''A bear on a bender'': Cocaine Bear director Elizabeth Banks opens up on her new movie

Actor-director Elizabeth Banks recently appeared in The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, wherein she spoke about her highly anticipated movie, Cocaine Bear. Banks described the movie at length and jokingly mentioned that,

''It's (the movie is about) a bear on a bender.''

Cocaine Bear is directed by Elizabeth Banks, with the screenplay penned by Jimmy Warden. The film is partly inspired by the true story of a bear who reportedly ingested a bag of cocaine way back in 1985. The movie is set to be released in theaters on February 24, 2023.

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Elizabeth Banks talks about Cocaine Bear's CGI process

Elizabeth Banks spoke at length about the plot of Cocaine Bear and the true story that it is based on. Banks said:

''There was a drug runner in the 1980s, and his MO was that he'd drop drugs out of a low-flying plane for people to pick up on the ground. And this one night, the drug run goes wrong - he drops the drugs into the woods. And a bear gets into the drugs. This all happened in real-life.''

She further continued:

''And they never recovered any of the drug. But what they found months later was an OD'ed bear in the woods, who'd eaten, like, 70 pounds of cocaine. And so this movie imagines what would have happened in the hours after that bear first found the bag.''

During the interview, Elizabeth Banks also mentioned that the bear was depicted using CGI, but many, she said, believed the bear was real.

Apart from Cocaine Bear, Elizabeth Banks has directed other movies like Pitch Perfect 2 and Charlie's Angels. Her acting credits include Magic Mike XXL, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1, and Every Secret Thing, to name a few.

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A quick look at Cocaine Bear cast, plot, and more details

Cocaine Bear tells the story of a bear who eats a massive amount of cocaine, following which it embarks on a brutal killing spree. Take a look at the official description of the movie, according to Universal Pictures:

''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 coke-fueled rampage for more blow … and blood.''

The film stars Keri Russell as Colette Matthews in the lead role. She appears to be one of the many looking to escape from the murderous bear. Not many other details about her character are known at this point.

Russell looks brilliant in the film's trailer, capturing her character's tension and fear convincingly. Apart from Cocaine Bear, Keri Russell is best known for her performances in Felicity, The Americans, and August Rush, among many more.

The rest of the supporting cast includes numerous other actors like O'Shea Jackson Jr. as Howard, Christian Convery as Henry, and Alden Ehrenreich as Marty, among many more. The film also stars Ray Liotta as Dentwood in one of his last movie roles.