Jennifer Lopez will star and produce an HBO film about Griselda Blanco's rise and fall in the drug cartel
Jennifer Lopez is in the middle of developing an HBO film about Griselda Blanco. The movie will portray Blanco’s journey as she rose to the top of the US drug cartel in the 1970s and the 1980s.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the 47-year-old actress will be acting and will executive produce the made-for-TV movie. At this point, however, the movie is still untitled and has no release date.
Alongside her will be Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, Benny Medina and Julie and Rick Yorn. Meanwhile, Alex Pettyfer will be the co-executive producer with Priscilla Porianda and Patrick Walmsley. Although Pettyfer has starred in films like “Magic Mike,” “I Am Number Four” and “Beastly,” it is unclear whether or not the 26-year-old actor will play a role alongside the mother of two.
"I’ve been fascinated by the life of this corrupt and complicated woman for many years,” Lopez said in a statement that was released on Wednesday. “The idea of teaming with HBO felt like the perfect fit for finally bringing Griselda’s story to life.”
Lopez likely felt that the partnership with HBO was ideal because the US network has already released films led by other actors.
The untitled piece being headed by Lopez is definitely not HBO’s first dealings with a Hollywood celebrity. Quite the contrary, it will only be HBO’s newest addition to their actor-driven roster of films. It follows Kerry Washington’s “Confirmation” and Bryan Cranston’s “All The Way.”
As mentioned earlier, Lopez will portray Blanco, who was born in 1943. Blanco was respectfully nicknamed and widely known as “The Cocaine Godmother.” She was also called “The Black Widow,” “The Queen of Narco-Trafficking” and “La Madrina,” which simply translates to godmother.
Her story began when Blanco pioneered the Miami-based drug trade and underworld, which she headed for more than a decade. During that time, she was linked to 200 murders but was only caught by the DEA in 1985. Even then, she was sentenced to only 10 years in prison before being deported back to Colombia in 2004.
Blanco died in her hometown of Medellin after a drive-by shooting in 2012.
