MGM, Hayek team for Ventanazul
Unit will focus on Latin-themed material
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MGM and Salma Hayek, along with partner Jose Tamez, have joined forces to create the production label Ventanazul, which will acquire, develop and produce Latin-themed material and utilize Latin American and Hispanic talent on both sides of the camera.
MGM chief operating officer Rick Sands said content will come from agencies, directors and writers.
"There's a lot of talent in the Latin community, and a lot of it's been untapped historically," he said. "We're going to try and open up that community to Hollywood and pick the material with the most universal themes."
Budgets for the mainly English-language projects will run from $5 million to $25 million, said Sands, "depending on what the material is and who's in it."
Hayek will be "running the company," Sands said. "To the extent that it makes sense for her to act, she'll do that; to the extent that it makes sense for her to produce, she'll do that."
Deal places company prexy-CEO Hayek in fully equal partnership with MGM, where Ventanazul is slated to offer two to four projects per year in a variety of genres.
The production deal is the second for MGM after November's announcement of the United Artists rebirthing with Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner.
"Don't be surprised if we do this one or two more times," offered Sands. "It's part of our ongoing strategy to be in business with top content providers, and we were fortunate enough to be able to partner with Tom Cruise, and now Salma."
