Eugenio Derbez’s 3Pas Studios Signs Multi-Year First-Look Deal with ABC Signature for English TV Content

Eugenio Derbez is hoping to develop new television projects in English…

The 61-year-old Mexican actor and comedian’s 3Pas Studios, which he runs will Ben Odell, has signed a multi-year first-look deal with ABC Signature for English-language television content.

Eugenio DerbezAs part of the deal, 3Pas will develop and produce English-language projects for the studio.

Reporting to Derbez and Odell, Sonia Gambaro, the vice president of 3Pas’ English-language television division, will oversee development, identify and source talent, ideas, and IP for ABC Signature across all platforms.

“Eugenio and Ben transcend culture through their diverse and inclusive storytelling, driven by their deep connection to talent and source material from Latin America,” said Jonnie Davis, president of ABC Signature. “We couldn’t be more excited to shepherd their next wave of brilliant and culture-defining English language projects at the studio.”

3Pas has been creating content in both English and Spanish with multiple studio and platform partners over the last several years.

Most recently, the company’s series Acapulco premiered its second season on Apple TV+. It stemmed from the television deal 3Pas previously had at Lionsgate.

On the film front, Hulu recently released 3Pas’ film The Valet following the success of other Derbez-led projects including Overboard and How To Be A Latin Lover.

Derbez’s workplace comedy series titled They Came At Night is in development at Vix+, a project that stems from 3Pas’ deal with TelevisaUnivision for Spanish-language film and TV projects.

Additionally, they recently premiered their first Vix+ series, La Noche Del Diablito which premiered on October 13.

3Pas also recently re-upped its first-look film deal with Lionsgate.

“For actors, writers, directors, and creators like myself, Disney has long been a leader in inclusive and diverse storytelling.  We are so grateful for this incredible opportunity to lift up new, diverse voices with ABC Signature,” said Derbez.

Added Odell, “At the heart of our stories we bring people together and celebrate our common humanity.  We have a treasure trove of incredibly diverse stories, talent, and creators across the United States and Latin America. We can’t wait to start the party with ABC Signature and their fantastic team.”

Eugenio Derbez & His 3Pas Studios Sign with Creative Artists Agency (CAA)

Eugenio Derbez is getting creative

The 60-year-old Mexican actor, comedian and filmmaker and his production company 3Pas Studios have signed with Creative Artists Agency (CAA) in all areas.

Eugenio DerbezDerbez has been on a hot streak following the announcement of multiple deals: a first-look deal with TelevisaUnivision’s streamer Vix, a development deal with Encantos for kids content, and a renewal of a first-look film deal at Lionsgate, to name a few.

The 3Pas Studios-produced bilingual series Acapulco for Apple TV+ was recently renewed for a second season.

Derbez is an award-winning actor, writer, director, producer, and philanthropist, who, along with former Pantelion Films executive and producer Ben Odell, built 3Pas Studios, a bilingual production company producing English and Spanish language content for global audiences.

3Pas has offices in Los Angeles, Miami, and Mexico City, where they also have its production services arm, Visceral. Composed of 22 employees, the studio services development and production across English and Spanish language movies, scripted and unscripted content, as well as entertainment for kids and families.

Next, 3Pas will move into podcasting, as well as new, non-media-related businesses.

In 2013, Derbez wrote, produced, starred in, and directed Instructions Not Included, which became the highest-grossing Spanish-language film ever, grossing more than $100 million on a $5 million budget.

Most recently, he starred in the Oscar-winning film Coda, which won Best Picture at the 94th Academy Awards, in addition to Best Ensemble award at the Screen Actors Guild Awards and three British Academy Film Awards, including Best Screenplay.

In addition to starring in and producing his own comedy shows throughout the past 25 years, Derbez has also starred in the 3Pas Studios’ hit movies How To Be A Latin Lover and Overboard as well as Miracles From Heaven, and Dora And The Lost City of Gold.

Up next, he will appear in The Valet, which 3Pas Studios developed and produced along with Lionsgate to premiere via Hulu on May 20th.

3Pas Studios’ other recent projects include Amazon’s De Viaje Con Los Derbez, and the Spanish-language version of LOL: Last One Laughing.

Omar Chaparro to Star in His First English-Language Television Series “Coyotes M.C.”

Omar Chaparro is switching tongues

The 47-year-old Mexican actor will star in and produce the English-language television comedy/action series Coyotes M.C. from Moxie 88.

omar-chaparro

The project is currently being pitched to streamers/buyers.

The How To Be a Latin Lover and Detective Pikachu actor will portray a business ethics professor whose life is upended when he is called to step in for his father, the infamous Latino criminal biker gang leader Los Coyotes MC.

Moxie 88 co-founders Eugenio Villamar and Dan Carrillo Levy created Coyotes M.C. as a star vehicle for Chaparro’s first English-language television series and currently holds the rights to the project.

Carrillo Levy and Villamar will act as executive producers, writers, and creators on the show. Chaparro and Jay Weisleder will serve as executive producers. Moxie 88’s VP of Development, Eugenia Esponda, will serve as a co-executive producer.

Chaparro currently holds the record as the highest-grossing actor in the Mexican box office, starring in some of Mexico’s highest-earning films in history.

He most recently starred in Detective Pikachu opposite Ryan Reynolds, Pantelion Films’ No Manches Frida and its sequel, as well as How To Be A Latin Lover and Overboard alongside Eugenio Derbez, and Show Dogs.

Chaparro also hosted the first two seasons of The Masked Singer Mexico, which aired via Univision domestically.

Eugenio Derbez’s 3Pas Studios Renews First-Look Deal with Lionsgate

Eugenio Derbez isn’t leaving the (Lions)gate

The 60-year-old Mexican actor, comedian and filmmaker and his producing partner Ben Odell’s 3Pas Studios has renewed its first-look deal with Lionsgate.

Eugenio DerbezThe deal continues the longstanding relationship between the companies, which resulted in the breakout box office success of 2018’s Overboard ($91.2 million at the global box office).

The last three Derbez movies — including the blockbuster Instructions Not Included, released by Lionsgate’s Pantelion Films — made more than $250M off a $35M production cost before P&A.

Their latest collaboration is this summer’s Hulu Original The Valet, a remake of the eponymous French film. It stars Derbez, Samara Weaving and Max Greenfield. The studios are currently working together on several upcoming films, including the development project Unsafe House.

“Eugenio and Ben are productive and prolific producers who have delivered a wide range of hits to Lionsgate over the years and we are thrilled to be extending our relationship and excited about the projects we have in development together,” said Lionsgate Motion Picture Group president Nathan Kahane. “Our previous collaborations have been tremendously successful, including Overboard, How to Be a Latin Lover, and Instructions Not Included, the highest-grossing Spanish-language film ever released in the U.S. We adore their humor and the way they develop stories and believe the best is yet to come.”

“Lionsgate has always understood the power of my core audience since I made Instructions Not Included, and supported me when I wanted to reach audiences around the world and started making movies in English, like Latin Lover and The Valet. Ben and I are grateful to Joe Drake, Nathan Kahane, Erin Westerman, and the whole Lionsgate team for their tremendous freedom and support,” said Derbez.

“As we continue to position 3Pas as the market leader in producing content for one of the fastest-growing audiences in the United States and the world, renewing our deal with Lionsgate helps us to reach the broadest possible audience in a variety of ways,” added Odell.

Eugenio Derbez & His 3Pas Studios Sign First-Look Deal with Univision for Original Spanish Projects

Eugenio Derbez is excited to bring new Spanish projects to Univision…

The 60-year-old Mexican actor, comedian and filmmaker and 3Pas Studios, run by Derbez and his producing partner Ben Odell, have inked a first-look deal with Univision to create original scripted and unscripted Spanish-language projects for Univision’s global streaming SVOD content slate set to launch in 2022.

Eugenio Derbez

Univision will have the first look at all Spanish-language television and theatrical motion picture projects controlled by 3Pas Studios and Derbez, including movies and series for SVOD or theatrical releases.

The multi-year agreement also includes the curation of the new “Derbez Channel” featuring family and comedy content available via the network’s free AVOD tier, and the release of titles starring Derbez that put him on the map.

A sampling of titles includes Al Derecho y al DerbezLa Familia P. Luche, and the hit film Instructions Not Included.

“I’m really glad to get back to producing in Spanish,” Derbez tells Deadline exclusively. “Although, I am proud to say my projects like [the Apple TV+ series] Acapulco and [the film] Overboardand How to Be A Latin Lover always included some Spanish. I’m going to still do English projects but I’m very excited to connect again with my Spanish-language fans who have always supported me.”

Derbez teases the 3Pas team is “working on a lot of ideas” that could bring series similar to Acapulco to Univision. Odell shed some insight into what that could look like.

“We know our audience likes to sit with their families and watch content together,” Odell shares. “We teamed up with Univision because we share that sensibility—we want to reach a multigenerational audience. That takes wanting to be in dialogue with that audience—which Univision is—but now we want to make the premium version. What’s our Stranger Things look like?”

Derbez adds, “What Univision is doing with their streaming platform is the future. They’re giving us the freedom and the budget to try new things and take risks to make interesting and different programming. The idea of developing and producing world-class, Spanish-language content across different genres and catering to different age groups for Univision is very exciting.”

Lunay to Make Film Acting Debut in Eugenio Derbez’s “The Valet”

Lunay is ready for his first feature film…

The 20-year-old Puerto Rican singer and rapper, born as Jefnier Osorio Moreno, is set to make his film acting debut in Lionsgate’s English-language remake of Francis Veber’s French feature hit The Valet.

Lunay,

Directed by Richard Wong and starring Eugenio Derbez and Samara WeavingThe Valet follows Olivia (Weaving), a movie star who enlists Antonio (Derbez) – a parking valet – to pose as her lover to cover for a relationship with a married man (Max Greenfield). As a valet, the hard-working Antonio usually flies under the radar but his ruse with Olivia thrusts him into the spotlight and brings him to see himself more clearly than ever before.

Betsy Brandt, Marisol Nichols, Noemi Gonzalez, Carmen Salinas, Ravi Patel, Tiana Okoye, Diany Rodriguez, Armando Hernández, Carlos Santos, Amaury Nolasco, John Pirruccello and Alex Fernandez also star.

Rob Greenberg and Bob Fisher, who wrote Derbez’s $95M WW-grossing feature Overboard, also penned the remake of The Valet. Derbez and his producing partner Ben Odell produce through their 3Pas Studios banner.

Lunay rose to acclaim in the Latin and reggaeton scene with the songs “A Solas“, “Luz Apaga“, “Soltera“, and “Soltera (Remix)“. In October 2019, he released his debut album Épico.

He won the award for artist “on the rise” at the 2019 Premios Juventud.

Eva Longoria to Star in the Anthology Feature “Women’s Stories”

Eva Longoria is telling stories

The 45-year-old Mexican American actress has joined the all-star cast of the anthology feature Women’s Stories, whose segments will be directed by filmmakers including Catherine Hardwicke.

Eva Longoria

Longoria joins a roster of cast additions that includes Cara DelevingneMargherita BuyMarcia Gay Harden, Leonor Varela and Jacqueline Fernandez.

The film will be comprised of six segments directed by female directors from different parts of the world, shot in Italy, India and the U.S. They will range in genre from drama to comedy, docu-drama to animation. The cast will be all female.

The first four segments have been mapped out: Unspoken will be directed by Maria Sole Tognazzi (Me, Myself & Her) and star decorated Italian actress Margherita Buy (My Mother), the seven-time David di Donatello award-winner; Lagonegro will be directed by Lucia Puenzo (La Jauria) and star Desperate Housewives and Overboard actress Longoria; Elbows Deep will be directed by Twilight filmmaker Hardwicke and star model and actress Delevingne (Suicide Squad), Oscar-winner Marcia Gay Harden (Pollock) and Jasmine Luv (Starter Pack); and Sharing A Ride will be directed by Leena Yadav (Three Cards) and feature Bollywood star Jacqueline Fernandez and transgender model Anjali Lama.

Producing are Iervolino Entertainment (Waiting For The Barbarians) and non-profit production company We Do It Together, which campaigns for gender equality.

Chiara Tilesi, founder and President of We Do It Together, said of the project: “At We Do It Together, our mission is to enhance and change the image of women in films and media, from object to subject. We are dedicated to telling stories of women, both in front of and behind the camera. That’s why Women Stories is so important to us – we have brought together female directors, from all over the world, who collaborate and share personal stories from their own point of view. We are telling the stories of these heroines and their aspirations: from health workers to mothers, artists and business women, to name a few. We also want to be inclusive and have as many different perspectives as possible, which is why connecting globally is so important to us. Now more than ever, especially after the latest UN policy brief The Impact of Covid-19 On Women, it has emerged that gender inequality is still a very present reality and, unfortunately, we remain far from a solution. Some of the achievements that were made, are at risk of being erased once again. This is why it is so important for us to continue to tell stories about women, by women, but for everyone. Only together can men and women finally change these paradigms.”

Andrea Iervolino, President and founder of Iervolino Entertainment, added: “It gives me tremendous pride to collaborate with such an astounding ensemble, and to help deliver a message larger than the film itself. It’s important for us that this be done on a global scale, which is why we’re shooting, very carefully and safely, in Italy, India and the US.”

The project was initially announced five years ago in different form as Together Now.

Omar Chaparro & Son Emiliano to Star in Pantaya’s Motorcycle Docuseries “Chaparreando”

Omar Chaparro is hittin’ the road…

The 45-year-old Mexican actor, comedian and television host is set to star in a motorcycle docuseries for the Lionsgate-backed streaming service Pantaya.

Omar Chaparro

Pantaya, a joint venture between the U.S. studio and Hemisphere Media Group, has ordered the six-part series titled Chaparreando.

The series will follow Chaparro, who starred in Detective Pikachu and Overboard, and his teenage son Emiliano on a motorbike journey through Mexico. Chaparro shares the countryside and colorful characters of his native state of Chihuahua to teach his son about his own roots.

The series, which will launch on Pantaya on October 15, is produced by 3Pas Studios with Eugenio Derbez and Ben Odell executive producing alongside Chaparro.

“Omar is a friend and constant collaborator with us at 3Pas.  He’s a comedic force of nature but this show is not just funny as hell, it’s an immigrant’s love letter to his country,” said Odell and Derbez.

“Omar has been a great partner on No Manches Frida, Overboard and other Pantelion hits, and the Pantaya team has been searching for the right vehicle for him. We were happy to find it in his own motorcycle. Collaborating on Chaparreando with 3Pas, Omar and his son Emiliano, and the production team was a joy and we know audiences will share that excitement when they watch with their own families,” said Mario Almeida, Pantaya Vice President of Programming, Development, and Acquisitions.

Chaparro co-hosted the Mexican version of Netflix’s Nailed It!,

Yalitza Aparicio Among the Latino Professionals Invited to Join The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (AMPAS)

Yalitza Aparicio’s joining The Academy

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has released its annual list of invitations to join the organization, with the 26-year-old Mexican actress and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Indigenous Peoples among the 819 extended an invite.

Yalitza Aparicio

Aparicio, one of Time magazine’s100 most influential people in the world in 2019,earned an Oscar nod in the Best Actress category for her performance in Alfonso Cuarón‘s 2018 Spanish-language drama Roma. With the nomination for her actig debut, she became the first Indigenous American woman and the second Mexican woman to receive a Best Actress Oscar nomination.

But Aparcio isn’t the only Latino/a to make the list…

Other invitees in the Actors branch include Bobby Cannavale, who appeared in The IrishmanOverboard’s Eva LongoriaKnives Out star Ana de Armas and Gringo actor Yul Vazquez.

Invitees in the Music branch include Andrea Guerra (Hotel Rwanda) and Cuban-American jazz trumpeter Arturo Sandoval, who worked on the music for Clint Eastwood’s films Richard Jewell and The Mule.

The Directors branch sent out invitations to Latino filmmakers Icíar Bolláin (Spanish), Felipe Cazals (Mexican), Sebastián Cordero (Ecuadorian), Luis Estrada (Mexican), Alejandro Landes (Colombian-Ecuadorian),Jorge Alí Triana (Colombian) and  Andrés Wood (Chilean).

This year’s new class demonstrates The Academy’s commitment to erasing the stigma of not being inclusive, particularly in terms of women, international members and underrepresented ethnic/racial communities.

The organization reports this year’s class breakdown is 49% international, 45% women, and 36% underrepresented ethnic/racial. 

The overwhelming number of those invited to join the Academy end up accepting. 

The total active membership in 2019 was 8,946, with 8,733 eligible to vote. Total membership including active, voting and retired was 9,794.  Today’s additions will take the membership count past the 10,000 mark.

AMPAS says members can voluntarily  disclose their race/ethnicity, sex or can choose “prefer not to.” So, demo stats may not be 100% accurate. AMPAS also “recognizes and respects” the personal choice in identification, but doesn’t track LGBTQ+ or differently abled, although a source says, while protecting privacy and not forcing answers, they are “working towards it.” In other words this is no longer your father’s Academy.

 “We take great pride in the strides we have made in exceeding our initial inclusion goals set back in 2016, but acknowledge the road ahead is a long one,” said Academy CEO Dawn Hudson. “We are committed to staying the course.”

“The Academy is delighted to welcome these distinguished fellow travelers in the motion picture arts and sciences.  We have always embraced extraordinary talent that reflects the rich variety of our global film community, and never more so than now,” said Academy President David Rubin.

Here’s a look at some of this year’s Latino invitees:

Actors
Yalitza Aparicio – “Roma”
Bobby Cannavale – “The Irishman,” “The Station Agent”
Ana de Armas – “Knives Out,” “Blade Runner 2049”
Eva Longoria – “Overboard,” “Harsh Times”
Yul Vazquez – “Gringo,” “Last Flag Flying”

Casting Directors
Libia Batista – “Eres Tú Papá?,” “Viva”
Javier Braier – “The Two Popes,” “Wild Tales”
Eva Leira – “Pain and Glory,” “Biutiful”
Yesi Ramirez – “The Hate U Give,” “Moonlight”
Yolanda Serrano – “Pain and Glory,” “Biutiful”

Cinematographers
Óscar Faura – “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom,” “The Imitation Game”

Directors
Icíar Bolláin – “Even the Rain,” “Take My Eyes”
Felipe Cazals – “El Año de la Peste,” “Canoa: A Shameful Memory”
Sebastián Cordero – “Europa Report,” “Crónicas”
Luis Estrada – “The Perfect Dictatorship,” “Herod’s Law”
Alejandro Landes – “Monos,” “Porfirio”
Jorge Alí Triana – “Bolívar Soy Yo,” “A Time to Die”
Andrés Wood – “Araña,” “Violeta Went to Heaven”

Documentary
Cristina Amaral – “Um Filme de Verão (A Summer Film),” “Person”
Violeta Ayala – “Cocaine Prison,” “The Bolivian Case”
Julia Bacha – “Naila and the Uprising,” “Budrus”
Almudena Carracedo – “The Silence of Others,” “Made in L.A.”
Paola Castillo – “Beyond My Grandfather Allende,” “Genoveva”
Paz Encina – “Memory Exercises,” “Paraguayan Hammock”
Mariana Oliva – “The Edge of Democracy,” “Piripkura”
Iván Osnovikoff – “Los Reyes,” “La Muerte de Pinochet (The Death of Pinochet)”
Tiago Pavan – “The Edge of Democracy,” “Olmo and the Seagull”
Bettina Perut – “Los Reyes,” “La Muerte de Pinochet (The Death of Pinochet)”
Marta Rodriguez – “Our Voice of Earth, Memory and Future,” “Campesinos (Peasants)”

Executives
Ozzie Areu
Barbara Peiro
Frank Rodriguez
Mimi Valdes

Film Editors
Alejandro Carrillo Penovi – “Heroic Losers,” “The Clan”
Alex Marquez – “Snowden,” “Savages”

Makeup Artists and Hairstylists
Mari Paz Robles – “I Dream in Another Language,” “Cantinflas”
David Ruiz Gameros – “Tear This Heart Out,” “Amores Perros”
Susana Sánchez – “The Liberator,” “Goya’s Ghosts”

Marketing and Public Relations
Inma Carbajal-Fogel
Emmanuelle Castro
Fernando Garcia
Dustin M. Sandoval

Music
Andrea Guerra – “The Pursuit of Happyness,” “Hotel Rwanda”
Arturo Sandoval – “Richard Jewell,” “The Mule”

Producers
Edher Campos – “Sonora, the Devil’s Highway,” “The Golden Dream”
Nicolas Celis – “Roma,” “Tempestad”
Alex Garcia – “Kong: Skull Island,” “Desierto”
Enrique López Lavigne – “The Impossible,” “Sex and Lucia”
Álvaro Longoria – “Everybody Knows,” “Finding Altamira”
Mónica Lozano – “I Dream in Another Language,” “Instructions Not Included”
Gabriela Maire – “Las Niñas Bien (The Good Girls),” “La Caridad (Charity)”
Luis Manso – “Champions,” “Binta and the Great 
Gabriela Rodríguez – “Roma,” “Gravity”
Mar Targarona – “Secuestro (Boy Missing),” “The Orphanage”
Luis Urbano – “Letters from War,” “Tabu”

Production Design
Sandra Cabriada – “Instructions Not Included,” “The Mexican”
Estefanía Larraín – “A Fantastic Woman,” “Neruda”

Short Films and Feature Animation
José David Figueroa García – “Perfidia,” “Ratitas”
Oscar Grillo – “Monsters, Inc.,” “Monsieur Pett”
Otto Guerra – “City of Pirates,” “Wood & Stock: Sexo, Orégano e Rock’n’Roll”
Isabel Herguera – “Winter Love,” “Under the Pillow”
Summer Joy Main-Muñoz – “Don’t Say No,” “La Cerca”
Juan Pablo Zaramella – “Luminaris,” “The Glove”

Sound
David Esparza – “The Magnificent Seven,” “The Equalizer”

Visual Effects
Leandro Estebecorena – “The Irishman,” “Kong: Skull Island”

Members-at-Large
Daniel Molina
Carlos Morales
Jesse Torres

Josh Segarra to Star in Netflix’s Comedy Series “AJ and the Queen” with RuPaul

Josh Segarra has landed a royalproject…

The 32-year-old Puerto Rican actor has joined the cast of AJ and the Queen, Netflix’s upcoming comedy series starring RuPaul Charles.

Josh Segarra

Written by Sex and the City creator Michael Patrick King and RuPaul, the series stars RuPaul as Ruby Red, a bigger-than-life but down-on-her-luck drag queen who travels across America from club to club in a rundown 1990s R/V with her unlikely sidekick AJ, a recently orphaned, tough-talking, scrappy 11-year-old stowaway. As these two misfits, one tall, one small, travel from city to city, Ruby’s message of love and acceptance winds up touching people and changing their lives for the better. And RuPaul performs a killer musical number in every drag club.

Segarra will play Hector in the series.

He can be seen as Jason in the feature remake of Overboard for MGM, as Adrian Chase/Prometheus on the CW’s Arrow and ‘C.O’ Stefanovic on Netflix’s Orange is the New Black.

His other recent credits include Judd Apatow’s feature film Trainwreck and USA comedy series Sirens.