Eugenio Derbez is one of Mexico’s more successful comedic actors and directors. He was born into entertainment royalty in Mexico City. The son of actress Silvia Derbez, one of Mexico’s highly regarded actresses of film and television, known worldwide. Derbez followed in her steps, only on the comedic side, and soon was working under an exclusivity contract at Mexico’s Televisa, which at the time was the largest Spanish-language media conglomerate in Latin America. He was most known for the Mexican family sitcom La familia P. Luche which he created and which ran for ten years. Around 2011 he decided it was time to make a move and leave his comfort zone to expand his horizons. Many thought his decision to leave Televisa would be the end of his career, but as we all know now, it was only the beginning of his cross-over career into Hollywood.
Derbez’s first foray into the U.S. came in 2005 when he was cast in Rick Najera’s theatrical production Latinologues, which ran for three months on Broadway at the Helen Hays Theater. In film, he starred in the Mexico/USA, bilingual feature Under The Same Moon/La Misma Luna, written by Ligiah Villalobos (Go Diego Go). Made for $2.7 million and earning $23.3 million at the box-office made Under The Same Moon/La Misma Luna a bonafide indie hit.
An audition in 2011 for Adam Sandler’s Jack and Jill, landed him his first studio film co-starring role alongside Sandler, Katie Holmes, and Al Pacino. He had gotten Hollywood’s attention.
Life moved swiftly for Derbez after the release of his 2013 Mexican comedy-drama Instructions Not Included which he co-wrote, directed, and starred in. It went on to become the most successful Spanish-language film released in the U.S., breaking box-office records, earning more than $100 million worldwide. U.S. Latinos were key to its success as they came out in droves to see a Latino star, many of whom knew of his work in Mexico. Derbez was undoubtedly encouraged by the film’s success, which to date is still the most successful Spanish-language movie in America.
“I remember a U.S. cinema-goer thanking me for Instructions Not Included,” recalled Derbez in a 2019 Deadline interview. “The person who saw the film told me, ‘That’s the first time I’ve seen a Latino in a movie here where they’re not a criminal.’ My character didn’t speak English, but he was a great dad, he was a hard worker, he was a good guy.”
Derbez moved to Los Angeles in 2013 and in 2014 he ramped up a partnership with Pantelion’s former president of production Benjamin Odell. Together they founded 3Pas Studios (“tripas,” which means “guts” in Spanish) with the mission to focus on Spanish and English-language films targeted at all audiences, and specifcally U.S. Latinos.
How to Be a Latin Lover was Derbez’s next lead role after Instructions Not Included, however, this time in a U.S. film for Lionsgate. In this comedy film he plays the lead, Maximo, a gigolo dumped after twenty-five years of marriage, who now has to survive until he finds his next rich wife. The film made for $10 million, grossed $62.5 million worldwide and continued to solidify Derbez’s star power. How to Be a Latin Lover was written by Chris Spain and Jon Zack and directed by Ken Marino. Its stellar cast included Derbez, Salma Hayek, Raquel Welch, and major stars Rob Lowe, Kristen Bell, Rob Riggle, Linda Lavin, and Rob Huebel rounding out the cast. How to Be a Latin Lover further cemented his standing as one of the few Mexican actors with international crossover appeal, an actor who can “open a film”. Where in Mexico Derbez would get the American film dubbing gigs for movies such Shrek, he was now starring in them.
Recently he starred alongside Anna Farias and Eva Longoria in Lionsgate’s Overboard and in Sony’s Miracles From Heaven, he played Dr. Nurko opposite Jennifer Garner. In 2019, Derbez starred in Dora and the Lost City of Gold, an American live-action film adaptation of the Nick Jr. animated television series, Dora the Explorer. The film also starred Isabela Moner, Michael Pena and Eva Longoria, with Danny Trejo as the voice of Boots and Benicio del Toro as the voice of Swiper.
Recently 3Pas upped their production team to keep up with their projects, bringing on board Carlos Aguirre as their VP, Features, Sonia Gambaro (VP of Television), and Javier Williams (SVP of Spanish Content).
Williams, who has been working in Mexico for more than 25 years, heads 3Pas Studios’ new production services company, Visceral, which includes two production arms, Offa Entertainment and Banana Media, focusing on a range of unscripted as well as scripted programming.
Former Televisa producer Pablo Calasso has also been brought on board to run Offa Entertainment and Banana Media’s day-to-day operations. Based in Mexico, Calasso is versed in producing both scripted and unscripted content. 3pas intends to create content for bilingual and multicultural audiences, which means planting roots both in the U.S. and in Mexico.
“We’re doubling down on our commitment to develop superior content for bilingual and multicultural audiences with the hires of Javier and Pablo and the development of Offa Entertainment and Banana Media,” said Odell in another interview with Deadline. “We’re excited to plant roots in Mexico to further expand our production services in the region.”
Derbez who Variety, called “the most influential Hispanic male in the world,” is on to something. 3Pas Studios films seem to have captured the attention of the #1 (per capita) film-going audience in the U.S., Latinos. The production company has successfully developed numerous bilingual and English language series and features, including How To Be A Latin Lover and Overboard which this coveted demographic is responding to.
With a first-look deal in place with Lionsgate’s Pantelion Films and a first-look TV deal with Universal Television, 3Pas is set to start rolling out their new projects. In varying stages of production, they include Ponce, a dramedy about Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon and his legendary quest for the fountain of youth; remakes of the Argentinian comedy Un Cuento Chino about a Mexican, a Chinese boy and the cow that brought them together. They are also developing the French comedy The Valet, a remake of the 2006 French comedy from Francis Veber about a parking valet, and Ms. Granny the story about a woman in her 70s who magically finds herself in the body of her 20-year-old self.
On the Spanish language content end, 3Pas recently produced ¿Y Cómo Es Él? with Mexico’s comedic talent Omar Chaparro who has 10 million followers on social media. They are also developing a remake of the hit Korean film, Ms. Granny to star Mexico’s beloved telenovela actress Veronica Castro and Natasha Dupeyrón. 3Pas Studios is also producing streaming content, including the hit Amazon series LOL: Last One Laughing, hosted by Derbez and De Viaje Con Los Derbez.
On the animation side, Derbez is slated to voice the lead “mouse” on the Warner Bros. film Speedy Gonzalez, about the iconic mouse character from Warner’s Looney Tunes. He will also serve as executive producer under the 3Pas banner.
When Latin Heat asked for an update on the 3Pas production schedule for 2021, Odell replied, “Unfortunately, right now, we have a couple of big projects prepping and need all our attention on them. Please check in July when we are out of the weeds.”
As Derbez and Odell continue to move through the “weeds,” Derbez is convinced that something is changing in America. In the same aforementioned Dateline interview, he proclaimed. “There are a lot of people who want to see themselves reflected on screen. Now it’s time for Latinos. There are 58 million of us in the U.S., is so in Hollywood, it’s not about just hiring a Martinez or a Hernandez — screw that — it’s about telling stories that are interesting to different kinds of audiences.” Derbez and producing partner Odell know this better than most, given the growing success of 3Pas Studios. “We need different types of stories,” Derbez proclaims. “Stories that can inspire and make us feel good. That’s the way to conquer the Latino market.”
Featured Photo: Hispanic Heritage Awards