Based in Los Angeles Wild sheep contentheaded by former Netflix international boss Erik Barmack, is adapting the German No. 1 bestseller “When Butterflies Fly Loop” for Mexico, while branching out into an unscripted script with Adal Ramones, Mexico’s No. 1 comedian. and tackles Lucía Puenzo’s gangster epic, “La pistolera (The Legend of Pepita).”
Starring Luisana Lopilato, and just announced, “Gunwoman” represents a “giant story,” Puenzo said, of real-life mobster Margarita Di Tulio, which is backed by a broad consortium of good and great actors inside and outside from Argentina.
Across all three titles, Wild Sheep delves deeper into big intellectual property in highly packaged, star-laden projects, while diversifying across sectors and territorial reach – strategies that may well become textbook tactics as the Streamers and broadcasters withdraw commissions or purchases. much of the international.
Her announcement comes three days before Jimena Rodríguez, producer of “Tres Idiots” and director of Mexico City-based Wild Sheep Latin America since its launch in February, co-delivers a MipCancun keynote with actor-producer Manolo Cardona at 11:11 Movies and television on building intellectual property in a changing world, which looks like one of the most important panels at MipCancun this year.
Launched by Erik Barmack, Netflix’s former international head who oversees shows including “The Witcher,” “La Casa de Papel,” “Kingdom” and “Sacred Games,” Wild Sheep Content has sold 15 projects to nine global partners in its first two years. of operation. MSC is supported by The Mediapro Studio.
The news in more depth:
‘When butterflies fly in a loop’
Wild Sheep Latin America has partnered with Videocine, the film distribution arm of TelevisaUnivision, by far the largest distributor of domestic films in Mexico, to develop a Mexican adaptation of “When the Butterflies Fly,” the second title from the best-selling author German Petra Hülsmann, published in 2015, in the six -new “The Hamburg Series” great IP that has sold 2.3 million books in Germany alone.
Hulsmann’s six novels are set in a picturesque and idyllic Hamburg: Ottensen, the Alsterperle café terrace, the corner bars and the Elbe beach. In the big screen Mexican makeover, the action moves to Mexico City, and from the Hamburg soccer club to a television network.
However, the basic premise remains the same: a second-chance life story that doubles down on the unexpected, when the female protagonist’s life plan is affected by a male figure who seems quite the opposite.
In the Mexican adaptation, with high hopes of advancing her career as a news producer, Isabel moves to Mexico City thinking she has landed her dream job at a big network. But, to her surprise, this “dream job” is actually babysitting the network’s star playboy host, Miguel.
Isabel wants to focus on her career, but as she spends more time with Miguel, the sparks between them become undeniable, the synopsis says.
“The good thing about this project is the interconnectivity from one side of the world to the other through stories that the public can accept and feel regardless of their location,” Rodríguez said.
The film is being prepared for 2024.
Rodríguez added that “Mariposas” is written by Angélica Gudiño and her writing partner Juan Carlos Garzón, behind successful Mexican romantic comedies such as “Thirtysomething, Single and Fantastic,” which grossed $6.9 million in Mexico for Videocine in 2016, and more recently “Surviviendo mis XV”, released in September by Videocine and grossed 3.5 million dollars in theaters at the end of October.
‘Mission Comedy’
Continuing its star-studded run in Latin America, “Misión Comedia” is directed by Adal Romanes, a household name in Mexico after his stint hosting the iconic comedy variety show “Otro Rollo” from 1995 to 2007, becoming the most famous stand-up in Mexico.
“The Mexican comedian,” said Jocelyn Wexler of Wild Sheep Content, Ramones now stars in an unscripted, back-to-roots traveling comedy show that takes him all over Mexico. It was created by Ramones and Gustavo Proal, who has written sketches for Eugenio Dérbez and is a project and intellectual property developer for Enchufé TV’s Touché Films and has been head writer for Paramount’s Backdoor.
Wild Sheep Latin America is developing “Mission Comedy” with Jonathan Bouzali at Kuter (“Souvenir,” “37 Kms”), a film production and services company in Mexico City. In “Mission Comedy”, Romanes travels through Mexico and returns to the cities that marked him, seeing his triumphs and heartbreaks.
While he goes down memory lane with comedian friends from his past, often famous, he is also on a mission to find new talent. Romanes’ goal is to help them on their journey into the world of comedy by inviting a budding stand-up to a real-life final season show where they perform a three-minute set at an event designed as a great event in person. activation to help launch their careers and the program.
“Mission Comedy” “takes audiences into the private lives of some of Mexico’s most popular celebrities, and is visually stunning, highlighting the beauty of Mexico, while being a comedy with characters that will interest audiences, without the budget/development of a script. series,” Wexler argued.
Set to visit Monterrey, Mexico City, Mérida, Guadalajara, Chiapas and Tijuana, “Mission City” also features a potent mix of comedy and travel, Barmack noted, citing the Netflix shows “Jack Whitehall: Travels With My Father” and “ On a trip with Los Dérbez.” a great success on Amazon’s Prime Video, remaining in its top 10 for weeks not only in Mexico but throughout Latin America.
Given the Ramones’ large fan base in Latin America, the show “could really become a franchise that we can take from Mexico to other Latin American countries and Adal has a large Hispanic following in the United States,” Wexler added.
‘The Gunslinger (The Legend of Pepita)’
Marking the expansion of Wild Sheep in Argentina, following titles in Mexico (Netflix Original “Invitation to Murder”), Chile (mystery and crime series “Cromosoma 21”) and Brazil (sci-fi television show for children and teens “Mila and the Multiverse”), Wild Sheep Content has also signed on for “The Gunwoman (Pepita’s Legend).”
It joins a consortium led by the Argentine Zeppelin Studio, headed by Lucas Jinkis, as well as Historias Cinematografías, Yair Dori, Bar Rimoni, Javier Furgang, 7395 Media and Non Stop Studios.
Wild Sheep Content will serve as executive producer and co-financier, as well as distribution partner in Asia and North America.
“It’s a really great project, a very, very big story, a kind of ‘Good Friends’ in Argentina, made by one of the best filmmakers in Latin America, period, with a top-notch actress, and a period piece based in Argentina’s most famous gangster story,” said Barmack.
“We all participated in the capital and invested to finance the film. “With pedigree filmmakers whose ambitions go beyond a particular country, we are creating great structures like American studios do, with people who can help get the right financing around the world,” he added.
“With Jimena’s leadership, there are many different ways we can address market challenges, with equity, which is what we are doing with lucia puenzo“The film, with talent management, which is what we are doing with Adal, or IP, which is what we are doing with ‘Butterflies,'” Barmack said.
“At this moment we have relationships with Videocine, Cinepolis, Netflix, Amazon and Paramount. “We are quite active in the Mexico market and Latin America has become, by far, our largest market,” he concluded.
