Elizabeth Banks Is Directing A Movie Called ‘Cocaine Bear,’ And People Had A Lot Of Reactions

Over the last year and change — the last five, really — we’ve gotten used to news that could best be described as Mad Libs. This genre combines a number of random, perhaps even incongruous elements together in one surreal piece of news. Remember murder hornets? So when places like The Hollywood Reporter reported Tuesday that Elizabeth Banks, actress-turned-successful cineaste, was directing a movie called Cocaine Bear, there was no way its epic absurdity wouldn’t go over well on social media.

Maybe the best part: It sounds like an amazing movie! Actually, no. The best part is it’s based on a true story. It’s inspired by an event reported on The New York Times in 1985, in which a 175-pound black bear died after consuming the contents of a duffle bag fill with more than 170 pounds of coke. How did the bear get so much blow? It fell from a plane piloted by a convicted drug smuggler, who himself died while parachuting with too heavy a load. The bear was found dead, surrounded by 40 opened containers containing traces of cocaine.

It’s not clear how much of the real deal will wind up in Banks’ film, but it’s safe the approach will be at least partly comedic: Her producers are no less than Phil Lord and Chris Miller. But it’s clear a film entitled Cocaine Bear has set a very high bar for itself. Once news of its existence broke, social media went wild.

https://twitter.com/sadydoyle/status/1369425811284103181

https://twitter.com/lizzieohreally/status/1369411819140489222

There were memes.

And casting ideas.

And ambitious plans.

https://twitter.com/ChuckWendig/status/1369423318445654020

Maybe there can be an MCU crossover?

And there were jokes. When people saw the words “Cocaine Bear,” not a small amount of people thought of Don Jr.

https://twitter.com/davidmweissman/status/1369432381384491012

https://twitter.com/AngelaBelcamino/status/1369412841258819588

And Alfred Molina in Boogie Nights.

https://twitter.com/abrahamjoseph/status/1369410190580269067

Cocaine Bear wasn’t the only good title on Tuesday. There was also Nightbitch, starring Amy Adams.

https://twitter.com/BrianFormo/status/1369417392204488709

In any case, Cocaine Bear will shoot this summer, though details, such as who will be in it, are currently being kept under wraps. But honestly with a title like that, Banks is already halfway there.

(Via THR)