Elizabeth Banks has spoken out about a controversial sequence in her new film, Cocaine Bear. The film, which Banks has directed, focuses on a black bear that goes on the rampage in Georgia’s Chattahoochee National Forest after devouring a significant amount of lost cocaine. 

The Controversy  

One scene in particular apart from the mélange of crazy scenes in the action-packed movie is stirring much controversy when two children, played by Brooklynn Prince and Christian Convery, are seen to be trying cocaine. 

 “It was definitely controversial,” Elizabeth Banks conceded in a new interview with Variety Magazine. “The question of whether to age these characters was discussed. Guys, they have to be 12,” we said while kind of holding hands. Their innocence is being examined, she added. 

Christopher Miller, the producer, also remarked that “The kids’ naivety makes it understandable. It is what both makes it amusing and tense. If they are teens, it doesn’t work. It must be that stage in life where you want to act as though you know everything.” 

Cocaine Bear: Plot and Cast 

Cocaine Bear is based on the true story of a bear that overdosed on an illegal substance in 1985. The bear ate 70lbs (31.8kg) of cocaine worth an estimated $15m, which was dropped out of a plane by drug smuggler Andrew Thornton, the son of wealthy Kentucky horse breeders. 

The movie also stars Keri Russell of The Americans, as well an ensemble cast that includes her husband Matthew Rhys, Margo Martindale, O’Shea Jackson Jr, Alden Ehrenreich, and Jesse Tyler Ferguson.  It also features one of the final ever movie performances of Goodfellas actor Ray Liotta, who died while filming the movie Dangerous Waters in the Dominican Republic in May last year. Cocaine Bear will be out in cinemas on Friday 24 February.