Killing Pablo:THe Hunt for the World's Greatest Outlaw

[Dark Donnie]

Director:
Joe Carnahan

Writer:
Mark Bowden(Book)
Joe Carnahan(Screenplay)

Plot Outline:
Killing Pablo is a biography of a Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar and details the efforts by both the United States government and the Colombian government to stop illegal activities committed by him and his subordinates, up to his eventual death. Written by acclaimed author Mark Bowden, it documents the hunt and capture of the man who came to be known as "the world's most famous fugitive."


Starring:

Javier Bardem(Rumorer)Pablo Escobar

Christian Bale(Attached) Major Steve Jacoby

 

[Dark Donnie]

Article from Bardem

Javier Bardem Talks to Cinematical About 'Killing Pablo'
Posted Jun 29th 2007 10:31AM by Ryan Stewart
Filed under: Action & Adventure, Drama, Casting, Deals, Scripts & Screenwriting

Back in April, Joe Carnahan told me that Javier Bardem was a "marked man," destined to take on the lead role in his next passion project about the life of Pablo Escobar. "He and I are constantly battling," Carnahan said, "but I'll get him if it's my last ... I'm gonna get him. He knows. He's a marked man, so we're gonna firm it up here soon." In fact, the word is that Carnahan wants to jump directly into Killing Pablo after he finishes shooting White Jazz in early 2008. The sticking point has apparently always been Bardem, who was still haggling with Carnahan over details back in April and, I learned yesterday, is still haggling with him to this day. I had a chance to speak with Bardem at the press junket for Goya's Ghosts, and asked him straight up if he was down for playing Pablo or not. Here's what he had to say about that.

"We are still ... he sent me the script. It's something that is in the back of our heads. Pablo Escobar is an amazing character to play, because he's bigger than life. He's an amazing character, but Pablo Escobar is somebody that is not simple. He has to be written in a very complex way, because he's not only a villain. He did horrible things, but also he was considered a hero somehow in his country, because he brought villages and schools and light to some villages that were totally in misery. Like it or not, that's also Pablo Escobar, and that has to be pictured. That has to be seen, in order to understand why still there are some masses with thousands of people going there to pray for him. He's not only a bad guy. He was, but he's more complex than that. So I would love to work with Joe. I met him several times, and I would be more than pleased to do it. I guess he's also doing some other things, but that will happen." So there you have it.

http://www.cinematical.com/2007/06/29/javier-bardem-talks-to-cinematical-about-killing-pablo/

 

[Hunter Rider]

Bardmen and Bale ? should be awesome if it gets off the ground, I hope Carnahan finds the Narc director in him again after Smokin' Aces.

 

[AhabTheArab]

been waiting for a good movie about la cosa nostra.

 

[Hunter Rider]

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=37901

Bardem and Bale in Killing Pablo
Source: Variety
October 2, 2007


The Yari Film Group is fast-tracking Killing Pablo, the long-gestating biopic about the late Pablo Escobar, with Javier Bardem and Christian Bale (Batman Begins, The Dark Knight) toplining.

Variety says the project, based on Mark Bowden's novel "Killing Pablo: The Hunt for the World's Greatest Outlaw," has been in development for nearly five years.

Joe Carnahan (Narc, Smokin' Aces) remains attached to direct, with Bob Yari, Mark Gordon and Jason Zelin producing.

Bardem is slated to play Escobar, while Bale is in talks to play Major Steve Jacoby, the Delta Force commander who led the hunt for Escobar.

Escobar's rise as a leader of the drug cartel in Medellin, Colombia, began in the 1970s. After years of terrorizing police and political leaders, Escobar was targeted in 1992 by a coalition of Colombian police and military, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency and the CIA; he was killed the following year.

 

[scifiwolf]

Between constant airings of the doc on the History Channel about Pablo and Clear and Present Danger, I've been really eager for this movie to get made. Glade to see it's got some real momentum now.

 

[Hunter Rider]

http://www.latinoreview.com/news/carnahan-pablo-before-jazz-3130

Carnahan: Pablo Before Jazz


Date: October 24, 2007

By: Ryan 'The Rican with the Irish name' McLelland
Source: Smokin' Joe Carnahan Blog

Doesn't sound like an easy decision for Joe, but it looks director Joe Carnahan might push ahead with Killing Pablo first instead of White Jazz which just lost Chris Pine (to Star Trek) and George Clooney.

Says Carnahan from his blog:
Here's the deal: There's two concurrent tracks being pursued at present. On one, WHITE JAZZ remains at full steam with two separate options being investigated. Anybody familiar with the state of screenplays in town will tell you, WJ is one of the best out there. That much I know. What makes that advantageous, is if this ridiculous writer's strike does in fact drop, we can press on making that movie, sans rewrite.

The exact same situation exists with KILLING PABLO. Both are ready to go and wouldn't require any additional work, script-wise. This is a huge plus, particularly as we enter the zero hour of this proposed work stoppage.

The KP situation would also allow me to go absolutely nuts with the casting.
That script has got no shortage of fans and the great thing is, a lot of those roles you can board (schedule) in and out so I can load some badass cameos in that film.

The downside is that my kids are in school at the moment and I'm not fired up about winging it off to South America for six months to make that film. I've got a plan to base out of LA and I hoping the financiers will see the upside and spend the extra money to keep us relatively local until we've got to hit Argentina or Venezuela or Brazil (Colombia's gonna be ROUGH) and shoot the remainder of the film on location.

There's pros and there's cons but no scale to tip. The mitigating factor seems to be time. I don't want to lose out to this other flick and when I say 'lose out' I mean foreign buyers will basically snap up the first PABLO project that gets going, regardless of script or talent, etc. It's commerce and if you're the first one in, that's all that counts.

Don't sweat the small stuff, Joe! I mean Vinny Chase loves Pablo Escobar, all of us here at Latino Review love Pablo (at least I do), so go make Killing Pablo! I'll even be a grip!!!!

 

[Dark Donnie]

I'd rather see Killing Pablo with Bardem before White Jazz personally

 

[bullets]

this is cool

 

[L0ngsh0t]

very intriguing through and through

Bardmen Bale, carnahan i like the credits

 

[Dark Donnie]

From a Carnahan blog:

Smokin' JoeJoe Carnahan has been blogging like a madman lately and his latest seems to say that with the recent departure of George Clooney White Jazz is going to be placed on the back burner and Killing Pablo will be thrust into the spotlight. The cool thing for Carnahan fans is that while White Jazz sounded like it was going to be fantastic thanks to what was being referred to as a great script and with Clooney in the lead, Pablo sounds just as enticing since it stars Christian Bale and Javier Bardem. However, it now looks like Bardem might not be available to play Pablo, but Carnahan may have a substitute there.
Here is Carnahan's update as posted on his blog:

There's an argument right now from my reps that maybe the time to jump onto Pablo is right now. White Jazz is something, that as much as it kills me to say this, can wait. What can't is PABLO since another version of that story (albeit inferior) is being prepped right now. The only downside would be Bardem, who just commited to a film and therefore wouldn't be available for KP. There is, however another suggestion that's just as thrilling and somebody who had already expressed an earlier interest in this script. If he were to agree to play Pablo, I might have to pull up stakes and go make that film, toot sweet.

 

[porchmonkey408]

Did Ari Gold put him in touch with Vinny Chase? Sick.

In other news, sucks so hard that Bardem is out.

 

[Dark Donnie]

Did Ari Gold put him in touch with Vinny Chase? Sick.

In other news, sucks so hard that Bardem is out.

It doesn't seem this movie is going anywhere right now, so Bardem might be free once this gets off the ground.

 

[porchmonkey408]

Wow, I did not realize that I had bumped a thread from November. Oops

This movie better get made. But will Bale still do it? What with playing a similar role in Public Enemies and getting John Connor in T4 (or whatever we're calling it).

 

[Carmine Falcone]

Wasn't there another movie being made about the same subject? By who?, I can't remember... I do remember Carnehan hating on those people on his blog, on the same blog he *****ed about the critics not liking Smokin' Aces and he said the will come back begging for mercy when they've realised how good it is or something. Therefore, I have lost all respect for that infantile piece of garbage. I'm curious about White Jazz though, but I bet he'll **** it up.

 

[Dark Donnie]

Wasn't there another movie being made about the same subject? By who?, I can't remember... I do remember Carnehan hating on those people on his blog, on the same blog he *****ed about the critics not liking Smokin' Aces and he said the will come back begging for mercy when they've realised how good it is or something. Therefore, I have lost all respect for that infantile piece of garbage. I'm curious about White Jazz though, but I bet he'll **** it up.

Yes with Oliver Stone writing and Antoine Fuqua Directing.

 

[porchmonkey408]

*Pukes*

Stone and Fuqua!?

Carnahan. Get on this now!

 

[cerealkiller182]

smokinjoecarnahan.com
Check out Joes blog

 

[Dark Donnie]

Carnahan sounds hellbent to make this

 

[cerealkiller182]

The movie sounds good but Im mad that White Jazz had to fall apart

 

[Gotham]

Javier Bardem dropped out of Tetro. Does anyone believe this was for Killing Pablo, as Joe is revising the screeenplay and visiting the actual locations Pablo tormented?

 

[cerealkiller182]

Escobar is definitely a great character to get. He may very well have.

 

[Carmine Falcone]

smokinjoecarnahan.com
Check out Joes blog

So everybody can discover what a *****ebag he is!

Here is what he wrote about the other Pablo project:

Not sure where the other, horrible Pablo project is at the moment. I know they're getting turned down by a lot of folks...memo to aspiring screenwriters, if you want to know how NOT to write a screenplay, pick up that piece of ***** and use it as reverse tutelage. It not only does a disservice to the craft of writing, it mocks one of the greatest figures in Latin American history with a non-existent, wholly fictionalized Butch and Sundance angle involving Pablo and his brother Roberto. It's laughably lame.

Good luck chumps. And it doesn't matter if you get out of the gate six months earlier
than me. I will have an announcement after the new year that will absolutely break your
hearts and kill whatever middling credibility you have...and you deserve that heartbreak,
trying to push a *****ty, insultingly bad Pablo pic into production against mine and being
nasty and conniving and devious about it.

I said in yesterday's post that 'War is War and that declaration seems obvious by now...'

I'll let that same sentiment ride here.

Proof that the man is a childish moron.

And this is wat he had to say when critics didn't like the piece of **** movie Smokin Aces:

Fu*k the critics that don't get it and I don't give a sh&t if every last one of 'em goes bad on the movie. Mike Nichols describes their inherent *****iness thusly: 'A critic is the lone Eunuch at the orgy.' They ain't gonna roll with this one guys. They want to be able to easily slot it in and call it 'Tarantino' and blah-blah bull***** and not really try to gauge or appreciate it beyond that. They wanted me to make 'Narc' all over again. They wanted something deliberately, obviously high-minded or overly dramatic. I didn't deliver on that. I had no intention of ever doing that...and they're wrong
about this movie. Mark my words on this: They are wrong. The ones that did get it, got it fantastically and I celebrate them, although you can't give any more import to the good ones. You have to take the good and bad equally and not vest in either too heavily. I know the film kicks ass and I know that upon repeat viewing, it will find a brilliant little niche along the way.

I really hate this guy.

 

[Rez]

Say what you will, with Stone writing the other one it's sure to suck ass.

 

[Gotham]

Proof that the man is a childish moron.

Not entirely. While I digress with the second comment made by Carnahan, it's even more unprofessional on Fuqua and Stone's side to be developing another Pablo Escobar film. It's widely known that Carnahan had inquired about Mark Bowden's novel - even before Narc!

He's been actively developing the film. And now, as I believe it, he's finally making his move. He had to decide between a film with no lead star (White Jazz) and a film with an Academy Award winner and another fine, fine actor.