Hot on the heels of last week's announcement that Killing Pablo is going ahead, with Javier Bardem in the lead role and Joe Carnahan directing, comes the news that rival project Escobar is also in development, from producer Oliver Stone and with Antoine Fuqua wielding the megaphone.
Escobar is based on the book Mi Hermano Pablo by Escobar's brother Roberto Escobar Gaviria, who acted as the notorious Pablo's accountant and confidant - and who owns the rights to the life stories and literary rights of the rest of the Escobar family. "My brother will be portrayed as a ruthless head of the Medellin cartel," Escobar Gaviria said in a statement. "This is just 10% of the story. The other 90% is the story others trying to portray him simply don't have." What, so he spent the rest of his time caring for sick puppy dogs and funding anti-drugs programmes?
Dave McKenna, writer of Blow and American History X, is adapting the script, and production is due to begin early next year. Stone said, "This is a great project about a fascinating man who took on the system. I think I have to thank 'Scarface,' and maybe even Ari Gold."
Yes, Oliver, this really is beginning to feel like life imitating Entourage, which, for those of you not watching this very funny series (and why not?) featured a lengthy subplot about an Escobar biopic, much to the distress of agent Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven). On this evidence, James Cameron's Aquaman can only be moments away from the green light.
In any case, it's possible that Fuqua's film may knock out the competition, despite Carnahan's perfect casting. Carnahan is committed to directing White Jazz first, which means that his Killing Pablo can't start shooting pre-strike. Fuqua, on the other hand, plans to start early in 2008, meaning that **Escobar **could be in the bag before Pablo gets out of the gate - and in cases like that, it's pretty usual for the second film to just pack it in and go home. If anyone knows the importance of going into production first, it's Stone, who managed to fend off Baz Luhrman's Alexander project by beating it in front of the cameras. Let's hope this race produces a happier result.