Outside the world of English, Spain is one of Netflix’s largest production center. As might already be known by fans of Money Heist and Elite, this country produces dozens of series and films every year for the company.
Ahead of the premiere of the original film Netflix Spain Netflix Honeymoon with My Mother (aka Amor de Madre), Christopher Meir, from the original Netflix academic blog that was reviewed and a researcher based on Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, sitting with the film’s’s’s’s’s’s’s It is also one of the founders of Morena Films, one of the most critical and commercial spanish independent production companies. In addition to the main box office and critical hits like their latest film Campeones (which began to be re -made in Hollywood), Morena has also made a Diablero series for Netflix, as well as two films so far: Below zero and two catalonias. In the interview below, Gordon told us about making a honeymoon before and after Netflix was involved in this project, a story that told us a lot about Netflix’s relationship with the producer and the difficulties fired during the required pandemic.
Honeymoon with my mother debut Friday 29 April on Netflix.
CM: Can you start by saying a little about the idea behind the honeymoon with my mother, from where the idea came from and how did you come to work with Netflix on it?
JG: The idea comes from another producer, Sofía Fábregas because this is a project that is a joint production between Morena Films and Sofia. Sofia used to work as a developer and producer, but she has now been named the head of the original Spanish series for Disney+. His idea and he brought him to two writers installed, Cristóbal Garrido and Adolfo Valor [Note Editor: Author who also works in the Coast Cocaine series, Netflix’s original series in the US]. I think the idea is good and so we in Morena said okay, let’s make an agreement, and let’s try to do this together.
We began to discuss the possibility. Initially this will be a film that will be released theatrically. We have an interest in Universal Studios España and the idea is to finance in a traditional way through pre-sales, free TV and TV pay several subsidies, tax exemptions, etc.
This is the story of a couple that lasts honeymoon. Our idea initially was to shoot in the destination of the honeymoon, Canary Islands. Because we have just released Campeones, Netflix really wants to work with us to something else, a comedy. They asked what we were doing. I said we were working on my honeymoon with my mother but in principle it was arranged with traditional financing but they read the script and liked it. I am quite reluctant to do it because we have made a lot of money in Campeone and my idea is to repeat the same model. However, finally, we reached a pleasant agreement for all parties.
CM: What makes you honeymoon with my mother?
JG: I think it’s quite universal in the sense that we all have a mother, but it is very rare that a son or daughter knows their mother other than as a mother. This film is about the woman behind your mother, about finding someone who has been hidden and is usually hidden behind her obligations as a mother or as a wife, who is a universal theme for any country.
This film is very funny in the way written by Adolfo and Cristóbal. We have the opportunity to make this film with two great and commercial successful actors: Carmen Machi and Quim Gutiérrez.
CM: Audience outside of Spain may not know Carmen Machi and Quim Guitiérrez but they are very famous on Netflix, for example they appear in several Netflix Originals, such as the Spanish version of Criminal (Machi) and The Comedy Series The The Neighbor (Gutiérrez). When did they join the project?
JG: Carmen was on the ship before Netflix and Quim arrived after Netflix boarded to the ship. Our idea is to always do it with Carmen as a mother and in reality, Carmen is very helpful in understanding the character as well. He gave encouragement towards a more realistic character.
It is very clear to us that this is a commercial film that needs to have some famous faces and the good news is that the famous faces happened to be great actor so we were in very good hands from the beginning.
CM: The filmmaking in this project began in January 2020, so it must be a project that is difficult to complete during the early days of Pandemic.
J G:. Obviously, this film has additional costs because of Pandemi. We have started working when the locking was announced in Spain, we have shot for a week. I feel that the locking will never come to Mauritius – where many films are taken – I remember saying this will be the only Netflix film that will not stop shooting because we are on a remote island in the Pacific and no one will know about us . Am I not wrong! Three days later, the locking was announced at Mauritius and we had to stop shooting. The air space is closed so it is difficult to bring everyone back home. Netflix really tried to help and really supported us along the way. Then we returned six months later to continue the photo shoot and two actresses made Covid on the way to Mauritius on a flight so they were treated in a hospital with a police officer at the door because they were only people with Covid on the island so they were like national security issues . That’s enough trials.
One of them came out two weeks later but the other, Justina Bustos, continued to test positively for all living; He was in the hospital for five weeks. When we decided to shoot everything we could without him, we decided that the crew would go to Spain and I would stay on the island until he tested negatively. Miraculously, he tested negatively on the day the crew was going out. So, we say let’s finish whatever is left for us to do in the Canary Islands when everyone is available again. We shot for five days in January and that was the third time we started shooting. Then we finally finished the main photography.
CM: What else is the contribution of Netflix as a partner in the project, in addition to support in Mauritius and financial resources?
JG: They give us a very smart script record that helps us improve the whole film. I am very happy, especially on the creative side but also on the logistics side because we have made this film alone it will be an economically disaster. Remember Netflix was the only company at that time that had an insurance company that included Pandemi.
CM: Is there a possibility that this film turns into a franchise?
JG: This is likely. It could be a honeymoon with my father, it could be a lot of things. I want to see how it works, my feeling is that it will work very well and we have to do something else, yes.
CM: You and your colleagues in Morena Films have made a little for Netflix. Readers of this website will be interested in finding out you personally is one of the producers in the Netflix Diablero and Morena series has made films under zero among other works. Do you get a lot of audience feedback from the company?