The New York Times just published a good rundown of the whole Pablo Escobar biopic entanglement. For the new kids: Joe Carnahan and the team of Antoine Fuqua and Oliver Stone (with backing from the Yari Film Group and J2 Pictures, respectively) each want to make films about the late drug lord, and we’re all waiting to see who crosses the finish line first, especially now that White Jazz is looking as vital as
But the Times adds a new wrinkle, which could become more meaningful at this weeks American Film Market. A third, albeit less powerful player is in the game: Hannibal Pictures, which is touting Escobar, a film to be directed by Alexander Witt. Who? He made the second Resident Evil flick. You know, the bad one.
The law firm of Hannibal and Witt alone isn’t powerful enough to deter either of the other films from getting made, but the noise added by a third utterly superfluous Escobar project could tip the scales in a new direction. In the past,