Cocaine Bear's Screenwriter Never Thought The Film Would See The Light Of Day
The world can't stop buzzing over "Cocaine Bear!"
The latest film from director Elizabeth Banks ("Pitch Perfect 2") boasts an insane, meme-like premise that cinemagoers just can't stop laughing over. In the Phil Lord and Christopher Miller ("21 Jump Street") produced film, an American black bear enjoys an unhealthy helping of cocaine, and soon finds itself embarking on a murderous rampage. It's chaotic visual poetry, the likes of which we don't see much these days.
Audiences are ready to ski with Universal Pictures' latest, with Deadline reporting that the film brought in $2 million during Thursday previews. The outlet speculates that the film will have a mighty weekend at the box office, with a domestic debut in the high teens. While the film is on track to do well for Universal, it may be surprising to learn that the creative behind "Cocaine Bear" wasn't all in on the creature-feature.
Despite the insane premise and perfect, on-the-nose title, "Cocaine Bear" screenwriter Jimmy Warden never imagined that his coked-out-mammal flick would ever see the light of day. "If I'm being completely honest — maybe I shouldn't say it — I never thought anybody was going to make this movie," Warden admitted in a conversation with Variety. The screenwriter continued by confirming that the film was always titled "Cocaine Bear" because of its appealing, daring, curiosity-driven title. Did Warden expect the title to change if the script was produced? Absolutely. "I think that if you asked me back then I would have been like, if it ever gets made, I assume people are probably going to want to change the name," Warden continued. "But Universal never did."
The Cocaine Bear screenwriter hoped the film's title would get him noticed
In fact, Banks, Lord, Miller, and the rest of the creative team behind the comedy-horror film decided that they would only work on the film if it retained its original title. Despite the support of several A-list creatives, Warden still can't believe the film is out.
Because he never thought "Cocaine Bear" would actually be produced, Jimmy Warden wishes he had the opportunity to change or at least pivot certain portions. "I made it overly violent on purpose," the writer said, sharing how the film can cross a line and become "so messed up." When asked by the outlet if the film was written to get eyeballs on his CV, Warden largely agreed. "The Babysitter: Killer Queen" scribe was under the impression that the script — which he wrote on spec, i.e an uncommissioned screenplay — would only get him noticed. "It was maybe going to get me some attention that people would read on tracking boards, possibly?" Warden admitted in the conversation. " The truth is, no, I didn't think that any respectable studio would make a movie called 'Cocaine Bear' and keep all the [expletive] that I had written."
Well, Mr. Warden. They did it. They made your movie about a bear. Doing cocaine. While Looper was mixed on the film, reviewer Dominic Griffin couldn't help but praise the inventive and chaotic premise that Warden cooked up.