It’s furry, full of drugs and coming to a movie screen near you.
The multi-talented Elizabeth Banks has lined up her next directing gig, a film based on the absolutely true story of a real, 175-pound, cocaine-eating bear from Georgia. The real story, though, is even crazier than it initially sounds.
Per Variety, "it’s described as a character-driven thriller inspired by true events that took place in Kentucky in 1985." It will be produced by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, the team that worked on "The Lego Movie."
If you don’t know what the Cocaine Bear is, here’s the story.
In September 1985, while on a cocaine smuggling run from Columbia, a Kentucky man with a lengthy rap sheet jumped from a plane, got tangled in his parachute and tragically fell to his death, landing in a home's backyard in Knoxville, Tennessee. Officers found him dead with night vision goggles, freeze-dried food, guns, cash and a duffel bag containing about 75 pounds of cocaine.
But that wasn’t all the cocaine he was carrying.
Roughly three months later, a dead black bear was discovered in the Chattahoochee National Forest in northern Georgia. The bear had apparently overdosed on cocaine the man was carrying and dropped during his fall. "The bureau said the bear was found Friday in northern Georgia among 40 opened plastic containers with traces of cocaine," as was reported by The New York Times.
Oddly, the bear was later stuffed and gifted to the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area before it mysteriously disappeared in the 1990s.
After that, it became the stuff of legend.
Over the years, it’s had many owners, including country music legend Waylon Jennings. It’s now owned and displayed by a clothing store that operates a so-called "Fun Mall" in Lexington, Kentucky, fondly referred to as "Pablo EskoBear." There's even merchandise.
Soon, the world will the know the bizarre story of the Cocaine Bear.
Additional information about the project, like who will star in "Cocaine Bear" or when it’s due to be released, is being kept under wraps.
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