Naveen Andrews Hates Grindhouse Movies

By Peter Sciretta/April 2, 2007 5:52 am EST

Naveen Andrews had never seen a exploitation film when he auditioned for Robert Rodriguez at the Beverly Hills Four Seasons Hotel in 2005. After he won a role in Planet Terror, he was given a Grindhouse 101 crash course at Quentin Tarantino's home theater. But the truth is, he hated what he saw.

"They were interminable and they were terrible. I thought they were horrible films, dismal. And the actors seemed to be suffering in them and you just felt sorry for everyone. And I'd look around and I'd see Quentin and Robert laughing like maniacs. I found it funny for about two minutes. I was embarrassed, I was like – what am I not getting here? They obviously see some kind of esthetic here but I can't see it. I'm still at a loss of what the esthetic actually is. I think it has something to do with an obscene type of humor. "

Andrew blames his opinion on his European upbringing, as he claims the English are real snobs about what films can be considered art.

"But Quentin and Robert could see an esthetic in this extricable genre of filmmaking, in my opinion. I just needed to be a little bit more open minded, to abandon your preconceptions and judgments that one would normally make. And if anyone is going to find diamonds in the ruff, it's going to be Quentin and Robert."

Grindhouse hits theaters on April 6th 2007.