Universal Pictures is working on a feature film “Cocaine Bear,” based on a 1985 New York Times article about a 175-pound black bear that got into a duffle bag filled with more than 70 pounds of cocaine that was dropped from an airplane in Kentucky by local drug smuggler Andrew Carter Thornton II, a wealthy son of an elite Kentucky horse-breeding family.
The bear that consumed the cocaine died from an overdose.
The Hollywood Reporter has revealed a group of actors enlisted for the new film directed by Elizabeth Banks (“Charlie’s Angels“) includes Keri Russell (“The Americans,” “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker“), Ray Liotta (“Goodfellas,” “Killing Them Softly,” “The Many Saints of Newark“), Alden Ehrenreich (“Hail, Ceasar!,” “Brave New World,” “Solo: A Star Wars Story“), O’Shea Jackson Jr. (“The Long Shot,” “Straight Outta Compton“), and Jesse Tyler Ferguson (“Modern Family“).
Phil Lord and Chris Miller, who won a Best Animated Feature Oscar for their involvement with the Sony Animation project “Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse” are producing the project. As directors, they were behind “21 Jump Street,” “22 Jump Street,” “The Lego Movie,” and “Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs.”
Their involvement could be a possible sign that “Cocaine Bear” will be humorous or satirical, as plot details aren’t mentioned in the report.
“Cocaine Bear” has a script penned by Jimmy Warden (“Babysitter: Killer Queen“) and will begin shooting next month in Ireland, a location recently used for Chris Pine‘s “Dungeons & Dragons” remake and Robert Eggers‘ Viking epic “The Northman.”