The Argentine spin-off rights to “Jimmy and Stiggs” – the neon-drenched, practical-effects-laden alien horror movie written, directed by and starring Joe Begos and launched by Eli Roth‘s The Horror Part, have been optioned by Sebastián De Caro, who will direct the mission.
Quite than a straight remake, the movie will comply with new characters dealing with the identical extraterrestrial menace in Argentina, increasing the universe Begos created into new territory.
“Jimmy and Stiggs” was featured on the MorbidoGate IP Showcase, one of many signature trade initiatives on the Cannes Marché du Film’s Fantastic Pavilion, and the spin-off deal was closed days later on the market.
Roth and Begos will function government producers on the mission.
“Jimmy and Stiggs” premiered on the Past Fest in Los Angeles in 2024 and acquired a nationwide U.S. theatrical launch in August 2025 by means of The Horror Part, Roth’s recently launched genre studio.
Shot on 16mm over the course of practically 4 years, primarily in Begos’ personal Los Angeles residence, the movie follows two estranged pals — Jimmy, an out-of-work filmmaker satisfied he was kidnapped by aliens, and Stiggs, the sober former accomplice he reunites with to face the upcoming extraterrestrial menace.
Described as a “contained, visceral, ferociously funny sci-fi horror built on practical effects and raw energy,” the movie was hailed by critics as a cult basic within the making. The Los Angeles Instances referred to as it “pure exhilaration,” whereas Bloody Disgusting described it as “playful, gonzo, small-scale-yet-apocalyptic.”
The movie went on to show its worldwide enchantment at Spain’s Sitges Movie Competition.
Argentina is the primary territory to develop on the movie’s premise, which could possibly be thought-about a high-concept, universally translatable IP that travels throughout languages, cultures and markets: two males, one residence, an alien siege.
“Jimmy and Stiggs” was the primary acquisition for The Horror Part, launched by Roth final yr as an organization centered on the possession and management of a premium mental property library of style movies, tv collection and video games.
The Horror Part’s upcoming slate contains Roth’s “Ice Cream Man,” set for theatrical launch on Aug. 7, and “Don’t Go in That House, Bitch!” with Snoop Dogg on board as author, producer and soundtrack performer.
MorbidoGate, the strategic alliance between Globalgate Leisure – the local-language movie and TV manufacturing consortium shaped by Lionsgate and 14 main worldwide leisure firms – and Mexico Metropolis-based Grupo Mórbido, Latin America’s main incredible cinema platform, operates its annual IP Showcase as a part of the Unbelievable Pavilion.
The initiative connects style IP holders with producers throughout key worldwide markets. The showcase’s earlier version produced “Cam Sehpa” (“The Turkish Coffee Table”), the Turkish spin-off of the acclaimed Spanish horror movie “The Coffee Table” and the primary mission to emerge from MorbidoGate. The movie is at the moment having fun with a prolific worldwide competition run after opening theatrically in Turkey in February.
The Argentine “Jimmy and Stiggs” movie is the second mission to shut from the showcase.
As a director, screenwriter, actor, novelist and cultural essayist, De Caro is one in every of Argentina’s most multifaceted artists and among the many nation’s most acknowledged public personalities, boasting a profession that strikes between cinema, tv, streaming, radio and literature. De Caro’s credit as a filmmaker embody “Rockabilly,” “Vacaciones en la Tierra,” “Recortadas,” “20.000 Besos,” “Claudia” — which opened the 2019 Buenos Aires Worldwide Competition of Impartial Cinema — and most lately “Matrimillas.”
He has additionally printed a number of novels with Penguin Random Home’s Reservoir Books imprint, together with “Las nuevas aventuras de un biólogo recién recibido,” “La flor más falsa del mundo” and the Charles Manson essay “Cielo Drive,” alongside comedian books and pop cultural essays which have established him as one in every of Argentina’s sharpest chroniclers of latest tradition.
De Caro can even co-write the screenplay alongside Matías Orta with the purpose of bringing a distinctly Argentine voice to the mission’s growth of the “Jimmy and Stiggs” universe.
“Working with Eli Roth and Joe Begos is an incredibly exciting adventure,” De Caro mentioned. “‘Jimmy and Stiggs’ struck me as a brilliant kind of madness — it blew my mind with its energy and humor — and the chance to expand that universe in my own country is the biggest creative challenge I’ve ever taken on. Alongside Eli Roth, Joe Begos and MorbidoGate, this is a dream come true.”
Roth likewise expressed his admiration for the Argentine multi-hyphenate: “I’m an enormous fan of Seba de Caro and the workforce at MorbidoGate, and ‘Jimmy and Stiggs’ is the proper template for the way we see movies from The Horror Part.
“Horror is truly global, and any story can be applied to local culture. I cannot wait to see how this film honors and expands the universe of a wildly original film by the one and only Joe Begos.”
For Pablo Guisa Koestinger, government director of the Unbelievable Pavilion and CEO of Morbido Group, the deal has additional cemented the function of the style hub on the Cannes market.
“The goal of the IP Showcase at Cannes is to strengthen the fantastic film industry by connecting IP that can travel — and genre doesn’t need a visa,” he mentioned.
“First we took a Spanish film to Turkey, now we’re taking an American film to Argentina. Horror is universal, and the place to make those connections is the Fantastic Pavilion.”
Meg Thomson, government vice chairman of worldwide content material at Globalgate Leisure, added: “We’re thrilled to collaborate with The Horror Section and Morbido on finding great IP with the power to travel. Begos’ ‘Jimmy and Stiggs’ is a wild ride, and it’s fantastic to imagine those aliens invading other countries. We’re confident that Sebastián will bring a bold approach to this distinctive IP.”
Thomson and Guisa negotiated the take care of Jon Schnaars of The Horror Part.
