Endeavor Content, Exile Ink First-Look TV Deal With ‘Roma’ Producer Nicolas Celis (EXCLUSIVE)
By Anna Marie de la Fuente
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Nicolas Celis’ TV series “Perfect Monsters” has found its home. The “Roma” producer and his Mexico City-based production company Pimienta Films have inked an exclusive first-look deal with Exile and Endeavour Content, which announced a scripted television partnership in the spring.
“Perfect Monsters,” an epic western created by Celis, Marion d’Ornano and Enrique M. Rizo, is the first project announced under the new deal. The series was among the buzzed-up titles presented at In Development during MIPTV.
Based on the eponymous novel by former police officer Miguel Ángel Molfino, the original story set in the Argentine plains has been adapted to take place in 1960s Mexico where 18-year-old Miroslavo flees after his parents are murdered and runs straight into the clutches of an arms dealer, as well as a gang of robbers and a troika of corrupt detectives.
“We are finally developing episodic content and I am very thrilled to partner up with Exile and Endeavor Content,” said Celis, speaking from Tbilisi, Georgia where he is a juror at its film festival. “I’ve always wanted to explore making premium TV content, which is still in its nascent stages in Mexico. ‘Perfect Monsters’ will be in Spanish but with an international audience in mind, as always.”
“We are fully committed to empowering the most exciting voices in Latin America, and Nicolás has an unparalleled track record at identifying and championing the best talent and projects in the region,” said Daniel Eilemberg, president of Content at Exile.
Even before working on Alfonso Cuaron’s Oscar-winning “,” Celis blazed an enviable producing record that included such notable titles as Amat Escalante’s “Heli,” which premiered at Cannes 2013 where he won best director, and “The Untamed,” winner of the 2016 Venice Silver Lion for best director.
Celis also produced Tatiana Huezo’s documentary “Tempestad,” Mexico’s submission to the 90th Oscars international feature category, and Ciro Guerra and Cristina Gallego’s “Birds of Passage,” which world premiered at the 2018 Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes and represented Colombia in the 91st Academy Awards. Celis also executive produced Jonás Cuarón’s “Desierto,” starring Gael García Bernal.
“Nicolás is renowned for working on high quality and impactful projects and we are excited to be working with him on his first step into television drama with “Perfect Monsters,” a gritty and powerful coming-of-age Western,” said Kelly Miller, VP of international strategy at Content.
Adds Exile CEO Isaac Lee, “What we are doing with Nico Celis is the first of a series of deals Endeavor Content and Exile are doing with the best talent in the region. Those will be announced Q1 2020.”
Exile launched in 2018 with the aim to focus on long-form content in Spanish and English for global audiences. In May, it formed an exclusive partnership for premium scripted television with Endeavor Content, a division of Endeavor, a global entertainment, sports and content company operating in more than 30 countries.
