George Lopez signs content deal with Lionsgate and Televisa
Gabriel Miramar-Garcia | 04-10-2013
Pantelion Films and South Shore, the film and TV ventures between Lionsgate and Mexican media corporation Televisa, have announced an overall film and TV deal with actor, producer and comedian George Lopez.
Principal photography is slated to begin in New Mexico in mid-October for Pantelion Films' English-language feature, La Vida Robot, starring and produced by Lopez. The film is based on a true David & Goliath story about four undocumented Mexican-American teenagers from Phoenix who form a robotics team. With $800, used car parts and a dream, they build an underwater robot that wins the national robotics competition, taking down reigning champion MIT.
The film, based on Joshua Davis' Wired magazine story, will be directed by Sean McNamara (Soul Surfer). Lopez (Travieso Productions), David Alpert (Circle of Confusion), Rick Jacobs, Leslie Kolins Small and Ben Odell are on board to produce.
The first Lopez TV projects for US networks from South Shore, a TV studio venture between Televisa's US studio division, Televisa USA, and Lionsgate, include several comedies and an action drama in development with Stan Lee.
Lopez, who is represented by CAA/3 Arts, is also starring in Saint George, from Lionsgate Television and Lionsgate's television distribution company, Debmar-Mercury. The half-hour sitcom is currently in production and will premiere on FX in early 2014.
"We're thrilled to be in the George Lopez business," said Pantelion Films CEO and Televisa USA managing director Paul Presburger. "George is a comic superstar and brand name in the Latino community, and he reflects the kind of A-list Latino film and TV talent we're recruiting for our Pantelion and South Shore partnerships. As our breakout hit Instructions Not Included recently demonstrated, Latino audiences are hungry for mainstream commercial entertainment that incorporates Latino characters and themes, and George's broad appeal and cross-cultural humour is tailor-made to meet this demand."