Cocaine – The True Story of White Boy Rick, the dramatic thriller on Rai 4 directed by Yann Demange (’71) and produced by Darren Aronofsky. The film takes place in 1980s Detroit and tells the true story of a working-class father (Matthew McConaughey) and his teenage son (Richie Merritt), who becomes an undercover police informant and later a drug dealer.
White Boy Rick – Cast and Voice Actors
Matthew McConaughey Richard Vershey Sr.
Richie Merritrich Richard Vershey Jr.
Bel Pauley: Don Vershe
Jennifer Jason LeighAgent Alex Snyder
Rory Cochrane Agent Frank Bird
Eddie MarsanArt Derrick
Bruce Dern as Roman Versche
Piper Laurie Verna Wershe
RJ Cyler as Rudel Boo Curry
Jonathan Majors – Johnny ‘Lil Man’ Curry
Danny Brown: ‘Black Ed’
YG: Leo Curry
Taylor Page: Cathy Volson
italian dubbers
Andrea LavagninoRichard Vershe Sr.
Federico CampiolaRichard Vershe Jr.
Chiara Oliviero as Don Verche
Laura Romano as Agent Alex Snyder
Gianluca TuscoAgent Frank Bird
Riccardo Scarfoni as Johnny ‘Lil Man’ Curry
Alessio Ombres: Rudel Boo Curry
White Boy Rick – Plot and Trailer
In the mid-1980s, a 14-year-old boy becomes a secret informant for the local police and the unions. Later dubbed “White Boy Rick”, the boy established himself as a high-profile drug dealer. The feds put an end to his double life when, a few years later, he was found with 17 kilos of cocaine. He spent the rest of his life in prison.
film trivia
- Yann DeMange (’71) directs “Cocaine: The True Story of White Boy Rick” from a screenplay by Andy Weiss, Logan Miller and Noah Miller.
- In Cleveland during the final week of principal photography, production was briefly halted on two separate occasions due to gun battles in areas near the set.
- Although never seen in the film, a Detroit police officer named Gil Hill is mentioned several times during the events leading up to the trial. This was the same Gil Hill who became famous as Inspector Todd, Axel Foley’s boss, in the Beverly Hills Cop movies. After his retirement from the Detroit Police Department, he entered politics as a Detroit City Councilman and later, President of the Detroit City Council. During his time as a police officer, he was involved in the “White Boy Rick” case.
- Richie Merritt had apparently never heard of Matthew McConaughey and was unaware of his A-list celebrity status when he agreed to do the film.
- Richie Merritt, who plays White Boy Rick, grew up in Baltimore County. The actor’s thick Baltimore accent is evident at points in the film, despite the character being from Detroit, Michigan.
- The script was placed on the 2015 Blacklist, an annual list of the year’s top-rated unproduced screenplays.
- The film is set in Detroit, Michigan, but production and filming took place in Cleveland, Ohio.
- A shot of Rick Sr. and Ricky driving through their neighborhood was filmed at the intersection of St. Clair Avenue and E. 99th Street. The location is significant to Cleveland hip hop group Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, who regularly refer to it in their lyrics. Traffic signs for the intersection can be seen in the music video for their successful 1995 hit “First of the Month”.
- Rick Sr. is seen watching Serpico (1973), a film about an undercover man with Al Pacino, who as Rick Jr. was an FBI informant working undercover. The major difference was that Agent Frank Serpico was not an “informant”; Worked undercover as an NYPD officer. His outstanding work led to the Knapp Commission exposing rampant police corruption.
- In real life, Johnny and Leo Curry (played by Jonathan Majors and YG) are identical twin brothers.
- Matthew McConaughey and the real Richard Vershe Jr. were born in the same year, 1969.
- Timothée Chalamet auditioned for the lead role of Rick.
- Matthew McConaughey and Rory Cochrane have already starred together life is a Dream (1993). Bruce Dern and Jennifer Jason Leigh previously starred together The Hateful Eight (2015).
- The film’s cast includes one Oscar winner (Matthew McConaughey) and three Oscar nominees (Piper Laurie, Bruce Dern and Jennifer Jason Leigh).
- On July 14, 2017, Richard Vershe Jr. was paroled from the Michigan prison system after serving 29 years. He was immediately turned over to the U.S. Marshals for transfer to Florida to begin another prison sentence for another separate judicial conviction. Richard Vershe Jr. is finally free after serving a total of 32 years. He was released from a Florida prison facility in July 2020 on good behavior benefits. In July 2021 Vershe sued the FBI, stating in the lawsuit that: “If I had not been an informant for the task force, I would never have been involved in drug gangs or any kind of crime,” and that the action The FBI can be classified as child abuse.
- white boyIt premiered at the Fripp Film Festival on March 31, 2017, where it won the Audience Choice Award. It aired on the Starz channel in 2019 and was picked up by Netflix in April 2021.
- Eminem plays Vershe in crime series bmf extension Centered on a black mafia family, an organization involved in drug trafficking and money laundering. When not the central focus, Versche appears as a recurring character in the show.
White Boy Rick – The Soundtrack
- The film’s original music is by composer max richter (Sarah’s Key, The Green Cycle, Last Days on Mars, Escobar, Hostiles: Hostiles, Ad Astra, Black Mirror, My Brilliant Friend).
- Songs on the soundtrack include: Cocaine Blues (Live) by Johnny Cashby Stop Her on Sight (SOS) Edwin StarrScorpio Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Fiveby beat bop Rammelzee Vs. Kashmir Robepump me up by trouble funkTake Me To The Mardi Gras by bob jamesbounce, rock, skate, roll by von mason and crewit ain’t easy Carl Thomasby juicy fruit James Matume and Tawtha Ageeby Get Off Your Us funkadelic, PSK ‘What does it mean’? Of schoolgirl-dby Let’s Hear It for the Boy By Daniel Williamsyou are no good bye ESGCan I Get a Soul Clap and Shine Your Light by Graingers by The Incredible Bongo Bandup in here by the bar-casecave of liquid liquidpeter piper run DMCout of the dark buy max richterlook no further by Denise Edwardspaid in full by eric b and rakimAfter Laughter (Comes Tears) by Wendy Rayneby Planet Rock Afrika Bambaataa and Soul Sonic Force,
1. Night Drive
2. Nonviolent Offender
3. What’s My Take
4. Ride Marathon Station
5. Baby Keisha
6. Big Man Now
7. I don’t like pancakes
8. Vershe & Son
9. Trigger
10. Get on the ground
11. 1985
12. Jury Verdict
13. We’re Gonna Take You Home
14. Alone
15. I’ve got everything I need in life
The soundtrack to “Cocaine: The True Story of White Boy Rick” is available on Amazon.