NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� On Dec. 22, 1985, The Associated Press
鈥淚nvestigators searching for cocaine dropped by an airborne smuggler have found a ripped-up shipment of the sweet-smelling powder and the remains of a bear that apparently died of a multimillion-dollar high.鈥�
Police found a sad scene. A 175-lb. black bear dead near a duffle bag and some $2 million worth of cocaine that had been opened and scattered over a hillside. The parachutist, a former Kentucky narcotics investigator, had fallen to his death in a backyard in Knoxville, Tennessee. His unmanned airplane crashed into a North Carolina mountain. Back in Georgia, the bear, examiners said, had overdosed.
The story is in many ways too much. Too absurd. Too 鈥�80s. Even the screenwriters of the 鈥淔ast & Furious鈥� movies would think it far-fetched. The stranger-than-fiction tale quickly receded from the headlines and, before some began to stoke the myth of 鈥淧ablo Escobear,鈥� it mostly stayed buried in news media archives.
That changed when screenwriter Jimmy Warden delivered to producers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller a script titled 鈥淐ocaine Bear.鈥� They were on board from page one.
鈥淲hen the movie鈥檚 pitched, you hear the word 鈥楥ocaine,鈥� you鈥檙e like I鈥檓 not sure what to think of this,鈥� Lord says. 鈥淭hen when you hear the word 鈥楤ear,鈥� you鈥檙e like: I鈥檓 all in.鈥�
Yes, is a real movie. And after it opens in theaters Friday, it might even be a hit. Since the trailer first debuted for Elizabeth Banks鈥� very, very loosely based-on-a-true-story R-rated comedy has stoked a rabid zeitgeist. At a time when much in Hollywood can feel pre-packaged, the makers of 鈥淐ocaine Bear鈥� think it can be an untamed exception.
鈥淗opefully the film lives up to the title,鈥� Banks says, smiling. 鈥淭hat was the goal.鈥�
Little on the movie calendar has captured the public imagination quite like 鈥淐ocaine Bear.鈥� Its trailer, watched more than 25 million times, immediately went viral. The movie, itself, is like a meme sprung to life 鈥� a kind of spiritual heir to crossed with a Paddington Bear fever dream. Everything about it is propelled by a tongue-in-cheek sense of humor and can-you-believe-this-is-a-real-movie wink. 鈥淚鈥檓 the bear who ate cocaine,鈥� reads . 鈥淭his is my story.鈥�
While most studio movies are driven by well-known intellectual property and few original comedies manage to attract audiences in theaters, 鈥淐ocaine Bear鈥� is here to strike a blow to business-as-usual in Hollywood. 鈥淐ocaine Bear鈥� is here to be bold. 鈥淐ocaine Bear鈥� is here to party.
鈥淵ou have to demonstrate theatricality to get the greenlight. It just means you have to swing the bat a little harder,鈥� Lord says. 鈥淚n this world that鈥檚 increasingly mechanized, things that don鈥檛 feel mechanized have really special value.鈥�
Miller and Lord have in recent years shepherded some of the most vibrant and irreverent films to the screen, including and They like to take apart old conventions and give them an absurdist, post-modern spin.
鈥淐ertainly, this movie was not mandated by a corporation,鈥� Miller says, laughing. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a thing we somehow snuck through the system. That鈥檚 how we love to make all our movies, like: 鈥業 can鈥檛 believe they let us get away with this.鈥欌��
Warden had been a production assistant on their 2012 action comedy 鈥�21 Jump Street." After hearing about the 1985 story, Warden wrote the script on spec and hoped his old bosses would like it. Intrigued at the screenplay's possibility, the producers found an unexpectedly open reception from Universal Pictures chief Donna Langley.
鈥淲hat鈥檚 funny is that we thought it would be difficult because of the subject matter. But surprisingly, they were excited right from the jump and didn鈥檛 shy away from the movie, its tone or even its title,鈥� says Miller. 鈥淲e thought at some point, someone was going to say, 鈥榃ell you can鈥檛 call it 鈥楥ocaine Bear.鈥� You have to call it 鈥楢 Walk in the Woods.鈥�"
Since her directorial debut in 2015's 鈥淧itch Perfect 2,鈥� Banks has carved out a second career behind the camera. She last helmed 2019's 鈥淐harlie's Angels." With Universal's backing and Lord and Miller producing, 鈥淐ocaine Bear鈥� struck her as not just a viable, actually-happening project but one where she could marry a gory animal attack movie with comedy.
鈥淢ost people are surprised that it is a real thing, and very surprised that I鈥檓 the person that made it,鈥� says Banks, laughing. 鈥淚 just got a text from someone who was like, 鈥業鈥檝e been hearing about this movie and I had no idea you made it.鈥欌��
Though the title meant 鈥淐ocaine Bear鈥� would be limited from some advertising platforms, the filmmakers describe the studio as interested in leaning into what made the film distinct from the all the options viewers are inundated with. Nothing, it turned out, could cut through all the noise like 鈥淐ocaine Bear.鈥�
鈥淭hey love things with strong flavor. That鈥檚 the word I hear a lot in my marketing meetings," Banks says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 harder and harder to find things that are theatrically exciting. The hope was that we were making something people needed to leave their house to see.鈥�
The film, itself, takes the basis of the real story and imagines what might have transpired if the bear didn't quickly die but went on a coke-fueled rampage through a national forest, terrorizing park wardens, campers and drug dealers seeking the lost shipment. After an initial taste, the bear goes after more cocaine with all the zeal of Yogi pursuing a picnic basket.
The bear, named Cokie, was a CGI concoction created by Weta FX with Allen Henry, a stunt man and student of Andy Serkis, performing motion capture. He wore all black and walked on all fours with prosthetic arms. The rest of the cast includes Keri Russell, Margo Martindale, Alden Ehrenreich, O'Shea Jackson and Ray Liotta. It's one of Liotta's final performances before his , and one that connects back to his similarly cocaine-laced performance in 鈥淕oodfellas."
鈥淚鈥檝e said that this film felt very risky. The risk was: I was never going to have the lead character of the movie on the set of the movie,鈥� Banks says. 鈥淭hat was truly what scared me the most. If the bear didn鈥檛 work, the movie falls apart.鈥�
Lord and Miller hope that there's a rising realization within the film industry that movies that are audaciously original can pack theaters. Lord points to the Academy Awards favorite "Everything Everywhere All at Once鈥� as recent proof.
鈥淚t could win best picture and it鈥檚 the zaniest idea out there,鈥� Lord says. 鈥淔or the scale of that movie, it鈥檚 a huge hit. What we鈥檙e after is demonstrating that these movies can be original and fun and surprising and they can be hits.鈥�
鈥淚 can鈥檛 think of a movie that came out last year that wouldn鈥檛 have been maybe a little bit better if there had a been a cocaine-fueled bear on a rampage as part of it," adds Miller. "Imagine if 鈥楾he Banshees of Inisherin鈥� had a big bear just running through biting that guy鈥檚 fingers off.鈥�
If it's successful, 鈥淐ocaine Bear鈥� could, of course, become a franchise of its own. A sequel isn't out the question. 鈥淟SD Armadillo鈥�? 鈥淨uaalude Tortoise鈥�? Banks, for now, is deferring.
鈥淪omebody will put something into the AI chat bot and it will spit out something ridiculous and the internet will write it for us.鈥�
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Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP
Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
