Nicolas Entel Red Creek
Nicolás Entel, the founding partner of Red Creek, indicated that they’re shooting a documentary series for Netflix and working on the production of two major UK movies that are being shot in Latin America. “The fun about these two projects is that we are shooting in countries that are not traditional production destinations in the region and are English films with A-class talent,” he said.
Entel, writer, and showrunner of S.O.Z. Soldiers or Zombies (8×30′) co-produced by Dynamo and Red Creek for Amazon Prime Video, said that one of the most relevant things about this series was pushing the limits of what can be done in Latin America. “There are a few examples of series that include 700 special effects reaching the level of Hollywood: creatures 100% digital, big things, we assembled helicopters. We also used a mix of Latin America and historical Hollywood writers. It was a wonderful learning experience. Personally, it was my first fiction.”
He added that the next projects “should be easier”. “Science fiction and horror are complicated genres for the writer and the showrunner because it implies creating a complete universe, designing monsters, writing, and defining: what do they eat? how? when? what happens if they eat or not?; do they have sex?; do they speak or not?”
As a writer and showrunner, Entel wants to go bigger. “In terms of budget and ambition, we have reached a limit of what can be done in Latin America. For me, it’s not enough to do things that are smaller in budget and artistic ambition. Red Creek as a production house has several projects of different sizes, but as a writer and showrunner I am thinking about big things,” he pointed out.
Asked about the future of the region, Entel said that in general there is “a hangover” on the platforms. “But I am super optimistic. I think that our model, where it is more appealing and important to do one thing of great quality and budget instead of five standard things, has a place in Latin America. The platforms realized that production does not work as a machine gun. Production must be done well and with the proper times for development, writing, filming, and post-production. You can’t make a good series filming five days per episode,” he concluded.
