Fast talking character actor – the legendary and ever-likeable John Leguizamo – looks set to take the lead in director Brad Furman’s passion project THE BALLAD OF PABLO ESCOBAR. Furman has struggled to get the project off the ground after the critical success of THE LINCOLN LAWYER, and so moved on to the upcoming gambling thriller, RUNNER RUNNER, starring Ben Affleck and Justin Timberlake. However, he’s determined to make the rise of the Columbian cocaine kingpin his next project with DRIVE’s Oscar Isaac and ELYSIUM’s Wagner Moura no longer in the running.
Leguizamo has actually posted a couple Vine videos (here and here) in make-up tests to potentially take on the role of the ruthless drug lord, as well as an image of him donning the facial prosthetics right here. It’s rumoured he has stiff competition from an unknown actor but with Leguizamo having previously worked with director, we say he’s favourite. The plot takes place after Escobar’s family is almost killed in a car bombing, leaving him on a trail of vengeance with a rival drug supplier and the government, as he attempts to protect his loved ones.
Of course, THE BALLED OF PABLO ESCOBAR isn’t the only project in the works with focus on the feared cartel criminal. Benicio del Toro has just completed shooting PARADISE LOST, which is a fantasy-like thriller about a surfer (Josh Hutcherson), who discovers the girl he’s just fallen in love with in Columbia is the niece of Escobar.
Production will begin on THE BALLAD OF PABLO ESCOBAR next month.
Source: Latino Review
