Lionsgate, Televisa Partner with George Lopez

SANTA MONICA: Pantelion Films and South Shore, established as joint ventures between Lionsgate and Televisa, have inked an overall film and television deal with comedian George Lopez.

Pantelion was formed to deliver feature films to U.S. Hispanic audiences. Its first project with Lopez is La Vida Robot, an English-language feature that he is producing. It focuses on four undocumented Mexican-American teenagers from Phoenix who form a robotics team and is based on a Wired magazine story by Joshua Davis. Principal photography is slated to begin in New Mexico in mid-October

South Shore, the joint-venture TV outfit, is collaborating with Lopez on several comedies, plus an action drama with Stan Lee. Lionsgate is already in business with Lopez via Saint George. He stars in the half-hour sitcom, distributed in the U.S. by Debmar-Mercury, that is being made using the 10+90 model employed on Charlie Sheen’s Anger Management. It will premiere on FX in early 2014. Lionsgate is bringing the series to MIPCOM.

“We’re thrilled to be in the George Lopez business,” said Paul Presburger, Pantelion Films' CEO and Televisa USA’s managing director. “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 humor is tailor-made to meet this demand.”

Kevin Beggs, chairman of the Lionsgate Television Group, added, “We’re delighted to expand our relationship with George Lopez, a Latino icon and one of the leading comic actors in America. George is already starring in one of our 10+90 sitcoms for FX, and his impressive slate of projects reflects his versatile talents and the synergy between our film and TV operations at its best.”