‘Grindhouse’ twins become overnight stars
Published 9:00 pm Monday, April 9, 2007
NEW YORK – Elise and Electra Avellan, twin nieces of director Robert Rodriguez, never thought acting in “Grindhouse” would bring them instant fame.
“We had no idea so many people were going to be calling us,” Elise, joined by her sister, told The Associated Press. “It was like a bomb fell in our apartment one day.”
The 20-year-old Venezuelans appear in the April edition of Maxim En Espanol magazine and have received several requests to act together, as well as separately, in films.
They also caused a commotion last week when they showed up wearing red dresses at the film’s premiere after leading actress Rose McGowan sent a message to publicists asking that no one else wear that color but her.
“We still didn’t have a publicist, so we did not know,” said Electra. “… And the truth is, Rose did not even care. … It was an exaggeration by the media.”
In “Grindhouse,” which opened Friday, the sisters play baby sitters in the story “Planet Terror,” directed by their uncle. The movie was produced by Rodriguez’s wife, Elizabeth Avellan.
The twins said they had fun playing with the guns and cars on the film, but also recalled some bittersweet moments.
“We were in the middle of a very crazy situation during the filming and we had to keep our objectivity,” Electra said, referring to a weeks-long interruption in the filming last year, reportedly caused by Rodriguez’s personal problems.
It has been reported that Rodriguez and his producer wife, who have been married 16 years and have five children, are separating because Rodriguez was having an affair with McGowan.
“I believe that women need to protect women,” Elise said. But “we love our aunt and uncle and support them both no matter what happens.”
Associated Press
Elise (left) and Elektra Avellan in “Grindhouse.”
