These Things Sometimes Write Themselves
The man whose career goes up and down and around, Will Ferrell, is back with Netflix.
From the trades:
Will Ferrell has attached to star in and produce a feature film that Netflix will make based on its documentary The Legend of Cocaine Island. Peter Steinfeld will write the script, and Ferrell will produce with Gloria Sanchez Production’ Jessica Elbaum, and David Permut (Hacksaw Ridge) through his Permut Presentations. Theo Love, who helmed the docu will exec produce with Bryan Storkel.
The name of the documentary alone is enough to watch the trailer.
A Remake of a Documentary
Netflix is moving into the territory of cannibalizing its own properties and fictionalizing its own truths in order to generate attention on their platform.
From the trades, yet again:
In the documentary, a small-business owner and family man comes across the legend of a buried stash of cocaine worth $2 million hidden in the Caribbean. Having been wiped out during the Great Recession, he hatches a plan to retrieve the buried loot, using the talents of a band of colorful misfits. But without prior drug-running experience, trouble ensues.
This seems like a cross between Breaking Bad and The House in which Ferrell hammed it up in with the painfully unfunny Amy Poehler.
What Are We To Make of All of This?
The name, the source material, and the actor/producer Ferrell attached, it seems like this might have legs, or might be able to generate enough interest to push viewing for at least one Saturday afternoon.
However, the chances are good that this will end up in the back of the Netflix queue for most subscribers in a fashion similar to Between Two Ferns: The Movie.
