FilmHedge's Jon Gosier To Finance Tale Of Cocaine Kingpin Willy Falcon

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EXCLUSIVE: Entertainment A.R.E.U. principal and former Tyler Perry Studios president Ozzie Areu has secured funding for his planned adaptations of The Last Kilo: Willy and the Cocaine Empire that Seduced America. Stepping up is FilmHedge founder/CEO Jon Gosier, who’ll fund to the tune of $50 million, planned adaptations of the story of infamous Cuban drug kingpin Willy Falcon. T.J. English wrote the book. Last June, Areu made a deal that will be 7-figures if the film gets made, for the book, life rights and cooperation of the Cuban criminal known as Los Muchachos. Falcon, who served three decades behind bars and then largely disappeared, has plenty of stories to tell. They include running a successful cartel with a minimum of violence, to anti-Castro alliances to secret deals with Noriega, Escobar and the CIA during the Iran-Contra Affair. Tale is replete with the excess, speedy cigarette boats and other stuff that made Miami Vice so watchable. The hope is for Falcon to dish in a film, TV series, docuseries and podcast. “This is a story that has fascinated the world for decades,” said Areu. “But it’s more than just a story about crime, it’s about chasing the American dream, the cost of loyalty and family, the seduction of excess, and ultimately redemption. For the first time, Willy Falcon is opening up about the life he lived and the empire he built.” Gosier built his financing firm FilmHedge in Atlanta, where Areu is based. Gosier will be executive producer and lead financier on the adaptations. His company provides debt financing up to $50 million per project. FilmHedge backed 10 feature films last year including the SXSW entry The Dutchman. Gosier also founded Southbox Entertainment. His tech company was acquired last year for around $350 million. “This isn’t our first collaboration,” said Gosier. “Ozzie and I first crossed paths in the early 2000s, working on a range of film and TV projects. Reuniting on this is both full-circle and forward-thinking.”