. Figuring "the best way to learn about movies was to become an actress," she fell for an old showbiz scam, signing up with a talent agency that charged hundreds of dollars for publicity pictures and then sent her on open casting calls advertised in Backstage...
...showed up for the "Girlfight" open call. Despite the fact she arrived late and did nothing more than say her name and where she was from, she was one of three women called back. Indeed, pitted against nearly 350 other actresses and feeling out of place at the call, Rodriguez became pessimistic and upset during the "Girlfight" audition, her dark, mesmerizing eyes turning fiery with frustration...
...After four callbacks where Rodriguez aced out other contenders, Kusama sent her to the gym and made her train for a week before awarding her the part. Then the director gave the feisty upstart a small stipend to live on, enrolled her in acting classes, and loaded her up with stacks of background material. There were videos of brooding, gutsy movies like "A Streetcar Named Desire," "A Woman Under the Influence," "Gloria" and "The Hustler," along with method acting manuals by Stanislavski and Uta Hagen...
...lean and mean from rollerblading, biking and hiking, she engaged in a full boxing regimen at Gleason's Gym, began running two miles a day, and packed on more than 10 pounds to bulk up her frame. Undergoing rigorous training for five hours a day, six days a week, Rodriguez transformed herself from a reasonably fit woman into a muscular Amazon. "My whole body began to change," she says, taking a deep drag off an American Spirit cigarette. "I morphed into a powerful being...
...just brawn that attracts Rodriguez. "When I saw Jodie Foster in 'The Silence of the Lambs,' it blew my mind," she says. "Strong female characters -we need more of them. It's a shame you have to be a bitch to be respected. Jodie, Helen Hunt, and believe it or not Julia Roberts all maintain a conservative style but made it big without exploiting themselves." Post- "Girlfight," Rodriguez is also gaining more respect, starring in the Spike Lee- produced "3 A.M." with Danny Glover and Pam Grier, as well as the race-car drama "Redline" starring Vin Diesel...