DeMuZa Produções Artisticas e Cinematograficas LTDA, or simply DeMuZa Produções, and which would later become ZDM Produções Artísticas LTDA, was a company founded in partnership with Dedé Santana, Mussum, and Zacarias to manage their agreements and businesses for around 11 years. Its only Oz-related production was the 1984 Brazilian parody film Os Trapalhões e o Mágico de Oróz.
History[]
Taking the initial syllable of each of their stage names, Dedé, Mussum, and Zacarias founded DeMuZa Produções on March 30, 1979, but had more emphasis in September 1983, when Os Trapalhões group separated due to a crisis between the group's members and Renato Aragão. While the group's separation, DeMuZa Produções produced the film "Atrapalhando a Suate" without Renato's presence.
The comedians' separation lasted just six months and the quartet returned in February 1984, with the film from June of the same year, "Os Trapalhões e o Mágico de Oróz" marking the first film produced after their reunion. DeMuZa continued to operate even after the reconciliation of Os Trapalhões and produced other productions in partnership with Renato Aragão Produções and continued licensing the trio's image for commercials, shows, and products with the brand "Os Trapalhões".
In February 1986, DeMuZa suffered from fraud caused by employees of the production company who took care of its financial side. The employees in charge of collecting money falsified the receipts using a cash register machine they had stolen from the Banco do Brasil bank. In this mess, for which the Dedé, Mussum, and Zacarias had no fault, they had to bear a million-dollar debt. Dedé lost three houses, Zacarias lost a farm, and Mussum lost the mansion he owned on an island in Angra dos Reis, next to that of José Bonifácio "Boni" de Oliveira Sobrinho, plus a speedboat. Rede Globo partially paid the debt, in addition to paying it in installments over two years.
DeMuZa remained operational until Zacarias' death, at the beginning of 1990, when it ended its operations. Despite that, its CNPJ is active to this day. After Zacarias' death, the remainder of his debt was paid by his two partners.