By WILLIAM J. WRIGHT
The world of genre film production and distribution just got a little smaller thanks to a newly minted partnership between two entertainment juggernauts.
Variety reports that Globalgate Entertainment, the local-language film and TV production and co-financing consortium formed by Lionsgate and 14 other international entertainment companies in 2016, and Morbido Group, a leading horror genre presence in Mexico and Central and South America, have embarked on a new joint venture set to revolution genre entertainment worldwide. The new conglomerate named MorbidoGate is dedicated to delivering high-quality, elevated genre content through new productions and the acquisition of existing IPs, with a special focus on nurturing upcoming talent on an international scale.
Palo Alto-based Maum Capital Group, founded by tech entrepreneur-investor Brian Koo, also has a substantial stake in the venture, providing both financial support and creative capital by developing projects that will take advantage of their digital effects advances in creating digital creature effects and other realistic computer-generated elements.
“We have enviably observed Morbido’s leading position in the genre throughout Latin America and look forward to offering up their fright and expanding the genre business with Globalgate’s partners,” Globalgate founder Paul Presburger tells Variety’s Anna Marie de la Fuente.
Morbido CEO Pablo Guisa adds, “This is the right time to launch the Morbido brand on a global scale. We have been creating amazing projects with some of the most important talent and production companies in our region … Through this alliance, we’ll be able to replicate what we do best: Creating and developing great films with top talent in new exciting territories where genre reigns supreme.”
Although Maum’s participation will be essential to MorbidoGate, horror fans would be mistaken in assuming that CGI will be the cornerstone of the company’s projects. Maum will provide support based solely on the needs of specific productions.
“Not all projects will need Maum’s support. After all, genre could be three people in a house, but Maum will provide the tech support to any project that needs it,” Guisa explains.
Guisa, along with Bernardo Bergeret, Ventana Sur co-director, and Daniel de la Vega, coordinator of Ventana Sur’s Maquinitas video game forum, is responsible for bringing the genre-focused Fantastic Pavilion to the Cannes Film Market this year.
Keep an eye on RUE MORGUE for more updates about this quickly developing story.
