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Get in line, because Cocaine Bear has made its way to Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital following a successful theatrical run. The “Maximum Rampage Edition” features several featurettes, including a fun audio commentary by director/producer Elizabeth Banks and producer (and Banks’ husband) Max Handelman.
Here are eight things I learned from the Cocaine Bear commentary…
1. The film opens with a Wet Hot American Summer reference.
Cocaine Bear opens to the tune of Jefferson Starship’s “Jane,” which many will recognize as the theme song to Wet Hot American Summer, the film in which Banks got her start. She explains:
“This song straight up is an homage to Wet Hot American Summer. Anybody who knows my work knows Wet Hot American Summer was technically my first movie as Elizabeth Banks. That’s my SAG card, got it on that movie. This is the opening song to Wet Hot American Summer, and I sent David Wain, the director of that movie, a note to say ‘I’m gonna start the movie with ‘Jane,’ and I hope that’s okay!’ And he was like, ‘Yeah, go for it! Have it.’”
Banks initially wanted to start the movie with “Major Tom (Coming Home)” but was unable to clear it because singer Peter Schilling didn’t want it associated with a movie called Cocaine Bear.
2. Patrick Dempsey was considered for the role of drug smuggler Andrew Thornton.
The part of real-life, ill-fated drug smuggler Andrew Thornton was not yet cast when production was gearing up in Ireland. Banks was considering offering the role to Patrick Dempsey, who was also in Ireland filming Disenchanted.
Matthew Rhys, husband of star Keri Russell and longtime friend of Banks, texted and asked if he could play the part. “He saved my life by saying, ‘Can I just do it?’”
3. Paul Reubens had to approve the use of Pee-Wee Herman footage.
A montage of vintage anti-drug PSAs follows the film’s opening title card, including one in which Paul Reubens as Pee-wee Herman details the dangers of crack.
“Had to call Paul Reubens personally and talk to him about allowing us to use him in the movie,” Banks recalls. “I met Paul Reubens at a Christmas party that Conan O’Brien hosted before I ever made this movie and then happened to see him again. So we met, he knew me a little bit, and we follow each other on Instagram.”
They also had to fight to get permission to use Tom Brokaw’s NBC News coverage of the 1985 event that inspired the movie.
4. Jason Bateman and Ben Falcone make photo cameos.
Banks hid some of her friends among the set decor as Easter eggs. The first is Jason Bateman, whose vintage poster adorns Dee Dee’s wall alongside the likes of Madonna and Duran Duran. “He was very excited and felt like it was the type of exposure Bateman needs,” Handelman jokes.
An old photo of Ben Falcone — filmmaker, actor, and husband to Melissa McCarthy — can be seen on a “Wanted” poster in the police station. Banks and Falcone previously appeared together in What to Expect When You’re Expecting and The Happytime Murders.
5. The studio wanted the child characters to be older.
Universal asked Banks if she’d consider aging up Dee Dee and Henry, played by 11-year-old Brooklynn Prince and 12-year-old Christian Convery, respectively.
“They thought in a movie about drugs and murder and gore that having these two kids be this young might be a turn off, but I honestly have to say there’s movies on my reference list — one of them is Stand by Me — where young-ish, pre-teen adolescents find themselves in adult situations, and it’s always funny.”
Banks wanted it to be believable that the kids would need saving. “I just knew that, tonally for the movie, you don’t need to save a 15-year-old from the woods. They can save themselves.” She also wanted the kids to be smaller than Keri Russell, who stands 5’4″. Thankfully, the studio allowed it.
6. Jurassic Park and Pulp Fiction inspired sequences in the film.
The scene in which the bear approaches Henry and Peter when they’re in the trees was inspired by Jurassic Park. Banks notes:
“This was very much inspired by Jurassic Park. How do you create a jump scare? How do we sell the idea that the bear has left? What are the different levels to this sequence? ‘Cause we’ve already had the bear attack once. The bear attacks once, how do you up the ante?”
Similarly, Liz accidentally shooting Ponytail was inspired by Vincent accidentally shooting Marvin in Pulp Fiction, complete with copious blood spatter.
7. Daveed survives at O’Shea Jackson Jr.’s request.
In the original script, Daveed died in the river after being shot in the neck, but O’Shea Jackson Jr.’s only request was for his character to survive.
Banks recalls him saying, “As a Black man in Hollywood, I am gonna do my best to never die in a movie, because Black men die in too many movies.” Considering he was already perpetuating the drug dealer stereotype, she had no problem reworking the script to allow Daveed to live.
8. Elizabeth Banks loves horror movies.
When discussing the late decision to remove a graphic close-up of a victim whose face had been torn off by a bear because “the gore was starting to overwhelm the storyline,” Banks reveals that she’s not sure that was the right decision:
“I would have gone for it every time. I love gore. I love horror movies. I love the opportunity to reference movies and things that I love in this movie. Practical effects, love that.”
One of us! One of us!
Cocaine Bear is available now on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital via Universal.
