Trés Amigos

Piece originally written Summer 2007

Human comradeship is something not too often praised aloud in the film industry these days, especially with 'get rich quick' guys out there like Brett Ratner who are exceedingly better than anyone at taking, and the opposite when it comes to giving back. One shining example though is the Latino Trio consisting of directors Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Guillermo del Toro and Alfonso Cuaron who, in last year's Oscars, were responsible for 16 Academy Award Nominations with their films "Babel," "Pan's Labyrinth" and "Children of Men." Long time friends, the three have always had a sybiotic relationship, according to MovieMaker's Summer 2007 article, that included sometimes harsh constructive criticism, but most importantly, says Cuaron in an interview with Charlie Rose, "the core of that process is friendship."

Too often professionals are butting heads to get their own way in the vast and decadent world of film production, but when these three successful artists decided to switch that common logic and form a production company together, rather than race to see who could win the trophy as the best Mexican filmmaker in the land, a studio shook somewhere in Hollywood, and it wasn't Jackie Chan exploding a truck with his foot. As other filmmakers come on board to Cha Cha Cha (the company's name), like Rodrigo Garcia and Carlos Cuaron (Alfonzo's brother), things are likely to change in the future when young, aspiring artists and technicians enter the film world looking for an alternative to the 'You're on your own kid' mentality. Especially when it concerns specific cultures and/or backgrounds, these three are an example to those who wish to expose the issues, talent, etc. of any given culture to the majority American public, and hopefully to the rest of the world.