3 Mexican directors Cha Cha Cha to $100M Universal pact

A trio of Mexican directors who recently racked up 16 Oscar nominationshave formed a partnership with Universal Pictures worth $100 million US.

Guillermo del Toro, Alfonso Cuaron and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu will produce five moviessome in Spanish with Focus Features, the studio's specialty arm.

"We are proud to be not only part of the world cinema community, but also students of it," the three said in a joint statement.

"Universal and Focus are affording us a safe haven to keep doing the work we love as well as nurture other filmmakers."

Del Toro, Cuaron and Inarritu who directed Pan's Labyrinth, Babel and Children of Men are calling their company Cha Cha Cha.

David Linde, co-chairman of Universal Pictures, said the trio represented the "importance of cultural diversity for the global audience.

"These extraordinarily gifted friends and colleagues have made some of the most essential films in recent years."

Under terms of the agreement, Universal will fully finance and co-own the five movies, while Focus will handle international sales.

The first project, Cuaron's Rudo Y Cursi, starring Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna, is already in development. The rest of the films have yet to be announced.

Cuaron, 45, previously worked with the two actors on Y tu mam tambin (2001) and also helmed 2004's Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

The 42-year-old del Toro favours fantastical films, having directed Hellboy in 2004, as well as Blade II (2002) and The Devil's Backbone(2001).

Meanwhile, Inarritu burst onto the scene with Amores perros in 2000 garnering an Academy Award nomination in the foreign film category and followed that up three years laterwith 21 Grams starring Naomi Watts and Sean Penn.