Murilo Benicio, star of Globo’s blockbuster telenovelas such as “The Clone,” “América” and “Brazil Avenue,” and Kevin Bequiatto, who grew up on Brazil’s biggest children’s series “Turma da Monica.” “Nico,” is a smart comedy from LB Entertainment, the same company that produced “Netflix”s world’s No. 1 non-English TV series “Syntonia.”
“Nico” is produced by LB Entertainment and +Galeria, and distributed in Brazil by +Galeria.
Many Brazilian comedies have cast gold dust as a raucous vehicle for TV’s star comedians to romp. In contrast, the comedy in “Nico” is “a comedy with a story, a big emotional impact, and broadly relatable,” LB Entertainment producer Felipe Braga told Variety.
Benicio and Bequiatto play father Marcio and son Nico, who haven’t spoken to each other in years, and are forced to embark on a hastily planned 30-hour road trip packed into a cramped car.
Nico is described as a “chronically online 17-year-old with no friends in the real world.” “Marcio” is an unemployed comedian who “once made the whole country laugh, but is still unable to charm the one audience he has never made laugh: his son.”
“Together, they learn to adapt through each other, first to live together and then to interact with the world around them,” the synopsis continues.
Benicio described Márcio as a “50-year-old canceled father,” but Bequiat added that he was “in some kind of midlife crisis and was in that state.”
To Benicio, Nico is a “nerd” character-wise. “This movie is about an impressionable 17-year-old boy who understands how complex the world is. Granted, he gets a little scared of it at times, more than just a little scared. He basically never leaves his room,” Bekiat retorted, speaking in character.
“‘Nico’ is a comedy with a big heart,” Braga said. “This story follows two very interesting characters as they journey emotionally and geographically as they cross paths on their way to their final destination. On this journey, they meet their father and… My son needs to let his guard down and learn to see the world from each other’s perspective.”
“While this story is not afraid to be sensitive at times, it is still the journey of a comedian and his sarcastic son, and most of the humor comes from the conversations between them,” he added.
LB Entertainment is characterized by its work with a new generation of young creators and screenwriters, led by internet phenomenon Kondzilla, who co-created and co-directed “Syntonia.” LB’s credits include Netflix Brazil’s pioneering half-hour comedy “Samantha!” Amazon Prime Video’s “Lov3” has begun to earn a reputation for developing cutting-edge stories with young, up-and-coming voices.
“We have worked with some very talented young writers on shows for Amazon and TV shows for Netflix. “There was a screenwriter who was a great writer and I decided to see what would happen if I wrote a comedy feature film,” Braga said.
Braga, who embodies the “new comedy culture,” said, “Filipe Serra, the writer of ‘Nico,’ was the lead writer of ‘Lov3,’ which won the Brazilian Writers Guild Award for Best Comedy Series.” spoke.
“This film is not only cutting edge, but also unafraid to poke fun at touchy and complex topics in a polarized society like ours,” Braga added.
“Nico” received a São Paulo Paulo Gustavo grant, which laid a substantial financial foundation for the film.
“We arrived at a script that was both strong and simple, and we realized that if we could get the right people, we could make small independent features, but we could turn this great text into a commercial film. ” said Rita Moraes, producer of LB Entertainment.
Benicio’s casting means that the script “tackles the comedic genre that Brazilian audiences love, but with an edge.” For the nation to recognize and embrace Murillo’s talent is a huge step towards reaching an even wider audience. ”
Director Mariana Youssef helmed three episodes of “Lov3,” served as executive director of Paramount+’s “The Followers,” and co-produced “Teenage Kiss: The Followers” for Max in 2022.・Directed “The Future is Dead.”
“Nico is a story about masculinity, it’s about two guys in a car. So we have a young, talented female director, a really strong woman like Mariana who knows the art of directing. I wanted a voice,” said Coach Moraes.
