Cocaine Bear trailer finally unleashed

Nicholas Alexander on December 5, 2022

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Cocaine Bear is the title of a movie that few think is real, but the trailer came out recently, and people are excited about it.

The film reinvents and exaggerates a bizarre tale of a bear in the mid-1980s in the United States who ate 70 pounds of cocaine.

Details

The dark comedy thriller is set in Kentucky.

Elizabeth Banks directs the film.

Cocaine Bear has many big names in the entertainment industry, including the late great Ray Liotta before his untimely death in May.

The film is Liotta’s last project.

The cast consists of the following:

Keri Russell
Margo Martindale
Alden Ehrenreich
O’Shea Jackson Jr.
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Kristofer Hivju
Kahyun Kim
Christian Convery
Brooklyn Prince

The synopsis

The over-the-top premise of Cocaine Bear sounds like something out of a 1970s or 1980s B-horror movie.

The official summary reads as follows:

“Inspired by the 1985 true story of a drug runner’s plane crash, missing cocaine, and the black bear that ate it, this wild dark comedy finds an oddball group of cops, criminals, tourists and teens converging in a Georgia forest where a 500-pound apex predator has ingested a staggering amount of cocaine and gone on a fuelled rampage for more blow … and blood.”

What really happened

In 1986, investigators stumbled upon the real cocaine bear that inspired the film.

He was said to have been lying next to a bag full of over 70 lb of cocaine.

The bag was thrown by drug dealer Andrew Thornton, who threw it from an airplane.

However, when the contraband (worth about $15 million) was discovered, investigators only found 40 empty packages lying around the bear.

Subsequently, a coroner examined the bear and said:

“Its stomach was literally packed to the brim with cocaine. There isn’t a mammal on the planet that could survive that.”

The bear’s supplier

The accidental supplier Andrew Thornton was a former lawyer and narcotics cop.

He was on his way to smuggle cocaine out of Colombia to deliver packages in northern Georgia.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigations said Thornton died after jumping from the plane, hitting his head against the tail, and failing to deploy his parachute.

The bear supplier was also found in an alley in Knoxville, Tennessee.

He wore night vision goggles, a bulletproof vest and completed his outfit with a pair of Gucci loafers.

Additionally, Thornton carried $4,500 in cash, guns, knives and keys for a plane.

Police then found nine bags of cocaine.

However, the tenth duffel bag was found with the actual “Cocaine Bear” in the Chattahoochee National Forest.

The bear

The original Cocaine Bear was later nicknamed “Pablo Eskobear.”

However, it is now stuffed for display and can be found at the Kentucky For Kentucky Store in Lexington.

Finally, Cocaine Bear will hit theaters on February 24, 2023.

Reference:

First trailer for Cocaine Bear film based on a true story has been released

Helping Make An Oscar-Nominated Movie: Dr. Savoy Brummer’s Contributions In The Making Of “King Richard” Deserve Applause

Leah Cooper on October 19, 2022

The best film of 2021, King Richard, needs no introduction. The movie is based on the life of living legend Richard Williams, father of tennis superstars Venus and Serena Williams. Will Smith played the iconic lead role and did justice to the character with his outstanding acting skills. But one fact that most of us are unaware of is that the movie was set to be released in 2020, but due to COVID-19, it was delayed twice.

King Richard made it to the big screen finally in November 2021. The movie went through a set of difficulties due to the global pandemic. Some of the main actors left the movie due to scheduling conflicts. Production wasn’t easy either due to preventive measures for the virus, restrictions, lockdowns, and social distancing caused a lot of struggles for the team. Still, one man that made it possible, and streamlined the whole process by providing health support through his expertise and years of experience, was Dr. Savoy Brummer.

A Hollywood Doctor who now has an iconic effect on the entertainment industry, Dr. Savoy Brummer is a diverse workforce consultant. He already had an impressive career as an award-winning physician executive, a healthcare and health equity leader, and a movie producer. Dr. Brummer is the CEO and Founder of Ivy League Capital, private equity and venture capital investment firm that focuses on early-stage investments in technology, healthcare, and media. His firm has exited several portfolio companies with 100% returns to investors, including media projects distributed across various platforms, including Netflix.

Dr. Brummer looks at the next generation of leaders to invest in because he is concerned with the current state of leadership in this country and globally. He is keen to get involved at the earliest stages of high-growth companies to help guide executives through the critical stages of company formation and scaling for growth.

In early 2020, Dr. Savoy Brummer was contacted by a senior Hollywood producer and asked to provide COVID-related educational services to prepare the entertainment industry to restart after being shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Brummer quickly embraced it and dove in headfirst. He spoke to various Hollywood unions regarding the possible applications of hospital-based procedures and COVID mitigation strategies.

For the movie “King Richard,” Dr. Brummer was responsible as COVID Compliance Officer working with Warner Brothers Pictures to reopen production safely during this pandemic by implementing COVID protocols that had never been used till that time. This was at a time when there were limited mask availability, no vaccinations, and first-generation testing. The production, which had already been suspended along with all of the other Hollywood productions, searched out an innovative partner to begin re-shooting as it would be one of the first major feature films to shoot post-COVID.

As an African American, Dr. Brummer continues to understand the importance of telling black inspirational stories. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the movie was shot over numerous months with a cast of thousands—several consecutive scenes involving over 500 extras. The film employed over 5,000 people to ensure it met all safety requirements helping to make an oscar-nominated movie.

A veteran producer who was in charge of production for Warner Bros reached out to him after a positive referral. This producer had a major project on their hands and was tasked with shooting the movie “King Richard,” starring Will Smith. The film was to be shot entirely in Los Angeles within the next one hundred days. The producer requested Dr. Brummer because he was a trusted physician and producer in his own right who understood and had a better knowledge of production. The production team was purposeful in wanting to make available culturally appropriate guidance and was concerned about the various actors and crew with diverse medical conditions and backgrounds that may have required special consideration. The producer also needed help implementing production-specific industry-wide guidelines and best practices for maintaining health, safety, and compliance with COVID-19 on set.

Dr. Brummer has worked with his colleagues to develop practical solutions for other tv and film productions. Dr. Brummer has been in charge of COVID-19 compliance for hundreds of Motion Pictures, TV shows, and streaming series. He has helped to bring back Hollywood while ensuring the health and safety of thousands of employees working on those productions.

From Georgia to California and beyond, his work takes him all over the country as he supports his portfolio of companies. He is a highly sought-after speaker on leadership and venture creation. Dr. Brummer founded ‘A Safe Way Forward,’ a company that helped crew and actors get back to work while keeping them safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr. Brummer has learned that movies are more than entertainment; they can change the world by telling stories that need to be told. He believes he can make a difference in every aspect of our society through art and health care and has found a way to make a difference in one of this industry’s most challenging times.

After a long, exhaustive journey to bring “King Richard” to the screen, the world can finally see it. With all of its ups and downs, the final product has been a joy to watch as it was meant for us to take away a personal lesson about human nature and life, in general, every time while watching it.

Diving into some of the most influential zombie films in horror

Claire Peterson on October 17, 2022

With modern horror, the zombie genre is among the most anticipated genres in entertainment today, whether it’s film or series.

The Walking Dead rejuvenated the genre, and its success (both comics and series) was primarily built on the foundations of George A. Romero’s works.

Here we will focus on the films that made the zombie genre a favorite among horror fans.

Note: The following article focuses on the mysterious nature of the zombie apocalypse. Movies about viruses, like 28 Days Later, are excluded.

Night of the Living Dead (1968 and 1990)

The modern zombie genre wouldn’t have existed without George A. Romero and John Russo.

Night of the Living Dead was a groundbreaking film that changed the media’s perception of zombies.

Before Romero, zombies were often associated with voodoo and Haitian witchcraft.

It was this film that created the way zombies are today.

Night of the Living Dead is also iconic for casting Duane Jones (an African-American actor) as the lead during a time of civil unrest and rampant racism.

Both films follow a group of people trapped on a farm in rural western Pennsylvania.

The group is tasked with surviving a growing horde of flesh-eating ghouls at night.

While George A. Romero directed the original, the 1990 remake was directed by Tom Savini, who assisted with the original’s special effects.

Savini’s version largely follows the same script but makes changes, following some of Romero’s original plans.

The Return of the Living Dead (1985)

Return of the Living Dead is the zombie movie that first used the classic “Brain!” line in parodies, cartoons, and games.

Although the film is titled “The Living Dead,” it is in no way related to the work of George A. Romero.

Instead, it was written and directed by legendary screenwriter Dan O’Brannon.

Return of the Living Dead is a horror comedy about warehouse workers, a gravedigger and a group of punks grappling with a horde of brain-hungry zombies.

In a nod to the movie Night of the Living Dead, warehouse workers accidentally open a barrel containing a zombie allegedly from the movie.

After the body is burned, the gas pollutes the air, causing toxic rain that revives the dead in a nearby cemetery.

Dawn of the Dead (2004)

Before starting the DCEU, Zack Snyder made his directorial debut with a remake of George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead.

Dawn of the Dead deviates from the original story but keeps the plot of a group of people trapped in a mall.

Snyder’s remake also brought running savage zombies back into the mainstream (Return of the Living Dead was one of the first to do so).

Shaun of the Dead (2004)

Shaun of the Dead, released the same year as the Dawn of the Dead remake, puts zombies in a mix of romance and comedy.

The film pays tribute to the works of George A. Romero (who loved the film).

Shaun of the Dead also continues Romero’s tradition of making a film with social commentary and using satire to tackle modern life.

Braindead (1992)

While zombie movies usually bring blood and guts, Peter Jackson took things to a new level.

The film follows a young man living with his opinionated mother, who is bitten by a rat-monkey hybrid from Skull Island (Jackson’s homage to King Kong before he directed the remake).

Despite being resurrected as a zombie and turning a handful of people, the man tries to keep his zombified mother a secret while he takes care of his family and his love life.

Braindead is one of the bloodiest films in the zombie genre, if not the bloodiest.

Land of the Dead (2005)

One of George A. Romero’s last three “dead” films, Land of the Dead, was originally the concept he planned for 1985’s Day of the Dead.

The success of Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead gave Romero the momentum needed to make this film.

Land of the Dead revolves around a group of survivors in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where a social divide exists.

The film also shows the evolution of Romero’s zombies from carnivorous spirits to creatures with some form of intelligence.

Dawn of the Dead (1978)

The Night of the Living Dead sequel, Dawn of the Dead, offers everything a horror fan could want.

Romero has involved horror, action, social commentary, and even comedy, making Dawn of the Dead the most comprehensive zombie movie.

Dawn of the Dead expands into Night of the Living Dead, revealing that the zombie apocalypse has taken place across the country.

In the film, a group of four manages to take a helicopter and take refuge in a shopping mall.

Having secured the ground, they fall into a false sense of comfort as the living and the dead wait outside.

Experienced voice actress Tara Strong takes a shot at Hollywood’s casting

Claire Peterson on October 17, 2022

Hollywood has brought iconic cartoons and video games to the big screens, but voice actors and actresses have been overshadowed by the biggest stars.

In recent years, Hollywood has made a habit of replacing some iconic voices with big names.

Tara Strong, a well-known voice actress, has criticized the latest Super Mario film for not handing the Mario role to her voice actor in the game, Charles Martinet.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie

The Super Mario Bros. Movie is a collaboration between Nintendo and Illumination, the animation division of Universal Pictures.

Announced in 2018, the film stars Chris Pratt as the iconic video game character.

Pratt is joined by Jack Black as Bowser, Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Charlie Day as Luigi, and Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong.

The original Mario voice Charles Martinet is still part of the Super Mario movie, but his role has not been revealed to the public.

Tara Strong

Tara Strong is one of the most famous voice actresses in animation and video games.

She is best known for lending her voice to The Powerpuff Girls, The Fairly Oddparents, Teen Titans, and more.

Strong posted a photo of her on Twitter with Martinet holding an illustration with the caption:

“It should be Charles.”

Although Tara Strong did not say it specifically, she believes that Charles Martinet should be offered the role of the character he has played since 1992.

She followed up with another tweet, criticizing Hollywood’s trend of using big names instead of veteran voice actors.

“Voice actors- I’m gonna put up my heart & soul in this for at least 20 years, help sell billions in merch, make the studio millions of dollars, & make generations around the world happy,” she tweeted.

“Hollywood- We don’t care.”

Charles Martinet

The day after her tweets, Tara Strong posted a tweet inviting people to share their favorite photos and stories with Martinet.

Moved by the love from fans, he replied:

“I love your Tara! Thank you so much! Thank you everybody!”

“Your love and kindness mean more than you could ever know, and genuinely touched my heart,” Martinet added.

“My little eyes seem to be leaking today… with tender affection. Thank you…”

Tara Strong’s final thoughts

Tara Strong’s tweets quickly gained ground, but some spoke strongly about the short clip of Pratt’s performance as Mario.

One person insisted that people were too hard on the Guardians of the Galaxy actor from the two lines of dialogue in the trailer.

They also claimed that Martinet had been assigned the part, but declined as it would have been too exhausting for him to dub an entire film.

“Literally not one thing about your tweet is true,” Strong responded.

“No one should be judging Chris, he’s a fantastic actor…this is only about what’s right & Charles should have been offered the role.”

References:

Tara Strong comments on Chris Pratt’s casing in the Super Mario movie: “it should be Charles”

Halloween movie recommendations: slasher films to binge

Nicholas Alexander on October 10, 2022

With Halloween coming in a few weeks, what better way to get into the spirit of the spooky season than by watching some horror movies?

However, horror branches out into many sub-genres, and the focus of this article is to take a look at some of the best movies in the slasher genre.

Psycho (1960)

Psycho is about Marion Crane (Janet Leigh), who leaves after stealing money from her employer to run away with her lover (John Gavin).

However, she makes a stop at the Bates Motel, run by the polite and quiet Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins), apparently dominated by his ruthless mother.

Alfred Hitchcock’s psychological horror may not have been the father of slasher films, but it’s often touted as one of the pioneering slasher films.

Psycho is easily one of the most recognizable films, and the shower scene has become one of the most iconic moments in film history.

The film’s music has also become synonymous with the slasher film genre.

Friday the 13th (1980)

Friday the 13th follows a group of teenage camp counselors as they try to fix and reopen an abandoned summer camp.

Aside from the challenge of renovating the old summer camp, they have to survive as someone tries to kill them.

Although there have been several slasher films, Friday the 13th is arguably the most influential of them all.

The cliché of a group of teenagers killed one by one in a field began with this 1980 slasher film.

Friday the 13th was responsible for initiating the “stalker” subgenre in slasher films that show the killer’s perspective as he follows his victims.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

Five hippies embark on a journey through rural Texas to investigate a case of grave vandalism.

Along the way, however, they arrive at a farm where they must survive a family of cannibals and a chainsaw maniac.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential films in the horror genre.

For many, it raised the bar and introduced the public to blood that wasn’t as common at the time.

One of the most iconic horror characters, Leatherface, is the archetype of the hulking silent killer with no personality.

Many horror directors have credited The Texas Chain Saw Massacre as a huge influence on their works, including Alien, The Hills Have Eyes, and House of 1000 Corpses.

Halloween (1978)

On Halloween night in 1963, six-year-old Michael Myers brutally murdered his 15-year-old sister, which led to him getting confined in an asylum.

Fifteen years after his murder, Myers manages to escape from the psychiatric hospital and the riots in his hometown.

Before Jason Voorhees, there was Michael Myers, who laid the groundwork for the masked silent killer who walked silently as his victims tried to escape.

The movie helped take the slasher genre to the next level and introduced the latest female trope.

Halloween also paved the way for others in the genre to follow.

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

The Elm Street teenagers say they’ve all had nightmares and, surprisingly, dream of the same character.

After one of them dies in his sleep, they realize that in order to figure out how to defeat Freddy Kreuger (Robert Englund), it’s important to uncover the truth.

Before Vecna from Stranger Things, Freddy Kreuger was the character that haunted people’s nightmares.

He is easily recognizable by his burnt flesh, his beige fedora, his red and green sweater, and, of course, his metal claws.

A Nightmare on Elm Street also introduced the eerie use of surreal settings, with a haunting nursery rhyme about the villain.

Child’s Play (1988)

After being shot, a killer (Brad Dourif) uses dark magic to transfer his soul into a nearby doll.

A woman (Catherine Hicks) unknowingly purchases the possessed doll for her son (Alex Vincent).

When it comes to the slasher genre, it’s impossible to exclude the biggest killer doll from the list.

Chucky has given many children nightmares by bringing the killer doll concept to life on screens.

Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)

The sequel to Friday the 13th will hit theaters a year later.

However, the storyline takes place five years after the event, with much of the same storyline.

The main difference is that this film marked the debut of the iconic character Jason Voorhees as the antagonist.

In this film, Jason remains the behemoth he knows today, but it wasn’t until Friday the 13th Part III (1982) that he wore his iconic hockey mask.

Scream (1996)

If there was a movie that took every element of the horror genre and created something new.

Filled with meta references, Scream makes countless references to the unspoken rules of the slasher and horror genres.

Scream spawned six sequels and a short-lived series, redefining the horror genre from the 1990s to the early 2000s.

I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)

Urban legends have been the source of many horror films, and in the case of this film, they certainly cemented the hookman as a horror staple.

Four friends driving to the beach accidentally hit a pedestrian and dumped him in the harbor, vowing never to talk about the accident.

A year later, they are chased one by one and killed by an unknown attacker who uses a hook as a weapon.

I Know What You Did Last Summer, along with Scream, helped revive the horror genre in the 1990s.

Prey (2022): More Than Just Another Hollywood Reboot

Edward Anderson on August 15, 2022

Prey is Hollywood’s latest remake/reboot film and continues the story of the alien hunter that debuted in the late 1980s.

Rather than continue the mess left by the 2018 movie Predators, Prey director Dan Trachtenberg decided to start over and bring audiences back to one of the earliest Predator stories.

Warning: spoilers ahead

Movie synopsis

“A skilled Comanche warrior protects her tribe from a highly evolved alien predator that hunts humans for sport, fighting against wilderness, dangerous colonizers, and this dangerous creature to keep her people safe.”

Plot

Prey introduces viewers to a time when machine guns didn’t become our first line of defense against alien threats.

In 1719, we meet Amber Midthunders Naru, a Comanche who yearns to prove herself as a warrior.

Naru sees the Predator’s arrival and believes it is a sign that she is ready to undergo the ritual to cement her status as a warrior.

When one of their hunters goes missing, Naru and her brother Taabe go in search of one of them.

While tracking down their tribe members, Naru is the only person to notice the unusual footprints and skinned rattlesnake – the remnants of the Predator’s hunt for a worthy opponent.

Naru helps Taabe track down the cougar who injured their hunter.

Naru weakens the wildcat before being knocked out in a fall after witnessing a burst of light from the forest.

Back in the village, Taabe takes the honor and title of the chieftain, leading Naru to hunt down the greatest threat to the tribe.

Accompanied by her dog Sarii, Naru comes across a field full of skinned bison.

On the journey, she is attacked by a grizzly bear who corners her in a beaver dam before witnessing the threat and brute strength of the Predator.

Naru narrowly escapes before encountering members of her tribe who have been sent to find her.

They take her by force before meeting the Predator, who efficiently reduces their number.

Again, Naru escaped before being captured by the French colonizers.

They use her and a captured Taabe as bait to lure the Predator, which quickly kills the French colonizers.

Naru returns to their camp and helps an injured Raphael Adolini, by giving him herbs that reduce his body heat, making him invisible to the Predator.

A step on his injured leg causes him to scream in pain, and he is killed, but Naru now knows how to get the upper hand against her enemy.

Taabe arrives on horseback to save his sister as he weakens the Predator.

However, the alien manages to kill Taabe. Naru takes Adolini’s rifle and escapes.

She later captures one of the French and uses him as bait for the Predator.

The Predator falls for it, and Naru uses the herb to sneak up behind it and shoot it in the head, disabling its helmet.

She drags the Predator into a swamp and uses its helmet’s projectile weapons against it.

The Predator dies from its wounds, and Naru decapitates the Predator before painting her face in its blood, taking its head and Adolini’s weapon with him.

Returning to the tribe, she is celebrated for her victory and becomes the new war chief.

Towards the end of the credits, a cave painting depicts three Predator ships emerging from the sky.

The cast

Amber Midthunder as Naru
Dakota Beavers as Taabe
Dane DiLiegro in the role of the Predator
Stormee Kipp as Wasape
Bennett Taylor as Raphael Adolini
Michelle Thrush as Aruka
Julian Black Antelope as Chief Kehetu

Review

One of the best sequels for the (small) screen, Prey combines modern technology with a nostalgic formula.

In a time when movies rely primarily on the green screen to tell a story, this Predator sequel takes viewers back to where the series began: in the wild.

The story works perfectly and shows the Predator before it became one of the deadliest hunters chasing Arnold Schwarzenegger, Danny Glover and Adrien Brody in its game.

Although not as technologically advanced as previous films, the film’s Predator features everything that made it a sci-fi icon – the invisibility cloak, projectile weapons (replacing cannons with mini darts) and the retractable blade.

The Predator’s helmet is also different, using a skull-like design that fits the era perfectly.

Prey didn’t have to rely heavily on CGI effects for his monster (aside from the invisible cloak scenes) and kept it pretty much the same as in previous films.

Dane DiLiegro has done a spectacular job that truly honors the legacy of the late Kevin Peter Hall, the original Predator.

In addition to the significant details of the Predator look, the production team’s efforts to portray the Comanche tribe in the film deserve credit for its accurate clothing, village setting, and hunting lifestyle.

Also not to be missed is the performance of Amber Midthunder.

Midthunder may be a new name for many, but she’s been in Hollywood for over two decades.

While online critics would quickly point to Naru’s characterization as another “Mary Sue,” their sentiments seem to be based on the trailer alone.

Throughout the film, Midthunder’s Naru showed intelligence in understanding the enemy’s strengths and weaknesses (noting the use of its shield and vision).

Rather than being “the last girl,” she displays the same spirit as beloved characters like Sigourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley and Linda Hamilton’s Sarah Connor.

Despite the short run time, director Dan Trachtenberg managed his time wisely by enriching the backstory of Amber Midthunder’s character and the Predator before their eventual confrontation.

Trachtenberg has found the right balance to give viewers enough story to root for Naru as he built the Predator’s revelation, a task that usually ends with sloppy execution.

Prey also did well in attracting mainstream and Comanche audiences by shooting the film in both English and Comanche.

Overall, Prey managed to hit all the right notes.

Links to previous movies

Prey offers something new and familiar, which is why he receives positive words from all over the world.

Here we look at what connects Prey to other Predator standalone films.

Predator (1987)

The father of the franchise, Predator is famous for its story, which pits a group of seasoned veterans against an unknown enemy.

Predator and Prey share the same natural environment, so fans were excited to see how the final product would turn out, especially as Naru was without the weapons Schwarzenegger had at his disposal.

However, people tend to forget that even Schwarzenegger’s character gave up bullets to use his wits to take on the Predator – the same way Midthunder’s Naru finished off her enemy.

Dakota Beavers Taabe also repeats the iconic line, “If it bleeds, we can kill it.”

Predator 2 (1990)

The often overlooked sequel, Predator 2 is the movie that ties directly into Prey as the former Predator throws the same gun at Mike Harrigan (Danny Glover) that Naru took.

The gun might hint that a sequel might be underway, and the reception only reinforces that sentiment.

Predators (2010)

The 2010 action movie was the first to feature the different types of predators.

Prey continues this trend by wearing a Predator design initially used for the 1987 film and later used in the 2010 sequel.

It is possible that the helmet used here came from the same creature that attacked Adrien Brody in the film.

The Predator (2018)

Prey’s predecessor is the only film unrelated to it.