Everyone wants to cash in on Griselda Blanco. Most of all, her son.

There was a time when Michael Corleone Blanco didn't want to hear the name Billy Corben, let alone sit across from him.

Corben's 2006 documentary "Cocaine Cowboys," which chronicles the Miami drug war of the late 1970s, was the spark that arguably ignited the modern-day fascination with Blanco's mother Griselda Blanco — also known as the "godmother of cocaine" — in pop culture.

Since then, her story has been told as everything from a Netflix series starring Sofia Vergara and a Lifetime movie starring Catherine Zeta-Jones to a stage play.

But Michael Corleone Blanco, the famed drug kingpin's only surviving son, learned quickly that true-crime fame is a double-edged sword.

At the same time Corben was making his first "Cocaine Cowboys" movie — the franchise now includes two more documentaries and a Netflix series — Blanco was also pitching his family's story around Hollywood. But Corben's documentary found audiences first.

"They were my archnemesis because they were doing what I was planning to do," Blanco told Business Insider, referring to Corben, his producing partner Alfred Spellman, and editor David Cypkin, who make up the Miami-based media studio Rakontur.

Fast forward almost twenty years, and Corben and Blanco have joined forces for the podcast "The Real Griselda," which picks apart the Netflix hit series "Griselda" to reveal what's fact and what's fiction.

Across eight episodes of the podcast, which is hosted by Corben, Blanco points out the creative liberties taken in "Griselda," often backing them up with colorful stories. He says his mother never lit kilos of cocaine on fire in an empty pool, for example, and notes that some of the murders were more gruesome in real life than in the show. In the case of his father's murder, in real life, young Michael didn't just see it happen; his father held him tight in his arms, shielding him from the gunshots that killed him (the hit on his father is believed to have been ordered by Griselda).

The podcast also sheds some light on Michael's life following the events shown in the Netflix series. He lived with foster families while his mother served three 20-year prison sentences for murder concurrently (upon her release in 2004, she was deported to Colombia, where she died of a gunshot wound in 2012). He briefly followed in his family's footsteps and dabbled in the drug trade.

Now, Blanco is determined to make it by going legit: he's written a book and says he's developing TV shows and movies. He's eager to prove that there is a future for the Blanco name beyond its notorious past.

"When you're from a drug trafficking family, and you're fucking Miami monarchy, Miami royalty, it takes a lot for you to understand that that life has gone away," Blanco said. "You have to evolve as a man. And the only way I could evolve was legalizing my story."

BI spoke over the phone with Corben and Blanco about why they teamed up for a podcast, the actor Blanco believes did the best portrayal of his mother, and how Corben got close to becoming a victim of the cocaine godmother's wrath.

The podcast makes it sound like you two have known each other for years. Billy, when was your first interaction with Michael?

Corben: This goes way back. It was probably between the release of "Cocaine Cowboys" and "Cocaine Cowboys 2." Michael, does that sound right?

Blanco: Yeah. I would say 2006 or 2007. I remember like it was yesterday, walking to The Colony Theatre for the second movie. Still being part of that underground world back then, I wanted to make a statement. So, I showed up with 20-30 goons. I let people know South Beach was my stomping grounds.

Michael, you speak on the podcast about the animosity you had toward Billy and his filmmaking partners at that time. When did you figure out that you could also make money off your family?

Blanco: Not that long after that. One thing my mother taught me was how to pivot. From the moment I got a call from one of their movie's investors for the first movie, I knew that I had to put some pep in my step and get on their level. I was a rookie in the industry.

But I will say the smartest thing I ever did was not to listen to my lawyer or my mother and put a cease and desist on the first "Cocaine Cowboys" movie. I knew that one day, the Griselda Blanco story and the Blanco family story would have to be told, and with them already telling some of the story, it was going to help me out.

Then, when Billy put together the play "Confessions of a Cocaine Cowboy" in 2019, which also played at The Colony, I didn't see Billy, Alfred, and Dave as my archnemesis anymore. I remember having a drink with Billy back then, and I told him thank you. Because if it wasn't for that wave you created I wouldn't be here right now. Because now I make the big bucks. It's a full-circle moment, being on this podcast.

Corben: And as much as Michael and his mother felt that something had been taken from them, remember, "Cocaine Cowboys" blew up because of the bootleg market. They were sold in flea markets, barbershops, strip club bathrooms. Bootlegs of our movie was how it blew up.

Blanco: I would autograph their movie. It blew my mind. I had a tattoo parlor, and people would come in with the bootleg and ask if I could autograph it. Let me put it to you more plainly: I remember being in federal detention, and someone snuck in a DVD, and with his back to the security camera, someone would come up to me and say, "Mr. Blanco, can you sign this for my wife?"

Billy, how close were you to not just doing a "Cocaine Cowboys" documentary with the cooperation of Michael, but also getting Griselda on camera?

Corben: Michael can answer that better than me.

Blanco: We were one meeting away and around six figures.

Corben: [Laughs.] Yeah. That sounds about accurate to me. As "Cocaine Cowboys" turned into a franchise of documentaries, there was definitely a desire to have the story of "La Madrina" told by La Madrina. The conversations continued but unfortunately did not consummate.

Blanco: We were almost there. Prior to 2012, my mother and I had the conversation. Money talks and bullshit runs the marathon. So when we were able to close not one but two motion picture deals based on her life rights and my life rights, by that time, my mother understood that we had something that the masses wanted.

She gave me the power of attorney, and that's when I started negotiations with Billy. And like I said, I think we were one meeting, and probably six figures away.

Billy, Michael says in the podcast that you "almost got the knock on the door," referring to Griselda's thought of putting a hit on you. Back when you made the "Cocaine Cowboys" movies, did you fear for your life?

Corben: We were pretty young and naive back then, so I wouldn't call it a fear, but I would very much call it a concern. We talked about it. We would hear from people whose parents were murdered during that time period in Miami. Some were depicted in the documentaries.

Blanco: It was an offense that these stories were being let out of the bag.

I assume you thought, "Who gives these people the right to tell the public what I know?"

Blanco: Yeah. And now it's like, "Who the hell are you to tell me and Billy Corben about what went down? We're the fucking experts!"

Billy, is that what led to making "The Real Griselda" podcast? Basically fact-checking the Netflix "Griselda" show?

Corben: It was one of those things where it develops really slowly, and then something happens that just accelerates that plan. And what's amazing about this is we basically came up with the same idea at the same time. We were thinking late last year, independent of each other, that this "Griselda" thing was going to come out on Netflix. The marketing machine was already firing up, and it was apparent they were going to put a lot of juice behind pushing this series. We thought, what can we do? We knew there would be a great deal of creative license. What can we do to tell the real story?

Michael, which portrayal of your mother is more impressive: Catherine Zeta-Jones' in "Cocaine Godmother," or Sofia Vergara's in "Griselda"?

Blanco: I would love to be able to comment on that, but I cannot.

Corben: But, Michael, you really liked the portrayal done in the play, right?

Blanco: I loved that.

Corben: I remember Michael holding that woman and crying outside the theater after the show. Zilah Mendoza is her name.

Blanco: I have been following her career on Instagram. I have sent her some DMs. She's a hell of an actress. She came very close to my mother's state of being in general. My mother was a very rigid lady. But she was very comical. Her dark humor was that of a woman who came from humble beginnings. My mother was a tough cookie, and I think Zilah came very close to that.

Billy, is there a highlight from the podcast for you?

Corben: We have a funny exchange that didn't fully end up in an episode. We talk about how Sofia Vergara lights a huge pile of cocaine on fire that's stacked in an empty pool. I couldn't even zoom in and count the number of kilos; that's how many there were. Hundreds if not thousands of kilos, and she lights it on fire. And I asked Michael if she ever did that; that's like lighting hundreds of millions of dollars on fire. He said of course not. The Joker does it in "The Dark Knight" because he's an anarchist and insane. But Griselda was a businesswoman.

Why is Griselda Blanco such a fascination for people? From the documentaries, the rap songs, the TV shows, the play, why has she become a fixture in pop culture?

Corben: I think it starts with pop culture having a fascination with banditos and people we see as the villains. Ask any actor why they prefer to play the villain than the hero; they are just more interesting.

I think the problem is when people reduce these characters to single dimensions. And that's what makes Griselda so compelling is that she is so multifaceted. She's one of the most successful cocaine traffickers in history. At the dawn of the modern industry she was a mother, a wife, a daughter, a grandmother, a godmother. What was Al Capone? He was a gangster. He was a bootlegger. There's not a lot to him. She's a far more dynamic person and personality.

Michael, you mention a "generational curse" multiple times on the podcast. Your namesake, Michael Corleone in "The Godfather," is the brother who is meant to bring legitimacy to the Corleone family. I can't help but see the similarities between that fictional character's quest and your own. Do you believe that you went through all this because you were chosen to bring legitimacy to the Blanco name?

Blanco: Thank you for that. 100%. I tell my two older boys that all the time. It's a common friend of ours who said, "Sometimes you have to remind people of your achievements," and I've had to remind myself of my achievements.

I was part of that generational curse for so long. I speak about this in my book; as a 45-year-old man, I may not be the wisest, but I have lived what people don't live in two or three lifetimes. My brothers and mother would say all the time, "You have to show the face for the family. You have to make this shit legit."

But in return, I was robbed of my innocence since I was a child. We have a saying in Colombia: "Innocence lost, a kilo for a life," and I believe all generational curses have been broken in my family's bloodline. I'm the first Blanco to bring legit money home and I'm so happy and proud of that. Even this podcast was 100% legit. My mother always told me if you do something, you do it big or you keep your ass at home, and we did it big, and we did it legit.

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.