20th Century Fox has set a September 3 release date for Robert Rodriguez and Ethan Maniquis’ Machete, starring Danny Trejo, Jessica Alba, Robert De Niro, Michelle Rodriguez, Lindsay Lohan, Cheech Marin, Jeff Fahey, Don Johnson and Steven Seagal. Labor Day falls on Monday, Sept. 6, which gives the movie a four-day opening weekend.
Focus Features is releasing Anton Corbijn’s suspense thriller The American (view a new photo), starring George Clooney, a couple of days earlier on Wednesday, Sept. 1.
Columbia Pictures also has the Tom Brady comedy Born to Be a Star, with Christina Ricci, scheduled for a release on Sept. 3.
Machete is based on the “fake” trailer in Robert Rodriguez’s 2007 Grindhouse. The feature version of the trailer finds Machete (Trejo) a renegade former Mexican Federale, roaming the streets of Texas after a shakedown from drug lord Torrez (Seagal). Reluctantly, Machete takes an offer from spin doctor Benz (Fahey) to assassinate McLaughlin (De Niro) a corrupt Senator. Double crossed and on the run Machete braves the odds with the help of Luz (Michelle Rodriguez), a saucy taco slinger, Padre (Marin) his “holy” brother, and April (Lohan) a socialite with a penchant for guns. All while being tracked by Sartana (Alba), a sexy ICE agent with a special interest in the blade slinger.
