Eugenio Derbez, Mexican multihyphenate and chairman-co-founder of 3Pas Studios headlined not one but three events at the Iberseries & Platino Industria in Madrid, underscoring the impact of his work on the global stage.
In his keynote address on Thursday he reflected on his three decades in the biz, how he broke into Hollywood with his directorial debut feature “No Instructions Included,” and how his company plans to navigate fast-changing viewing habits.
With his partner Ben Odell at 3Pas Studios, they are now pivoting toward working with new digital formats to keep the lights on but also plan to keep making features and series, he told Variety.
He is now eyeing two possible projects to direct in English. “I’m gravitating towards making a dramedy; one can’t really separate comedy from drama,” he said.
After “Instructions Not Included,” he recently helmed the pilot and final episode of 3Pas’ International Emmy-nominated series “They Came in at Night” (“Y llegaron de noche”), a big hit on TelevisaUnivision’s streaming platform, ViX.
At his keynote address, he related how he learned the hard way that his brand of humor did not travel well past Mexico’s borders.
“Now with streaming platforms, which distribute worldwide, one needs to make shows with broader, universal appeal,” he said. But local stories could still work as long as they resonated emotionally, he said, citing such hits as “Squid Game,” “Roma” and “Parasite.”
Navigating the biz in Hollywood meant reinventing himself to prevent being boxed into comedic roles. By starting his own production company, he was able to make “Radical,” which was shelved for 10 years until “Coda,” where he had a pivotal supporting role, won a Best Picture Oscar and opened doors for more dramatic roles.
“Comedy may be more difficult to make but they’re not appreciated,” he said, citing comics like Robin Williams who had to turn to drama to gain some Oscar recognition.
I only started getting more respect after making “Radical,” which is still the highest grossing drama in Mexico,” he noted.
Reflecting on the advent of AI, he sees it as a double-edged sword. It may help make the use of expensive VFX much easier but these shows won’t have the soul of ones made by humans.
“They might be great, but AI does not achieve the same result as human intelligence, being able to see the set and see the actor performing,” he said.
He also presented what would be his first dramatic role in a series, the 3Pas-produced “The Trial” (“El Juicio”), likely to start streaming on Prime Video by next year. He stars alongside “Money Heist” lead Pedro Alonso. The 8-episode series is based on a real-life case of sexual abuse, inspired by real events that took place in Mexico. The plot follows a young woman and her father in their fight for justice after she survives a sexual assault.
Daniel Krauze (“The Candidate,” Luis Miguel: The Series”) served as showrunner in the co-production led by Amazon MGM Studios, 3Pas Studios, Visceral and Reclaim Entertainment. Roberto Schneider, Belén Macías and Jorge Michel Grau directed.
Derbez also presented Season 5 of “Derbez Family Vacation” (De Viaje con los Derbez”), which he said will not be the last. “Season 1 nearly broke up our family,” he told Variety, “We didn’t quite know how to navigate the format but we’ve now set up boundaries, and it’s worked great.”
