[Kentucky dot com] Lexington’s well-known "cocaine bear," a black bear that died of a drug overdose during the "Bluegrass Conspiracy" era, is about to make it to the big screen.Elizabeth Banks is set to direct a movie called "Cocaine Bear" for Universal Pictures.
Deadline.com reported Tuesday that the movie is said to be "a character-driven thriller inspired by true events that took place in Kentucky in 1985."
But plot details are pretty thin beyond that.
Though it died in Georgia, the real-life cocaine bear gained notoriety in death and has become a legend of the kind that only Kentucky could produce.
The bear was the victim of a fatal overdose that occurred when it ate a cache of cocaine that Andrew Thornton, a former Lexington narcotics officer turned drug smuggler, threw out over North Georgia.
Thornton was carrying $15 million in cocaine when he died parachuting out of a plane over Knoxville in September 1985. That saga is chronicled in Sally Denton’s 1989 book, "The Bluegrass Conspiracy."
The 175-pound bear’s body was found several months after Thornton’s and preserved with taxidermy. It was passed among various owners until it eventually was acquired by the operators of Lexington-based retailer Kentucky for Kentucky.
A kooky television ad featuring the bear, which has been dubbed Pablo Escobear, made headlines five years ago.
And Escobear is still enjoying fame.
Last month, Kentucky for Kentucky debuted a new mug design featuring the bear’s image. It reads, "Bluegrass Conspiracy’s Cocaine Bear The Ultimate Party Animal."
The "Cocaine Bear" movie, written by Jimmy Warden, will be produced by Phil Lord and Chris Miller along with Banks and Max Handelman’s Brownstone Productions, Deadline reported.
Banks, Lord and Miller teamed up previously on "The Lego Movie" series. Banks most recently directed the 2019 "Charlie’s Angels" film.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, filming for "Cocaine Bear" could begin this summer.