Ivana Baquero, Guillermo del Toro and Sergi Lopez @ Press Conference
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The rumored venture between Mexican directors Guillermo del Toro (The Devil’s Backbone, Pan’s Labyrinth), Alfonso Cuaron (Children of Men, Y Tu Mama Tambien) and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Amores Perros, Babel) has been finalized. Riding an Oscar wave, the three have signed a $100 million deal to produce five films for Universal, some in English and some in Spanish and (calling themselves Cha Cha Cha, an Amazing Race shout-out, perhaps?). Universal has released a predictably smarmy statement about how “[t]hese filmmakers truly represent the importance of cultural diversity for the global audience,” but I think we can all agree that the real reason to be excited is the real reason why this deal happened - these guys have more talent than they know what to do with, and we can expect great things if even one or two of these films meet their potential.

::: Mexican directors ink $100M studio deal
AP, May 19, 2007