Doug Liman is now busy cranking his cameras on Tom Cruise-starring drug drama Mena and he’s been boosting the ensemble. Jesse Plemons, Caleb Landry Jones and Benito Martinez have all jumped aboard the film.
The title refers to Mena, Arkansas, the site of much of the action in the extraordinary life of Barry Seal, the focus of the film. Seal (Cruise) was a pilot for TWA in the 1970s that lost his job when he was caught flying plastic explosives from Miami to Mexico for an anti-Castro group. He subsequently went solo as an aviation consultant, and began a lucrative second career smuggling cannabis and cocaine between South and North America, eventually getting entangled with the notorious Colombian Medellin Cartel.
When he was caught, he made deals with the CIA and DEA to continue his activities as an informant and spy. His adventures saw him encounter infamous names like Pablo Escobar and Jorge Luis Ochoa Vásquez, expose political corruption in Nicaragua and have no small part in kicking off the Iran-Contra Affair. Gary Spinelli has written the script based on his spec, with Domhnall Gleeson, Sarah Wright, E. Roger Mitchell and Jayma Mayes all in the cast.
“I love stories of improbable heroes working against the system, and Barry Seal took the government, and our country, for an unbelievable ride,” says Liman. “Interpreting his story has the makings for an entertaining film that is equal parts satire, suspense and comedy — and always surprising.” Variety reports that the film will land in the US on January 6, 2017 before making the trip here in time for January 20.