Jessica Alba Joins De Niro, Seagal in ‘Machete’

A few days back, when director Robert Rodriguez said in an interview that he would like troubled actress Lindsay Lohan to star in his upcoming film “Machete,” fans were not quite psyched about the idea. Eventually, Lohan was attached to the project: and other stars have immediately followed, among which Robert De Niro, Steven Seagal and, most recently, Jessica Alba, as News Popstar can confirm.

Given the eclectic cast so far – admittedly, Rodriguez is not done picking actors for all the parts – the hype around the film is already starting to gain intensity, as fans already know the kind of wonders the director can make happen in situations like this (see “Sin City” for just one example). More details on the production are yet to surface but, knowing the director and his somewhat out of the ordinary ways of promoting his work, they’re bound to emerge soon enough.

“Danny Trejo finally gets his close-up as the title character, a renegade former Mexican Federale described on the Machete poster as ‘a brutal savage who must slaughter to stay alive.’ The rest of the cast, confirmed by Variety, includes Oscar-winner Robert De Niro, troubled starlet Lindsay Lohan, Rodriguez regular Cheech Marin, tough girl Michelle Rodriguez, ‘Sin City’’s Jessica Alba, the shamefully underutilized Jeff Fahey, one-time action star Steven Seagal, and Sonny Crockett himself, Don Johnson (who, of course, starred with Marin on ‘Nash Bridges’).” the aforementioned e-zine says of the cast assembled so far.

As it’s already common knowledge, “Machete” the film is based on the faux movie trailer that Rodriguez included in “Grindhouse,” and has started once the director noted the warm reaction of fans. Shooting for it has reportedly already started and is taking place in Austin, Texas, with the film aiming for a 2010 release date. Ethan Maniquis acts as co-director on the project.

“Anyone who’s seen the Machete trailer knows that Machete accepts $150,000 in cash from a man (Fahey) to kill a senator (to be played in the film by De Niro), only to be double-crossed and seek bloody revenge. Marin, who also appeared in the trailer, reprises his role as Machete’s gun-toting priest brother, Padre. Seagal will play a drug lord, Michelle Rodriguez is a [hot] taco slinger, Lohan co-stars as a socialite with a thing for guns, and Alba turns up the heat as an ICE agent with a keen interest in Machete.” News Popstar says of the synopsis.