Freddy Rodriguez, Melonie Diaz Interview

MoviesOnline sat down recently with Freddy Rodriguez and Melonie Diaz to talk about their new movie, “Nothing Like the Holidays,” from award-winning director Alfredo De Villa. Rodriguez, John Leguizamo, and Debra Messing headline an all-star cast in the humorous and heartwarming story of one unforgettable family holiday. Alfred Molina, Elizabeth Pena, Luis Guzman, Vanessa Ferlito, and Jay Hernandez also star in the film.

It’s Christmastime and the far-flung members of the Rodriguez family are converging at their parents’ home in Chicago to celebrate the season and rejoice in their youngest brother’s safe return from combat overseas. For Jesse (Rodriguez), coming home has rekindled feelings for an old flame, Marissa (Diaz), although she can’t seem to forgive him for leaving her behind when he impulsively enlisted.

Freddy Rodriguez has quickly emerged as one of Hollywood’s most dynamic and exceptional young actors, earning an Emmy nomination for Best Supporting Actor, two Alma Awards, three Imagen Awards, a Nosotros Award and two SAG Awards (for Best Ensemble Drama) for his role as Federico Diaz, the artful mortician, in HBO’s award-winning drama “Six Feet Under.” Following his six-season run on the acclaimed series, he returned to series television as Giovanni, love interest of America Ferrera’s title character in an extended guest arc on ABC’s hit series “Ugly Betty.”

His feature film work recently included the Quentin Tarantino-Robert Rodriguez collaboration “Grindhouse,” in which he played the action hero star of Rodriguez’s segment, the zombie thriller “Planet Terror.” He also starred in the feature film “Bottle Shock,” chronicling the birth of the Napa wine industry, which premiered to great reviews at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.

Melonie Diaz was dubbed “The Queen of Sundance” at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival when she returned to Park City with four films: contemporary war drama “American Son,” in which she stars opposite Nick Cannon and Jay Hernandez; Michel Gondry’s comedy “Be Kind, Rewind,” alongside Jack Black and Mos Def; the dark comedy “Assassination of a High School President,” with Bruce Willis; and Andrew Fleming’s comedy “Hamlet 2,” with Catherine Keener and Steve Coogan.

Diaz’s vast and varied list of films includes performances in “Raising Victor Vargas,” Tom DiCillo’s “Double Whammy,” Catherine Hardwicke’s “Lords of Dogtown,” “A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints” (earning her a 2007 Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress), “Feel the Noise,” “I’ll Come Running” and “The Beautiful Ordinary.”

Freddy Rodriguez and Melonie Diaz are fabulous people and we really appreciated their time. Here’s what they had to tell us:

Q: It’s obvious there are high hopes for a big mainstream turnout.

FREDDY RODRIGUEZ: What do you think?

Q: I think it’s very possible and it was a great idea to mainstream the title too. It will invite more people in to see it.

FREDDY RODRIGUEZ: Good.

Q: Everybody has dysfunctional families.

FREDDY RODRIGUEZ: We are not alone! I am glad to hear that because that was the point when we were writing this thing. We wanted to make it as universal as possible. We wanted anyone of any ethnicity to watch this movie and go “That’s my family. My Uncle. My cousin. We yell like that at the dinner table.” We want everybody to be able to relate to it.

Q: Freddy, can you talk a little bit about how it was wearing both hats as an actor and as a producer?

FREDDY RODRIGUEZ: Sure. It allowed me to express my inner dictatorship (laughter).

MELONIE DIAZ: He’s so bossy.

FREDDY RODRIGUEZ: I fired Melonie about three, four times. Hired her back. No. I was a producer. I should say my function as a producer was more on the creative end. It wasn’t on the money or the numbers side. So I absolutely loved it. I loved putting the hats together. I loved being in the developmental part of the script. I loved being able to put ... I described it as, and I have said this a million times but, I feel like our cast is like, you know every year they do all-star games of some sort in baseball, basketball. I feel like we have the all-star team in our cast. I feel so blessed to be able to do that. And I think that is what I brought to the table as a producer.

Q: Did you talk to Iraq vets about what it is like coming home?

FREDDY RODRIGUEZ: We actually had someone on set. The prop person, his brother was an Iraq vet. He is actually an extra in the movie. So he was there as sort of an unofficial tech adviser. But the research I did was primarily through documentaries and material I had read. Letters I had read that soldiers had written back home. I always feel like sometimes when you sit one-on-one with somebody, it is more like an interview. But when you read letters they write, it is more like they are baring their soul. I was more interested in going deeper than just a one-on-one. It was frightening what I found in those letters. What they go through within their post-war traumatic syndrome and the anxiety and the guilt and the re-assimilation, and the reestablishment of their relationship with a girlfriend or their friends. These are kids. What we fail to realize is that these are kids, 19-year-olds, 23-year-olds, and they come back and everyone is going about their normal lives. And they are just trying to get their head back together.

Q: You’ve worked with Debra before. Did you guys stay in touch all this time?

FREDDY RODRIGUEZ: We didn’t stay in touch but we had TV shows out about the same time and they were both pretty popular television shows. So, we were always nominated for the same awards, the same awards ceremonies. So I would always see her at that. It was a great time because we hadn’t seen each other in a long time. Then we would see each other at these award shows. We were so happy for each other during that time. So that’s obviously over. So when this came up, and the character came up, she was right at the top of the list. That’s one of the fortunate things about me being a producer. I could pick up the phone and call Debra and tell her “Come play.” I have know Leguizamo 13 years. Called him. I’ve known Luis, five, six years. So it’s just like getting on the horn and calling old friends and asking them to come play.

Q: Did you know each other already?

FREDDY RODRIGUEZ: No. No.

MELONIE DIAZ: Just through mutual friends.

Q: She said in “Walk in the Clouds” that the two of you barely knew what a mark was. Did you help each other through it?

FREDDY RODRIGUEZ: We were wet behind the ears. We were both theater kids. I was right out of high school. It was a year out of high school. And she had just finished college I believe. We didn’t know what the heck we were doing. We just went there and learned as we went along.

Q: As a producer, I was wondering what you saw in Melonie?

FREDDY RODRIGUEZ: Melonie was at the top of the list. There is a certain quality that I think Melonie brings to her character that we felt that this character in particular possessed. We knew that she would bring them. Melonie is incredibly busy. We were just hoping she would be available.

Q: Melonie, were you part of all of the rehearsals?

MELONIE DIAZ: Oh yeah.

Q: Debra mentioned she felt a little like she was not part of the family. I just wondered if you felt like part of the whole?

FREDDY RODRIGUEZ: What? Did she say she did not feel welcome?

Q: Yeah. She did at the beginning, but by the end she felt very welcomed.

MELONIE DIAZ: It is rare that you get to be so thorough especially with such an ensemble cast. So I definitely felt comfortable with everyone. I think we really lucked out. We really like each other.

FREDDY RODRIGUEZ: Which doesn’t happen.

MELONIE DIAZ: We wanted to be around each other. And I think the rehearsal process helped us understand our relationships and the family dynamics, where we are coming from, where we have been, etc. So, I definitely felt comfortable.

Q: You and Jay both worked on “American Son.”

MELONIE DIAZ: Yes, we did “American Son.”

FREDDY RODRIGUEZ: Six degrees of separation.

MELONIE DIAZ: And Luis Guzman played my father in the first movie I had ever done. It was such a trip.

Q: It was like a reunion?

MELONIE DIAZ: Totally.

FREDDY RODRIGUEZ: I did “Grindhouse” with Vanessa. She was in Quentin’s [Tarantino] half. We did publicity together for it.

MELONIE DIAZ: It was so interesting. When I did my first movie, “Double Whammy,” I was also wet behind the ears. It was my first movie. It’s a Tom DiCillo movie. I had no idea you could even make money doing a movie. And Luis was such a pleasure to be around because he has such a lovely spirit. To be with him on this movie, and to be an equal of some sort, and for him to welcome me like that, it is really amazing.

Q: Would you like to produce another movie? Do you have a company?

FREDDY RODRIGUEZ: Well, eventually yes, it will be erected. I am just trying to learn right now. I am producing another film next year with ... I’m teamed back up with Bob Teitel, George Tillman, Rene Rigal with State Street Pictures. I’m doing a film called “Julito Marana.” It’s a cross between “City of God” and “Carlito’s Way.” We are going to be the first full-length feature to shoot in a ghetto in Puerto Rico called “La Perla” - the Pearl. There has never been a full-length movie shot there. So like “City of God” was the first to shoot in the favelas of Brazil.

Q: Could you talk a little about the essence of this movie? I think some people were “Oh, it’s just Hispanic,” but it seems so universal.

FREDDY RODRIGUEZ: Sure. Thank you for that. That was always the intention from day one. It was important to me and to Bob that we made a film that was an American holiday movie that happens to revolve around a Latin family. The reason why we wanted to do that was so people of all ethnicities could watch it and relate to it. At the same time keeping a level of authenticity so it does not feel manufactured or whitewashed.

MELONIE DIAZ: I think there are a lot of layers of this movie that are universal. It’s about marriage. It’s about death. It’s about siblings. It’s about friendship. It’s about love. We have all of these interesting relationships. You have this older couple. You have Debra and John’s relationship. You have our relationship -- Jay and Vanessa’s relationship. I think there is something for everybody. At the core of it is love and at the holidays you find yourself kind of reassessing what that is with the people you love.

Q: You shot on location in your former neighborhood?

FREDDY RODRIGUEZ: I shot in Chicago where I’m from. I actually shot it in the neighborhoods I frequented as a kid.

Q: Did you have some family in the movie?

FREDDY RODRIGUEZ: Yeah. I had a couple ... an uncle and an aunt who were extras in the movie. It was surreal to go back home. It is actually the first film I shot in Chicago. Thirty films later it is the first one I have ever shot in my hometown. And to get to shoot in the neighborhoods where I grew up in was just so surreal. There were times when I would be shooting and someone I went to grammar school with 20 years ago would be walking down the street. “Buddy! Hey!” They would start talking. “How’s your mom doing?” “Great. How’s your mom?” “Wonderful.” “All right, let me get back to work.”

Q: What Christmas gifts are you planning to give this year to significant others or kids in your family?

MELONIE DIAZ: I’m giving them massages.

FREDDY RODRIGUEZ: I’ll take one.

Q: By you or by a professional?

MELONIE DIAZ: By me. I think everybody needs... it’s to go into the New Year. I’ll give my mother one, my sister one.

FREDDY RODRIGUEZ: I don’t know. I haven’t figured it out yet. I am a last minute shopper especially when I am this busy. I go online and say “That looks good.”

Q: Have either of you ever gone home and run into your old high school sweetheart?

FREDDY RODRIGUEZ: I’m married to mine. I’ve been married 13 years.

MELONIE DIAZ: I see them all the time. I live on the lower east side of Manhattan which is very much a walking community. One of them lives in the neighborhood.

Q: Luis grew up there but I think it was much different.

MELONIE DIAZ: Yeah. Now it is much more gentrified. It’s crazy. Like I am going back tomorrow and one of my girlfriends said I was going to be so surprised by all the buildings that are being built. Is that also happening in Humboldt Park right now?

FREDDY RODRIGUEZ: Yes. Extreme gentrification.  I couldn’t even walk through that neighborhood when I was a kid. It’s so nice to go back and shoot a movie there because as a kid I wouldn’t dare walk through it.

Q: Has everyone forgiven you for dragging them there in the coldest weather Chicago has had in 80 years?

FREDDY RODRIGUEZ: Listen. I’m from Chicago and even I was like “Damn! It’s Cold!”

MELONIE DIAZ: I’m from New York. My jaws literally locked in the scene between Freddy and I where I’m late for work and he’s stalking me. I couldn’t talk. It was painful. That’s how cold it was.

FREDDY RODRIGUEZ: We would have to get Melonie warmed up. We would call the camera guys and go “You ready? You ready?” Then we would bring her out and shoot the scene.

MELONIE DIAZ: The director told me that our skin was so flushed and so red they had to color correct it out. It was that cold.

Q: One of my favorite scenes is the progressive caroling where your characters go from one house to the next, singing and gathering more people. Did you do that when you were young?

FREDDY RODRIGUEZ: Yes. Actually some of my first memories as a child are being a part of that. Has someone explained to you how it works? In the movie it is somewhat Americanized but it is pretty accurate. You get a couple of families and you go to one family’s house. You play outside. They invite you in. They feed you. They give you rum. And then that family has to join the group and you go to the next family’s house. And so on and so forth. By the end of the night you have 10 families together. I can remember I would be sleeping and it would be 3 in the morning. I would hear music outside my door and my dad would be like “Get up! Get up! Get your clothes on.” My mom and I would be there putting crackers together. My father would bring out his bottle of rum.

Q: Is it on January 6 every year?

FREDDY RODRIGUEZ: No. It starts after Thanksgiving. It’s continuous.

Q: Does the same family start it each night?

FREDDY RODRIGUEZ: It depends on who the musicians are and who plays the instruments.

Q: Even the little kids go?

FREDDY RODRIGUEZ: Yeah. I can remember like being 4 and laying on a pile of coats in somebody’s room.

Q: Any New Year’s resolutions for next year?

FREDDY RODRIGUEZ: I don’t make New Year’s resolutions.

MELONIE DIAZ: I used to make them and then I would always break them. So no, not really.

Q: Hollywood is not known for color-blind casting. Have the two of you ever had problems with ethnic typecasting or anything like that, and how do you deal with it?

MELONIE DIAZ: Sure. I think for me I am relatively new to this world, to this industry. I have not done that many movies. But I feel very positive about it. I think that things are really changing. I did this film called “Be Kind, Rewind.” And it was offered to Kirsten Dunst who is blond, blue-eyed. The complete opposite of what I am. Michel [Gondry] was really open to it. I don’t know.

FREDDY RODRIGUEZ: I have been around for quite some time and that is actually why I wanted to make this movie. It was because of the stuff I have experienced in the past. And also just because of the question of why this has not been done already. How come there has never been a commercial movie that revolves around a Latin family. It is kind of what Selma did with “Ugly Betty.” She did an American television show that happens to revolve around this Latin girl and this Latin family. She made it universal for everybody. I always admired what she and Silvio Horta and Jose Tamez did with that show and wondered why it hasn’t been done in the film world. And so I just felt like it was my job to do it.

Q: Did you do anymore “Scrubs” in the last season?

FREDDY RODRIGUEZ: No. No. I think that is done.

Q: If this is successful, would you be willing to do another one?

FREDDY RODRIGUEZ: Part two? I guess it depends on how it is received. This time we would do “Nothing Like the Fourth of July.”

Q: If Alfred asks for too much money, he dies?

FREDDY RODRIGUEZ: (laughs) Maybe that would be the catalyst for the family getting together. It will be like Terrence Howard who asked for too much money. That’s why he is gone. Molina is so wonderful I wouldn’t want to do that.

Q: Was there a sense that the younger people in the cast looked up to Elizabeth Pena and Alfred Molina?

FREDDY RODRIGUEZ: Oh yeah. They are such wonderful people and have such an impressive body of work. So I think you always look up to people who have been around longer. And you know what the best part of that is, to people like Melonie, who just said she has not done a lot of films, they are great examples to people like her that show you can be successful and you can be around a long time and you don’t have to be a prick. You can be a civil human being. And I hope it has that effect on her. It has had that effect on me and other people they have worked with.

MELONIE DIAZ: I also feel that while I did look up to them, it was very much an ensemble cast. I think for me that is what it is to be a great actor. You treat everyone the same. There is no higher power or I have experienced more than you. You share your knowledge but you make sure it’s collaborative.

Q: What’s next?

MELONIE DIAZ: I have a film coming out called “Assassination of a High School President” with Bruce Willis and Mischa Barton.

Q: Is it a comedy?

MELONIE DIAZ: It’s a dark comedy. I play the editor-in-chief of the school newspaper. She is very uptight. A lot like Reese Witherspoon in “Election.”

FREDDY RODRIGUEZ: I’m doing that film (“Julito Marana”) I mentioned earlier.
 
“Nothing Like the Holidays” opens in theaters on December 12th.