Emmy winner Reed Morano is in negotiations to direct Jennifer Lopez in the drug lord drama “The Godmother” for STXfilms.
Morano directed the first three episodes of Hulu’s hit show “The Handmaid’s Tale” and won the Emmy and Directors Guild awards for drama series direction. STXfilms is also in talks with Oscar winner William Monahan to re-write the script for “The Godmother.”
Lopez came on to the project last summer and will portray Colombian drug lord Griselda Blanco, also known as “The Godmother.” The story follows the life of Blanco, who outsmarted and outhustled the men around her to rise from an impoverished childhood in Colombia to become one of the world’s biggest drug lords. She was reportedly was worth more than $2 billion and was a key figurehead in Miami’s Cocaine Cowboy Wars. Blanco was murdered in Colombia in 2012.
Lopez will produce along with Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas and Benny Medina, as well as Julie Yorn. Earlier drafts of the script of have been written by Regina Corrado (“Deadwood: The Movie”) and Terence Winter (“The Wolf of Wall Street,” “Boardwalk Empire,” “The Sopranos”). Winter, Alex Pettyfer, Alex Brown and Rick Yorn will executive produce.
“I’ve been forever fascinated by the story of Griselda Blanco and jumped at the chance to play her on screen,” said Lopez in July. “She is all things we look for in storytelling and dynamic characters – notorious, ambitious, conniving, chilling. In a genre dominated by legendary kingpins, I’m eager to shine a spotlight on this anti-hero and excited to partner with STX for the third time so we can bring this compelling, complicated story to life.”
The news about Morano and Monahan was first reported by Deadline.