Padilha Gives ‘Marching’ Orders to Cheadle

Brazilian filmmaker Jose Padilha, fresh off a Golden Bear win at the Berlin Film Fest for his Elite Squad, has been tapped to write and direct the prison corruption drama Marching Powder. An adaptation of Rusty Young’s novel Marching Powder: A True Story of Friendship, Cocaine and South America’s Strangest Jail, the project has been a baby of actor Don Cheadle’s since its release in 2004.

Exposing the rampant corruption inside the walls of Bolivia’s San Pedro prison, the story is a memoir of inmate (and co-writer) Thomas McFadden’s experiences during his six year stretch at the infamous prison where he served as a tour guide. San Pedro was essentially a capitalist state with prisoners expected to buy their cells from real estate agents, many ran shops and restaurants out of their cells, and entire families were allowed to live together. Ironically, the prison housed some of the country’s busiest cocaine (or Bolivian marching powder, hence the title) factories.

Cheadle, presumably playing McFadden, will produce via his Crescendo Productions. Fellow Ocean’s buddy Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment, Good Worldwide, and Periscope Entertainment are also onboard. No word on when the film will go into production, but it won’t be any time soon. Padilha is busy prepping A Willing Patriot for Warner Bros. while Cheadle is currently working on Antoine Fuqua’s Brooklyn’s Finest and has Danny Glover’s Toussaint on the docket next. A 2010 release seems likely.