There are two ways to look at Wednesday’s announcement that filmmaker Robert Rodriguez and El Rey Network (U.S. broadcaster of Rodriguez’ new series From Dusk Till Dawn) are teaming up with Mountain Dew to launch “Green Label Studios: Open Call.”

The negative: Filmmakers are being asked to shill for a highly-caffeinated, super-sweet soft drink on spec.

The positive: If their work stands above the rest, they could win a $250,000 production grant to make content for Green-Label.com, which in spite of the website’s Mountain Dew branding, does not appear to be totally soda-centric.

It works like this. Through April 25, professional and aspiring content creators from all genres can upload videos to Green-Label.com demonstrating how they “Do the DEW,” which is defined in the “open call” press release as showcasing their “unique take on their world, what they are passionate about and how they celebrate those passions.”

All entries will be judged by the Mountain Dew and Green-Label.com editorial teams, with 10 finalists each receiving a $10,000 production grant to create a special piece of content that will be judged by a Green Label Studios panel at an event this summer in New York City.

In the end, one filmmaker will receive the top honors – a $250,000 production grant to create content for Green-Label.com and the chance to be mentored by Rodriguez and Roberto Orci, one of the writer/producers behind the Star Trek reboots, Cowboys & Aliens, the upcoming The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Matador, a new action series premiering on El Rey Network in July that has been described as a “Latino James Bond.”

Launched in April 2013, Green-Label.com had nearly 2.4 million unique page views last month, with visitors spending nearly four minutes on the site each session.