Missoula Born Actor to Star in Upcoming ‘Cocaine Bear’ Movie 2023

Montana is bear country, and bear encounters are a part of everyday life. That is why we always spread the advice to always be "bear aware." Just recently, many Montanans have had close bear encounters. So much so that MCPS has asked parents to not allow their kids to walk home from school due to multiple black bear sightings.

For the most part, black bears are pretty harmless. They are mostly just hairy pigs looking to pack on as many pounds on fat as they can before taking their long winter's nap. Which is why we have become accustomed, and not terrified, to seeing them around our communities. Rarely do we hear of black bears attacking people in Montana. Even though it has happened occasionally. But, just imagine encountering a bear that is under the influence of pounds of cocaine. Things might be a little different.

Back in 1985, a black bear in Kentucky was found to have ingested a duffel bag full of cocaine.

According to Wikipedia

The cocaine was dropped out from an airplane piloted by Andrew C. Thornton II, a former narcotics officer and convicted drug smuggler, because his plane was carrying too heavy a load. Thornton then jumped off the plane with a faulty parachute and died. The bear was found three months later in northern Georgia alongside 40 opened plastic containers of cocaine.

Now, it appears that a script based off of that story will soon be a feature length film. 'Cocaine Bear' is an upcoming thriller about a bear that ingests a massive amount of cocaine and goes on a killing spree.

Directed by Elizabeth Banks (Hunger Games) and starring the late Ray Liotta (Goodfellas), the upcoming movie also stars a Missoula born celebrity. Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family.)

No trailer has been released for the upcoming movie. But, the thriller is expected to be released on February 24th 2023.