The trailer for the upcoming film Cocaine Bear caused quite a stir on social media when it dropped earlier this month. The black comedy-thriller follows an “oddball group of cops, criminals, tourists, and teens” as they “converge in a Georgia forest where a 500-pound black bear goes on a murderous rampage after unintentionally ingesting cocaine,” as per the official synopsis.
Slated for release in February, Cocaine Bear is directed by Elizabeth Banks and stars Goodfellas’ actor Ray Liotta in his final role before his death in May. But despite the bizarre nature of the film’s plot, Cocaine Bear is actually loosely based on an equally-bizarre true story.
The events unfolded on September 11, 1985, when the body of a heavily-armed man was found on a driveway in Knoxville, Tennessee. Police found Andrew Carter Thornton II – a drugs kingpin and former narcotics officer – wearing a bulletproof vest and carrying two pistols, knives, $4,500 in cash and around 35kg of cocaine.
