Billy Corben on Cocaine Cowboys Based TV Show: "More Tony Soprano Than Tony Montana" | Cultist | Miami | Miami New Times | The Leading Independent News Source in Miami, Florida
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Billy Corben on Cocaine Cowboys Based TV Show: "More Tony Soprano Than Tony Montana"

Is America ready for a ski trip to Miami? Fresh powder is about in hit TNT like a brick to the face. The TV show based on the movie Cocaine Cowboys, currently being called "Untitled Cocaine Pilot" has officially been greenlit for a pilot by the network. It's being brought...
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Is America ready for a ski trip to Miami? Fresh powder is about in hit TNT like a brick to the face.

The TV show based on the movie Cocaine Cowboys, currently being called "Untitled Cocaine Pilot" has officially been greenlit for a pilot by the network. It's being brought to life by none other than Billy Corben and Alfred Spellman of Rakontur, Michael Bay of Transformers, and Jerry Bruckheimer, who's had more hits than Tim Leary in a bathtub full of LSD.

See also: Miami Vice: 30 Years of Crockett, Tubbs, and Pastels

Inspired by Corben's 2006 documentary Cocaine Cowboys, the show's writer will be Michelle Ashford from Masters of Sex on Showtime, and the drama is going to unfold fast. This could be bigger than Miami Vice.

TNT's Cocaine project will likely not feature characters from the documentary but would borrow from its portrayal of the illegal drug trade in Miami during the '70s and '80s. Here's what Billy Corben had to say about the deal

The following is a transcript of text message conversation with the great local movie director.

New Times: Hello, calling from New Times to see if you have a few minutes to talk about new show.

Billy Corben: Can't talk right now. Hopefully soon!

Thank yo, congrats, respec....any possibility today? Editor would like to run somethin for the morning.

I just can't say much about it yet.

Gotcha, can I get one quote about what a pilot is, or how many streams the doc's agglomerated, or something about tons of cocaine?

We've enjoyed a long creative collaboration with Jerry, Michael, Michelle, Jonathan, and KristineAnne on this project and it's a thrill to work with TNT to bring the show to life. As far as the content: It's much more Tony Soprano than Tony Montana.

Hell yeah, awesome thanks.

(Laughs) Is that cool?

Yes, very cool. My questions are: Who's shooting it, who's starring, where's it shooting, will this be the new Miami Vice, where'd you make the deal, what will your role be, will the public get to see it, when will it start shooting, and what's the storyline?

(Laughs) I think we'll have to go with my press releasey statement from above.


No details yet on when things will get rolling on the TNT show. In the meantime, check out the trailer for the 2006 trailer for Corben's doc below:

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