{"id":460153,"date":"2025-09-29T10:16:12","date_gmt":"2025-09-29T10:16:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/460153\/"},"modified":"2025-09-29T10:16:12","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T10:16:12","slug":"gaumont-usa-unveils-new-projects-with-kate-del-castillo-karla-souza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/460153\/","title":{"rendered":"Gaumont USA Unveils New Projects With Kate del Castillo, Karla Souza"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\t\u201cNarcos\u201d producer Gaumont<\/a> USA, the L.A. outpost of French Gaumont, behind \u201cLupin,\u201d is developing two new titles with \u201cLa Reina del Sur\u201d star Kate del Castillo<\/a>\u2019s L.A.-based Cholowood, as well as a buddy comedy led by \u201cHow to Get Away With Murder\u201d star Karla Souza<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tDel Castillo and Cholowood are advancing on \u201cPoint Blank,\u201d an action thriller penned by Alexandro Aldrete (\u201cHouse of Flowers\u201d) and to be directed by Salvador Espinosa (\u201cHarina\u201d \u201cClub of Crows\u201d).<\/p>\n

\n\tIn a second title, again targeting the Mexican market, No\u00e9 Santill\u00e1n-L\u00f3pez who broke out with \u201cGift Table,\u201d the only local movie to top Mexican box office charts this year \u2013 is on board to direct buddy comedy \u201cLa Chef,\u201d written by U.S.-American Emma Ramos, an actress (\u201cIn the Summers\u201d) and writer (\u201c\u00a1Dora!\u201d).\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tDel Castillo will not only co-produce the two movies but star in both, said Christian Gabela, Gaumont USA SVP Creative Affairs and as a producer, Head of US Latino, Latin America and Spain.<\/p>\n

\n\tOutside the Cholowood-Gaumont USA deal, also for the Mexican market Karla Souza will topline \u201cLas Wannabes,\u201d a buddy-comedy penned by Mar\u00eda Hinojos \u201cMirreyes Contra G\u00f3dinez,\u201d\u00a0\u201cCindy la Regia\u201d),Gaumont USA is also teaming with a streaming service to develop \u201cRumba Therapy,\u201d a feel-good comedy.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tIn further new projects, Gaumont USA is co-producing \u201cMe Engana Que Eu Gosto\u00a0\u201d written by Patricia Corso (\u201cOxygen Masks Will Not Drop Automatically\u201d), directed by Pedro Amorim (\u201cSlam\u201d) and produced by Brazil\u2019s Coiote. It is also advancing on \u201cD_LUX\u201d with top Brazilian VOD player Globoplay, prodco Ventre, behind Carlos Saldanha\u2019s upcoming \u201c100 Days,\u201d and leading Brazilian producer Conspira\u00e7ao, which joined Globoplay to produce Walter Salles\u2019 Academy Award winner \u201cI\u2019m Still Here.\u201d The series turns on the rise and fall of Brazil\u2019s charismatic high-fashion icon Eliana Tranchesi. It is written by Giuliano Cedroni, Elena Soarez, Mariana Trench Bastos, and Pedro Perazzo.<\/p>\n

\n\tGaumont USA is also developing another true-crime series with HBO Max.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tIn Spain, Gaumont is working on buddy comedy movie \u201cBrats\u201d with Araceli \u00c1lvarez de Sotomayor (\u201cNails,\u201d \u201cAlpha Males,\u201d \u201cLa que se avecina\u201d) and Javier Aguado, who are also adapting for Spain a highly successful Gaumont Germany series \u201cDie Wespe.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tAlso targeting the Spanish market, Gaumont USA is partnering with Argentinian writer-directors Mariano Cohn and Gaston Duprat on an adaptation of Argentinian novel \u201cInstructions on How to Rob a Supermarket,\u201d by Haydu Kowski. Cohn and Duprat saw large success with Spanish movie \u201cOfficial Competition,\u201d starring Pen\u00e9lope Cruz, Antonio Banderas and Oscar Mart\u00ednez.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cSpain is very attractive market because of its volume. Netflix has placed a great deal of importance in Spain in infrastructure such as its European Production Hub in Tres Cantos, Madrid and its volume of projects,\u201d said\u00a0\u00a0Gabela. It\u2019s also an attractive place to produce because of all the incentives. So it\u2019s a territory where there\u2019s a high demand for wholly-owned projects and the ability to take the independent and licensing route.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBuilding on \u2018Narcos\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tThe multiple new title announcements \u2013 and there are many more \u2013 come on the eve of Iberseries & Platino Industria where Gaumont CEO and owner Sidonie Dumas will deliver a keynote on Sept. 30, I&PI\u2019s opening day.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tNews of these and other titles comes as Gaumont turns 130 this year. \u201cEven though we don\u2019t live in nostalgia, we\u2019re very proud about being known as the oldest studio in the world,\u201d Gaumont USA President Nicol\u00e1s Atlan told\u00a0Variety.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tThis year also marks the 10-year anniversary of the premiere of \u201cNarcos,\u201d Gaumont USA\u2019s first Latin America-set production for the streaming era, which opened up a new age in modern TV, underscoring early in Netflix history the ability of Gaumont and Colombia\u2019s Dynamo to make a premium, large canvas and partly non-English language title which could be seen the world over.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tOf far more advanced Gaumont USA shows and movies, produced over the last 24 months, Luc\u00eda Puenzo and Nicol\u00e1s Puenzo\u2019s \u201cFuturo Desierto\u201d \u2013\u00a0a\u00a0six-episode near-future psychological thriller produced for Paramount and starring Chema Yazpik, Andres Parra, Souza and \u00c0strid Berg\u00e8s-Frisbey\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u2013\u00a0will bow soon on Netflix.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tStarring Del Castillo and Diana Bovio (\u201cThey Came at Night\u201d), comedy \u201cThe Biggest Fan\u201d (\u201cLa M\u00e1s Fan\u201d), a Hollywood cancellation culture satire, premiered worldwide on Netflix earlier this year.<\/p>\n

\n\tHeaded by Diego Luna<\/a>, well on Hollywood\u2019s radar after \u201cAvatar\u201d and hosting Jimmy Kimmel Live! for four nights, shooting has just wrapped on \u201cMexico 86,\u201d a darkly humored drama on Mexico\u2019s long-shot but successful bid to organize the 1986 soccer World Cup. It is produced by Gaumont USA for Netflix and written and directed by Gabriel Ripstein (\u201cAn Unknown Enemy\u201d). Release will be timed to coincide with the 2025 World Cup, taking place in the U.S., Mexico and Canada. It marks Luna\u2019s first big splashy live action movie in his native Mexico since 2008\u2019s \u201cRudo & Cursi.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t Nicolas Atlan and Christian Gabela<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Gaumont<\/p>\n

\n\tPowering Into IP\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tThe project also serve to underscore now well-consolidated and flourishing growth strategies at Gaumont USA.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201c\u2018Narcos\u2019 was first series in Spanish and in English and a breakthrough for the market,\u201d said Atlan.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt also proved how important Latin America and Spain is for Gaumont. Since then, we have worked to develop the big Spanish-language and Brazilian markets,\u201d Atlan added.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cAt the beginning, we tried to go everywhere but from hiring Christian [Gabela], we\u2019ve focused on Mexico, Spain and Brazil and have been very successful, making since the inception of \u2018Narcos,\u2019 eight TV series seasons and two movies,\u201d he said. Those seasons take in three of both \u201cNarcos\u201d in Colombia\u201d (2015-18) and \u201cNarcos; Mexico\u201d (2018-21) and two of \u201cEl Presidente,\u201d a first produced primarily in Chile (2020) and a second for Amazon Brazil (2022).\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s a great achievement of ours as a European company with an office based in Los Angeles to be able to break into these territories in the fashion that we\u2019ve been able to,\u201d said Gabela.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tGaumont USA continues to work with the talent pool it has created. One strategy, however, has evolved. \u201cOf late, we\u2019ve been utilizing pre-existing IP as the best avenue to get shows and films made,\u201d Gabela told\u00a0Variety. \u201cThat pre-existing IP is both internal, coming from Gaumont\u2019s film and television library, adapted for Mexico, Spain or Brazil, or external, using third party pre-existing IP to adapt whether books or the inspiration of real events and real people stories.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tFirst fruit of this strategy was \u201cThe Biggest Fan\u201d sourced from a\u00a0\u00a0Gaumont property \u201cJ\u2019adore ce que vous faites.\u201d \u201cPoint Blank\u201d adapts Fred Cavay\u00e9\u2019s 2010 classic, starring Gilles Lellouche in an 80-minute sprint to save his adducted wife from execution. \u201cIt\u2019s very much on brand for Kate del Castillo,\u201d Gabela noted.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cLa Chef\u201d is a makeover of 2014 Jean Reno-led sleeper \u201cComme un chef\u201d but reimagined for a different culinary culture. Souza\u2019s movie reversions \u201cLes Vedettes\u201d a Gaumont 2022 buddy movie. \u201cMe Engana Que Eu Gosto\u201d\u00a0is the Brazilian adaptation of Gaumont\u2019s French title\u00a0\u201cLa doublure.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tGaumont USA is also in exploratory conversations with an important Brazilian player about adapting a slate of its prize titles specifically for the Brazilian market, Gabela added.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Bigger Picture<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tFollowing cutbacks by U.S studios and 2023 Hollywood strikes, a production sector which exploded in peak TV is now chasing a 75% peak TV market, Ampere Analysis\u2019 Guy Bisson has observed. \u201cIn 2019, 2020, there were eight streamers. Now [for Chile]\u00a0there\u2019s 1.6,\u201d F\u00e1bula\u2019s Juan de Dios Larr\u00e1in observed at Sanfic.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tTo execute its game plan, Gaumont can look, however, to several tailwinds. Data shows key services such as Netflix growing its series activity in Latin America following the strikes, which hit second half of 2023. Also, \u201cwe are absolutely seeing that acquisitions are filling the gaps left by reduced investment in originals for Netflix and particularly first-run originals,\u201d Bisson observed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tSeven in 2023, Netflix movie commissions rose to 13 in 2024 and six in the first half of 2025, according to Ampere Analysis.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tGabela concurred. \u201cStreaming services in Mexico are more active and have bigger slates. An opportunity has also opened in the last few years for licensing, particularly on movies. The appetite for volume might be the same, though the mix, which used to be heavily weighted towards original and fully-financed projects by the streamers, is now both fully-financed and licensed movies.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWindowing is also now prevalent. On Gaumont USA\u2019s Mexico slate, \u201cwe\u2019re exploring both taking some titles directly to streamers and doing a buyout model, which has been the predominant model for the last 10-12 years.\u201d Gabela said. \u201cAlso, we\u2019re doing now more licensing models where we\u2019re basically just license specific territories, windows and time periods to streamers and retain other rights, including theatrical rights.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBringing big stars to the table, Gaumont USA also enjoys a tried and tested relationship with streaming services.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cGaumont has an amazing relationship worldwide with Netflix. Think \u2018Lupin\u2019 and movies in France and \u2018Barbarians\u2019 in Germany. The relationship with Amazon is the same,\u201d Atlan said. \u201cThere is a strong relationship with the streamers that we\u2019ve been working on for a very, very long time,\u201d he added.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe have four active developments currently set up with four different streamers across Mexico, Brazil and the U.S.-Mexico, which is a cross-border project,\u201d Gabela noted.<\/p>\n

\n\tGaumont USA is also looking to co-produce movies with local partners which would bring a sensibility regarding the local market.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cOn films, it\u2019s not a case of our doing them 100% ourselves. We would do them with partners, which can either be strategic producing partners or financing partners,\u201d said Atlan. \u201cPeople come to us for the great wealth of IP that we can adapt, specifically features. The movie model is Mexican films for Mexico, Spain for Spain, Brazil for Brazil.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cOur aim is to partner with the best writers, directors, actors, talent and producers in each of those countries, sharing IPs, whether a book or titles from our catalog. And we go in in a very nimble way.\u201d Atlan concluded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cNarcos\u201d producer Gaumont USA, the L.A. outpost of French Gaumont, behind \u201cLupin,\u201d is developing two new titles with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":460154,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5311],"tags":[25858,80378,154185,154186,49,978,659],"class_list":{"0":"post-460153","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-united-states","8":"tag-diego-luna","9":"tag-gaumont","10":"tag-karla-souza","11":"tag-kate-del-castillo","12":"tag-united-states","13":"tag-us","14":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115287070223752353","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460153","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=460153"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460153\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/460154"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=460153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=460153"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=460153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}