El Hollywood: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Alfonso Cuaron, and Guillermo Del Toro

Abstract

The three Mexican filmmakers, Alfonso Cuaron, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, and Guillermo del Toro, dubbed The Three Amigos by scholar Deborah Shaw, have received a lot of critical attention in recent years. While the term Three Amigos and the scholarship that analyzes their early works from a transnational perspective seeks to other them and distinguish them from Hollywood, I argue that the three filmmakers did not depart from a place of difference, and that they embraced Hollywood filmmaking all along, from the beginning of their careers, to the most recent Academy Award recognitions. I analyze the historical context of their emergence as part of the Mexican New Wave in the 1990s, as well as their most important features and their working relationships with cast and crew, which prove that they have created their own consistent art worlds. Analyzing their relationships with these artists, as well as the directors' own production companies serves to establish the Three Amigos' unquestionable influence, and their position in the film world.