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Lindsay Lohan 'Surprises People' In 'Machete,' Robert Rodriguez Says

'By the end, you're like, 'Wow, she's turned into somebody else completely,' ' director tells MTV News at Comic-Con.

SAN DIEGO -- One of the most fun films at Comic-Con this year is "Machete," the Robert Rodriguez-directed, Danny Trejo-starring film that grew out of a joke trailer in "Grindhouse." Among many of its stars, "Machete" managed to attract Lindsay Lohan to play the daughter of the film's villain.

She is in the headlines now for [article id="1644107"]her jail sentence[/article], but Rodriguez and Trejo told us when they chatted on Thursday's [article id="1644281"]MTV News and MySpace live stream[/article] that Lohan was a great addition to the film when she shot for three days last year.

"She was awesome," Rodriguez said. "She was really fun to work with."

"I've known Lindsay since she was about 14, 15 years old," Trejo added. "She was great. She was glad to be there and work, and she was professional. She did really, really well."

Rodriguez said it didn't take much convincing for Lohan to sign on to the film. "I showed her a poster of her, a nun with a gun, and she was like, 'Sold!' " he said. Having the early trailer was enough to convince most of the actors, he added.

Most people will be impressed with Lohan's performance, Rodriguez said. "Her character has a really good arc, so that surprises people," the director told MTV News. "You'll see it, and you'll go, 'OK, I can see why they chose Lindsay to play this part,' and then by the end, you're like, 'Wow, she's turned into somebody else completely.' Everyone sort of becomes this iconic character that could go on to be in their own movie. That's kind of what I wanted."

MTV News and MySpace are live at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con! From Seth Rogen and Michael Cera to Anna Kendrick and Bruce Willis, we're talking to some of the world's biggest stars during three daily live streams. So tune in to MTV.com at 3 p.m. ET/ noon PT on Friday and 6 p.m. ET/ 3 p.m. PT on Saturday to watch the fun unfold. And don't forget to check in all week for exclusive interviews, movie clips and much more!

Check out everything we've got on "Machete."

For breaking comic book movie news, columns and more -- updated around the clock -- visit SplashPage.MTV.com.

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