By: Eric Eisenberg

William Monahan, best known for writing the Academy Award-winning script for Martin Scorsese’s The Departed, has found his next project. He has been selected as the latest writing to work on American Desperado, the long-gestating, Mark Wahlberg-produced adaptation of the book American Desperado: My Life As A Cocaine Cowboy by Evan Wright and Jon Roberts. Wright, who also wrote the book that the miniseries Generation Killwas based on, wrote the most recent draft of the screenplay, but Monahan will be going back to the book for his rewrite.

Deadline says that the story follows the life of Roberts as he worked as a cocaine smuggler as part of the Medellin Cartel. In 2006 a documentary titled Cocaine Cowboys chronicled the same story and a miniseries is currently in development at HBO as well. In addition to Wahlberg, Peter Berg and Sarah Aubrey of Film 44 as well as Stephen Levinson are on as producers. Wahlberg is planning to play Roberts himself, setting him up in the same position that he was in for David O. Russell’s The Fighter. Berg was once attached to direct, but no filmmaker is currently attached.

Monahan has been busy of late with his pen and is getting set for his next directorial effort as well. Early next year we’ll see his work on the big screen in the form of Joseph Kosinski’s Oblivion and he also penned Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller’s Sin Ciy: A Dame To Kill For, which is currently in production. He was also recently hired to script a remake of Sympathy For Lady Vengeance, which is set to star Charlize Theron. Mojave his next directing gig, is now in pre-production and recently landed Oscar Isaac and Jason Clarke to star.

Source: Cinema Blend