CNN Films and HBO Max have announced that the two are backing a new true-crime story, “American Pain,” directed by Emmy® Award-winner Darren Foster.
The film will document the rise and fall of Chris and Jeff George, identical twins who are considered to be America’s most prominent opioid kingpins.
Over their run in the drug trade, the Georges operated a pill mill cartel that drew clients from around the country and generated a prescription drug trafficking network with an assessed street worth of more than $500-million.
“The George brothers were early pioneers in Florida’s pill mill boom and kicked the door open for colorful imitators who together turned prescription painkillers into the greatest drug racket to hit the Sunshine State since the cocaine cowboys of the 1980s,” Foster said.
“The big difference: this time, the suppliers weren’t some Colombian drug cartel; it was the U.S. pharmaceutical industry pumping out billions of powerful and addictive pills, unleashing the worst drug epidemic in American history. I couldn’t be more grateful to CNN Films, HBO Max, TIME Studios, and my talented partners at Motto Pictures for helping me realize this wild tale.”
The film will detail how the George’s took an opportunity to expand their steroid business into the bigger bucks of opioid pain clinics. The twins explain how they hired rogue physicians to prescribe disturbing amounts of opioid painkillers to the maximum number of patients through exclusive jailhouse interviews.
“American Pain” will premiere at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival in June and is currently expected for release in 2023.
Eduardo Razo is the Assistant Content Editor for BNM, which includes writing daily news stories on the news media industry. He can be found on Twitter @eddierazo_ or you can reach him by email at eddie1991razo@gmail.com.
