Tribeca Film takes US rights to Matthew Cooke’s “How to Make Money Selling Drugs.” The doc, which premiered at Toronto, looks at the both sides of the “war on drugs,” and includes interviews with 50 Cent, ‘The Wire’ producer David Simon, Arianna Huffington, Woody Harrelson, Eminem and Susan Sarandon, plus the infamous drug kingpin “Freeway” Rick Ross.
Presenting a shockingly candid examination of how a street dealer can rise to cartel lord with relative ease, the documentary reveals how public policy and government drug enforcement have struggled to creatively adapt to and effectively disincentive Americans from dealing drugs. Bert Marcus Productions was granted unprecedented access from top‐ranking government officials, from the U.S. Drug Czar to the Drug Enforcement Agency, all providing unique and honest viewpoints on this pervasive global topic.
This is Cooke’s directorial debut. He produced and edited 2006’s “Deliver Us From Evil” and 2010’s “Teenage Paparazzo.” Tribeca plans to release “How To” theatrically and on VOD next year. Tribeca’s Geoff Gilmore states, “From politics to the police and drug dealers to drug users, the scope of Matthew Cooke’s examination of these illicit networks is extraordinary.”
The film will inevitably be compared to Eugene Jarecki’s excellent Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner “The House I Live In” (October 5), which also looks at drugs in American and the public policy failures.
Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.
