Director Jack Perez and writer Jim McManus (The Big Empty) team up again on La Cucaracha, a Mexico-set black comedy about murder and revenge starring Eric Roberts. Walter (Roberts) has abandoned his quotidian New Jersey life for Mexico with romantic notions of finding inspiration for a novel. As soon as he arrives he’s robbed of all his money and takes refuge in a shack outside tiny Santiago, where he spends his days drinking himself blind. When he meets another expatriate, Walter saves face by claiming that he’s hiding out because he’s killed a man. The newcomer, Louis (McManus), offers a version of salvation by hiring Walter to whack a guy he says murdered the teenage son of the town’s local crimelord. Thus begins an existential nightmare, which sees Walter double-crossed, buried alive and ultimately bent on revenge.

"Walter keeps getting stepped on – hence the title," says Perez. "The film takes the classic atmosphere of films about Americans down on their luck in Mexico and transcends it with a modern sensibility." Perez and McManus met in the undergrad film program at NYU; both graduated with honors in ’89. Perez’ big break came when he directed an episode of "Hercules" and was brought back to do the pilot for the spin-off, "Xena: Warrior Princess." He and McManus had Cucaracha on the page and were taking it out themselves when they hooked up with producer Michael Shevlof to make their first feature, The Big Empty.

A British transplant with ten years of production experience in England, Shevloff produced TV programs here and ventured into features with Bandwagon, a Sundance ’96 success. He knew Perez, McManus and Bandwagon director John Schultz from ZM Productions, where all worked on behind-the-scenes documentaries and specials. Shevloff helped set Cucaracha up to the tune of seven figures at 7.23, a new company he says has financing from a consortium of overseas investors to bankroll a five-film slate. "That’s how you get Eric Roberts," says Perez. "7.23 said, ‘We’re in. Go now!’ We had to tell Roberts, ‘We’re going two weeks from today; are you in or out?’" Cucaracha was shot in L.A. over a rugged 18 days in December with a dry reservoir standing in for the Mexican desert. The filmmakers built hospital and cantina interiors on a stage and designed exteriors for the film’s timeless Mexican town on a studio backlot with trucked-in dirt, animals and vintage cars. The film should be done in March and all rights are available.

Cast: Eric Roberts, Joaquim De Almeida, Victor Rivers, Jim McManus, Tara Crespo, Michael Pena. Crew: Producers, Richard Mann, Michael Shevloff; Screenwriter, Jim McManus; Director, Jack Perez; Cinematographer, Shawn Maurer; Production Designer, Reiko Kobayashi; Costumes, Elaine Montalvo; Editor, John Pace. Contact: Richard Mann, 7.23 Productions, 7083 Hollywood Boulevard, L.A., CA 90028. Tel: (213) 860-7030, Fax: (213) 860-7043.

All Of It - Jody Podolsky
Another Brother - Tami Gold
The Bumblebee Flies Anyway - Martin Duffy
La Cucaracha - Jack Perez
Desert Blue - Morgan J. Freeman
The Money Shot - Matt Mailer
SHOCK TV - Whitney Ransick
The Sky Is Falling - Florrie Lawrence
Snapped - Jesse Fiegelman
was once a girl... - Hellin Kay