Trivia / Cocaine Bear

• Awesome, Dear Boy:
  • Elizabeth Banks jumped on to direct this movie after reading the script. She also was readily willing to work with Phil Lord & Chris Miller again after voicing Wyldstyle in The LEGO Movie.
  • Ray Liotta reportedly had an absolute blast filming this movie, and felt very connected to the shooting location in Ireland due to him discovering that he was of Irish descent shortly before shooting. When he came in to record ADR later in the film's production, Liotta also gave praise to the CGI used for the bear.
  • Keri Russell signed on for this film after learning that Margo Martindale was also starring in it, as the prospect of working with her in Ireland was too good to pass up.
• California Doubling: The film, though set in Tennessee and Georgia, was filmed in Wicklow, Ireland.
• Colbert Bump: Much like The Last of Us with "Never Let Me Down Again" earlier in 2023, the usage of Depeche Mode's "Just Can't Get Enough" in Cocaine Bear brought the song a resurgence in recognition when the movie released.
• Completely Different Title:
  • The title in European French is the English-language Crazy Bear. The French Canadian title, however, makes the implication of the original title explicit: Ours sous cocaïne ("Bear on Cocaine").
  • Arabic (دب مجنون / dubun majnun) and Turkish (Çıldırmış Ayı) both use titles which translate to "Crazy Bear".
  • Spanish: Oso Vicioso ("Vicious Bear") in Spain, Oso Intoxicado ("Intoxicated Bear") in Latin America.
  • Ukrainian: Ведмідь під кайфом (Vedmidʹ pid kayfom), translating to "The Bear Is High".
  • Hebrew: חומר דוב (Homer Dov), which is a pun on homer tov, a euphemism for high-quality drugs (literally "good material"), with "tov" ("good") replaced with "dov" ("bear").
• Follow the Leader: It did not took long for The Asylum to announce a mockbuster version of the film, strangely enough also inspired by real events: Attack of the Meth Gator.
• International Coproduction: An American-Japanese coproduction between Universal (US) and Toho (Japan).
• Posthumous Credit: This is one of the final roles for actor Ray Liotta following his death in May 2022.
• Production Posse:
  • Three actors from The Americans – Keri Russell, Matthew Rhys, and Margo Martindale – appear in this film.
  • Elizabeth Banks reunites with The LEGO Movie franchise director / producer team Phil Lord & Chris Miller, only this time she's the one directing. Another returning cast member is Alden Ehrenreich, who was directed by the duo on Solo: A Star Wars Story until they were replaced by Ron Howard.
  • Mark Mothersbaugh once again unites with Banks (Pitch Perfect 2) and Lord and Miller (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, 21 Jump Street, The LEGO Movie).
• Production Nickname: Elizabeth Banks revealed during interviews the bear's was "Cokey". Notably, the bear had an 'actual' nickname in real life (Pablo Escobear) but was probably skipped due to the bear being female in the film.
• Spared by the Cut: Liz seemingly dies from falling out of a moving vehicle in the Final Cut but is seen bandaged, alive, and vengefully hunting the bear in the alternate ending.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Apparently, the first draft of the film was supposed to be much gorier than the final product, although the final cut still has quite a number of bloody moments.
  • Ready or Not directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillet were approached to direct the project, but they both opted out due to being busy with Scream (2022).
  • Natalie Holt (best known for Loki and Obi-Wan Kenobi) was originally going to compose the film but was replaced by Mark Mothersbaugh.

---