Writer-director Robert Rodriguez recently returned to his Alma Mater, the University of Texas at Austin, for a casual conversation moderated by his former professor Charles Ramirez Berg.

One of the central topics of discussion was El Rey, the national cable channel that Rodriguez will unleash in 2014 with help from Comcast. He has been traveling the country to promote the in-the-works outlet, which is designed to give Latino filmmakers a much needed public airwaves boost. From the Austin360.com report:

Latinos will make up a third of the U.S. population by 2050, according to census estimates, yet, Rodriguez, joked, there was a dog channel before there was one like El Rey…

Rodriguez said the cable channel will be cutting-edge, underground and imbued by an indie sensibility. He has already had multiple conversations with Hollywood stars such as Benicio del Toro and Michelle Rodriguez, who have expressed interest in collaborating with El Rey on original programming.

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In this town, porn has always been a dead end for actresses. It’s a rare occurrence for a porn actress to appear in a Hollywood production, and when she does it’s almost always to play an oversexed character. But public attitudes toward porn are changing. As more and more adult stars hang out at Hollywood parties, date Hollywood stars and make small appearances in Hollywood productions, the stage is being set for a crossover star.

Our money is on Sasha Grey.

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