Rose McGowan and Robert Rodriguez break up

Rose McGowan's and director Robert Rodriguez have broken up, according to the New York Post. They met while filming Grindhouse in the spring of 2006, and got engaged this past October. The pair started their relationship while Rodriguez was still married to his wife of 16 years, with whom he has five children.x

Apparently their breakup had a lot to do with business. How romantic. Rodriguez was having trouble getting financing for his upcoming remake of Barbarella, in which McGowan was to star. In fact, she was the reason he couldn’t get enough funding.

Rose McGowan's breakup with her fiancé, director Robert Rodriguez, could be good news for some other actresses, who could end up with the leading roles she was set to play in his movies. McGowan was hoping to star in at least three planned Rodriguez films - a remake of "Barbarella," "Red Sonja" and "Woman in Chains!"

But sources say the couple, who we reported last October were engaged, have split, partly over the problems Rodriguez had finding financing for "Barbarella" - the 1968 cult classic in which Jane Fonda played a sexy space adven- turess - with McGowan in the title role.

McGowan, best known for her witchy role on TV's "Charmed," wasn't thought to have enough box-office draw for the $70 million remake, especially after "Grindhouse" disappointed with about $25.4 million in domestic ticket sales.

"Too bad 'Grindhouse' didn't gross $100 million. Then, maybe, 'Barbarella' would have gotten the green light," said one source. "Instead, the moguls were saying, 'We need a bigger star, a bigger name.' " Jessica Alba has been touted as a possible replacement.

[From the Daily News]

It sounds like McGowan and Rodriguez’s entire relationship was a great example of why you shouldn’t mix business and love. Rodriguez appeared to view McGowan as his muse, and seemed pretty willing to put all of his eggs in her basket, so to speak. I’ve never found her to be anything exceptional as an actress. It seems like their breakup may benefit everyone. A few other actresses will likely get a shot at McGowan’s roles, Rodriguez will get some better talent, and his ex-wife will probably be smugly satisfied.

Here’s Rose McGowan at the Neil George salon in Beverly Hills carrying her bulldog and wearing a cast on her foot on June 7th. Images thanks to WENN. Header of Robert Rodriguez and Rose McGowan at the amfAR Cinema Against AIDS event in France on May 23rd, 2007. Photographer Z.Tomaszewski; Image thanks to WENN.