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Elizabeth Banks has signed on to direct the thriller, Cocaine Bear, from producers, Phil Lord and Chris Miller. The filmmaking duo, Lord and Miller, are best known for their work on animated films, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, The Lego Movie, and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, while their live-action resume includes, 21 Jump Street and its sequel, 22 Jump Street. Banks previously worked with producers Lord and Miller on The Lego Movie franchise and most recently directed the Charlie’s Angels movie.
Now, per Deadline, Elizabeth Banks has found her next directorial project in the thriller, Cocaine Bear, for Universal, reuniting her with producers Lord and Miller. The film, written by Jimmy Warden (The Babysitter: Killer Queen), will tell the unbelievable true story of a 175-pound black bear that consumed more than 70 pounds of cocaine, a story that was reported by the New York Times in 1985.
During a drug run from Columbia, former narcotics officer turned smuggler, Andrew Thornton, dropped a duffel bag filled with cocaine from an airplane over Chattahoochee National Forest, where it was devoured by a bear. The bear was later found dead and ruled as the biggest drug overdose in history. The bear was even stuffed, nicknamed "Pablo EskoBear," and turned into a morbid tourist attraction. Though this outlandish true story which the film is based upon sounds like fuel for a bizarre comedy, Cocaine Bear will reportedly be a “character-driven thriller” and begin filming this summer.
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Other than this bear-centric thriller, Banks has a plethora of projects lined up with Universal. First, she will direct and play the lead role in The Invisible Woman. Banks will also star in an adaptation of the popular children’s book, The Magic School Bus as Ms. Frizzle.