The late Ray Liotta is seen in one of his final roles in the first preview released for the comedy Cocaine Bear, which showcases a drug-addled bear on a murderous rampage.
The action comedy movie, directed by Elizabeth Banks, is based on the true story of a black bear in 1985 who found and consumed a multimillion dollar package of cocaine smugglers air-dropped into a forest in the state of Georgia.
While the bear in real life died from an overdose near where officials found torn-up packages that contained the drug, the film takes artistic license with the premise, sending the bear on a bloody spree involving multiple people.
The latest: The late Ray Liotta is seen in one of his final roles in the first preview released for the comedy Cocaine Bear, which showcases a drug-addled bear on a murderous rampage
The trailer, underscored to the 1983 song White Lines (Don’t Don’t Do It) from Grandmaster Flash & Melle Mel, depicts the insanity that ensues when officials and tourists encounter the frenetic bear.
Liotta’s character, a drug kingpin, dispatches two of his underlings (Alden Ehrenreich and O’Shea Jackson Jr.) to find and recover the missing contraband.
‘A lot of cocaine was lost – I need you to go and get it,’ Liotta’s character said.
They encounter the bear and deduce that it had broken into the drug stash, as Ehrenreich tells Liotta’s character: ‘The bear, it f***ing did cocaine – a bear did cocaine!’
Liotta’s character, a drug kingpin, dispatches two of his underlings to find and recover the missing contraband in the film
The bear is seen dripping with blood after a murderous rampage while high on drugs
Keri Russell is seen hiding from the bear on the other side of a tree
In another sequence, Isiah Whitlock Jr. watches the bear consume the drug, saying, ‘Let’s see what kind of effect that has on him.’
The film also features a mom played by Keri Russell looking for her daughter (Brooklynn Prince) and her friend (Christian Convery) who are in the woods not knowing about the rampaging bear.
The movie also features Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Kristofer Hivju, Hannah Hoekstra, Aaron Holliday and Margo Martindale.
Liotta died May 26 at the age of 67 in the Dominican Republic, where he was working on the film Dangerous Waters. According to iMDB, other projects he was working on at the time of his passing include The Substance; April 29, 1992; and El Tonto.
Isiah Whitlock Jr. watches the bear consume the drug, saying, ‘Let’s see what kind of effect that has on him’
The bear is seen with a package of cocaine in its mouth in the preview
The bear is seen amid a dust cloud of cocaine after consuming the substance
Banks, speaking with The Hollywood Reporter at an event in support of the film, said that the upcoming movie is similar to her other films (Pitch Perfect 2, Charlie’s Angels) in that it focuses on the underdogs.
‘All of my films so far, mostly, are about underdogs, and no matter who you are, if you meet a bear who is high on cocaine, you are the underdog in that situation,’ Banks told the outlet. ‘And that presents an opportunity just for a lot of comedy and delight.’
She opened up on the influences that inspired aspects of Cocaine Bear, such as Jaws and Stand by Me.
‘I love horror, and I love gore, and I love horror-comedy, and I love Sam Raimi, and I love John Carpenter,’ Banks said. ‘This takes place in 1985, so I felt like this was a real opportunity to create an homage to some of those kinds of films, but to do something unique tonally because it is also a character piece.’
The motion picture is slated to arrive in theaters February 24.
Director Elizabeth Banks said that Jaws and Stand by Me both influenced the movie
The intoxicated bear is seen leaping into a moving ambulance in the action comedy
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