Who would the Latinos like to watch? Nacho Libre (L) Omar Bravo (R)
The producers want to know.
According to the WSJ, the producers of Nacho Libre have been bombarding the Spanish channels with ads for their movie. Nacho Libre, the new movie starring Jack Black, playing the part of a cook in an orphanage, who is decidedly batty but has a heart of gold. To feed the kids he decides to take up Mexican wrestling, called Lucha Libre. The movie has been shot in Oaxaca in Mexico and the producers are hoping that this will be a breakthrough movie for the 25 million or so Latino moviegoers.
However the producers are worried that the World Cup will eat into the audience. I haven’t seen the movie but according to the WSJ, in order not to alienate Latino audiences with an overweight and bumbling stereotype, the character played by Jack Black is a ‘guera’ ( a white boy). His father is a Mexican deacon and his mother, a Swedish missionary.
Change the script: We could have Nacho Libre as an overweight, over the top soccer player who tries to get into the Mexican national team but he is rejected. He decides to go to Brazil and try his luck there because he figures if Ronaldo can make the team so can he. You have a winner. Brazil has some fun poked at their expense because they have 5 World Cups already and Mexico is spared a stereotype.
Seriously producers of Nacho Libre, it is a no brainer. Would you want to see the biggest spectacle in the world that comes once every four years or a Latino variation on the School of Rock??
(WSJ, June 16, 2006. Subscription needed)