Actress and filmmaker Elizabeth Banks says she’d very much be up for directing a sequel to her crime comedy “Cocaine Bear” from earlier this year, if such a sequel were to get the go-ahead.
Inspired by the 1985 true story of a drug runner’s plane crash, missing cocaine, and the black bear that ate it, the story sees an oddball group of cops, criminals, tourists, and teens converge on a Georgia forest where a 500- pound apex predator has ingested a staggering amount of cocaine and gone on a coke-fueled rampage.
Keri Russell, Margo Martindale, Alden Ehrenrich, and the late Ray Liotta co-starred in the R-rated film which scored positive reviews and grossed over $89 million against a production budget of around $30-35 million.
In a recent interview with Rolling Stone conducted before the strike to promote her role in the new comedy “The Beanie Bubble,” Banks says had such a great time working on “Cocaine Bear” she’d do it again:
“I had an absolutely great time working on the project. I loved how subversive, crazy, silly and funny it was. I loved surprising people with the cast. I don’t think anybody was expecting Margo Martindale, who’s 70 years old, to shoot that kid. We had a lot [of] fun, and if I got the opportunity to surprise the audience and delight myself again, I would take it.”
Banks adds that she hopes that having directed the film, people would see she can do genre pictures alongside her broader works like “Pitch Perfect 2” and the second “Charlie’s Angels” reboot.
However, with the strikes on, no one is really knocking at her door at present: “Currently, nothing’s really happening, as we’re all on hold! So, it’s yet to bear out. I do not have a next directing project. I am uncommitted at this time.”
