Lightning Entertainment has acquired the international rights to “How to Make Money Selling Drugs,” a documentary about the war on drugs co-produced by Bert Marcus and “Entourage” star Adrien Grenier.
The film, which features interviews with 50 Cent, Eminem, Arianna Huffington, Woody Harrelson and high-level government officials, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival to wide acclaim, prompting Tribeca Films to snap up the domestic rights.
It will be released theatrically and on VOD in more than 40 million homes next year.
“This is a uniquely dynamic documentary which is both incredibly entertaining, but also very insightful and profound in the message it delivers,” Robert Beaumont, president of Lightning Entertainment, a Santa-Monica based sales, production and distribution company, said in a statement. “The scope and intelligence of the filmmakers’ examination of the subject is extraordinary.”
Matthew Cooke directed the provocative documentary, which functions as an instructional video of sorts, tracking drug trades from the street dealer to the cartel chieftain.
A mélange of pop culture references and in-depth reporting, the film critiques the current war on drugs while also presenting the positions of the Drug Enforcement Agency and the U.S. Drug Czar.
Cooke, Marcus and Grenier all previously worked together on “Teenage Paparazzo,” a documentary about a young paparazzi photographer that premiered at Sundance in 2010.
