I found myself at a bookstore the other day — despite owning a Kindle, which feels a bit like a crime — and saw a novel titled “The Cartel” dominating the shelf space. Cloaked in an orange dust jacket featuring a black bulletproof vest and white typeface, the book just looks good. I could have purchased it on the spot right then and there. The problem: I’m broke.
So “The Cartel” is now on my wish list, but the good news is if I never quite get around to reading it, Don Winslow‘s novel is set to become a movie. According to The Hollywood Reporter, 20th Century Fox purchased the rights for Winslow’s new novel (as well as its 2005 precursor, “The Power of the Dog”) after Ridley Scott committed to direct the project. Shane Salerno (Savages) is set to take on the script.
[amz asin=”1101874996″ size=”small”]What’s more, Deadline reports the studio is recruiting Leonardo DiCaprio to star in the film. DiCaprio is currently working on The Revenant over at Fox and starred in Scott’s 2008 film Body of Lies, which is to say the idea isn’t entirely improbable. However, according to the character description the novel’s lead, DEA agent Arturo “Art” Keller, is of Mexican descent. That isn’t to say DiCaprio wouldn’t do well in the role, but it could leave some up in arms considering Hollywood’s long track record of whitewashing its stories.
Billed as a “gripping, true-to-life, ripped-from-the-headlines epic story of power, corruption, revenge, and justice spanning the past decade of the Mexican-American drug wars,” Winslow’s latest novel seems to have earned its description. Two weeks ago Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman — who until his arrest in 2014 ran the Sinaloa Cartel and was considered among of the most powerful drug traffickers in the world — escaped from a maximum security prison, prompting a widespread manhunt and investigation. The rest of the description for “The Cartel” follows:
“The Cartel” centers on DEA agent Art Keller, who has been fighting the war on drugs for thirty years in a blood feud against Adán Barrera, the head of El Federación, the world’s most powerful cartel, and the man who brutally murdered Keller’s partner. Finally putting Barrera away cost Keller dearly — the woman he loves, the beliefs he cherishes, the life he wants to lead.
Then Barrera gets out, determined to rebuild the empire that Keller shattered. Unwilling to live in a world with Barrera in it, Keller goes on a ten-year odyssey to take him down. His obsession with justice — or is it revenge? — becomes a ruthless struggle that stretches from the cities, mountains, and deserts of Mexico to Washington’s corridors of power to the streets of Berlin and Barcelona.
The book has been hailed by many (and Brad tells me he’s actually reading it right now), but as for the possible quality of an adaptation, a quick glance at Scott’s recent output is all one needs to know the Oscar-nominated director has had a rough go of it lately. Given the cast he has assembled for The Martian, due in theaters October 2, I hope the movie turns out well, but if not there is always the chance his next film is the one that serves as his return to form. Or the one after that. Or the one after that.
It’s not quite clear how Scott’s schedule is lining up post-Martian — IMDb lists the release date for Prometheus 2 as March 4, 2016, which seems awfully irresponsible but is also not yet confirmed by 20th Century Fox — and we should also take into account the fact Scott is well-known for hopping aboard projects and then stepping aside. Only time will tell whether he actually makes The Cartel, so in the mean time, it is probably best we hope something good comes of The Martian.
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