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| Industry | Film |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2010; 15 years ago (2010) |
| Founder | Riza Aziz Joey McFarland Jho Low (financial backing) |
| Defunct | 2018; 7 years ago (2018) |
| Fate | Closed after1MDB scandal |
| Successor | McFarland Entertainment |
| Headquarters | West Hollywood, California |
| Products | Motion pictures |
| Divisions | Red Granite International |
| Website | redgranitepictures |
Red Granite Pictures was an American film production and distribution company, co-founded byRiza Aziz andJoey McFarland in 2010.[1] Its productions includedThe Wolf of Wall Street andDumb and Dumber To. It was dissolved in 2018 after being implicated in the1Malaysia Development Berhad corruption scandal, having been financially backed by the scandal's key figure,Jho Low.
Red Granite Pictures made its debut withFriends with Kids, a romantic comedy written and directed byJennifer Westfeldt. They then executive-produced the thrillerOut of the Furnace as well as the 2013 filmThe Wolf of Wall Street. The latter was directed byMartin Scorsese and starsLeonardo DiCaprio,Margot Robbie andJonah Hill. The film is based onthe memoir of the same name by former stockbrokerJordan Belfort.[2] Red Granite Pictures then produced films such asDumb and Dumber To and the 2017 filmPapillon which was based onthe best-selling autobiography by the French convictHenri Charrière.
The producers of the 1994 filmDumb and Dumber claimed Red Granite Pictures pushed them out of producing the 2014sequel.[3] On July 16, 2014, plaintiffs withdrew their racketeering claim with prejudice, meaning it could not be refiled, which was characterized as a strong suggestion that the lawsuit underlying it had been settled.[4] On July 18, 2014, a request for dismissal was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court and the case was officially settled. The announcement of the settlement lists the plaintiffs as executive producers, and all claims of racketeering made against Red Granite,Riza Aziz and Joey McFarland were withdrawn. The plaintiffs said in a statement, “We apologize for naming Riza Aziz and Joey McFarland as individual defendants rather than just Red Granite.”[5]
Red Granite Pictures was caught up in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal, having the film company's financial backing done by the key figure of the scandal,Jho Low, using funds stolen from 1MDB.[6] The alleged use of the stolen funds is detailed in the bookBillion Dollar Whale by Tom Wright and Bradley Hope. In 2016, the FBI issued subpoenas to several past and present employees of the company in regard to allegations that US$155 million was diverted from 1MDB to help finance the 2013 filmThe Wolf of Wall Street, where Jho Low had been given "Special Thanks" in the credits.[7][8][9][10] Red Granite Pictures, which has the ex-Malaysian Prime Minister's stepson, Riza Aziz, as its co-founder and chairman, denied any wrongdoing.[11] However, in March 2018, Red Granite Pictures agreed to pay $60 million to the US government in order to settle a civil lawsuit alleging that its movies were funded in part by money siphoned from 1MDB.[12][13][14] The company eventually shut down later that year as a result of the scandal.
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