In a move that could forge a major new Latin production force, Mexican director Alfonso Arau, top Spanish producer Andrés Vicente Gómez and Brazilian producer Luis Carlos Bareto are said to be negotiating an international production alliance.
According to sources, projects from the alliance, dubbed Latin-Art, will be brokered by the William Morris Agency.
The alliance's production slate could include a portfolio of low-budget films helmed by Latin American directors, for which Arau has been seeking international co-financing. William Morris' involvement suggests some projects will involve a growing new generation of US Latino stars now breaking through in Hollywood.
Latin Art would bring together two of the most succesful filmmakers in the Spanish-speaking world. Arau's Como agua para chocolate (Like Water for Chocolate) and English-language A Walk in the Clouds made for Fox, grossed US$22 million and US$50 million respectively at the US box-office. Working through a joint production pact with Sogetel, in 1995 Gómez produced the highest-grossing Spanish film ever, Two Much, which made US$10.1 million.
Christopher Pickard, John Hopewell
