Red Granite Pictures was an American film production and distribution company, co-founded by Riza Aziz and Joey McFarland in 2010. Its productions included The Wolf of Wall Street and Dumb and Dumber To. It was dissolved in 2018 after being implicated in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad corruption scandal, having been financially backed by the scandal's key figure, Jho Low.
History
Red Granite Pictures made its debut with Friends with Kids, a romantic comedy written and directed by Jennifer Westfeldt. They then executive-produced the thriller Out of the Furnace as well as the 2013 film The Wolf of Wall Street. The latter was directed by Martin Scorsese and stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Margot Robbie and Jonah Hill. The film is based on the memoir of the same name by former stockbroker Jordan Belfort. Red Granite Pictures then produced films such as Dumb and Dumber To and the 2017 film Papillon which was based on the best-selling autobiography by the French convict Henri Charrière.
Controversies The producers of the 1994 film Dumb and Dumber claimed Red Granite Pictures pushed them out of producing the 2014 sequel. 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. 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as executive producers, and all claims of racketeering made against Red Granite, Riza Aziz and Joey McFarland were withdrawn.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.”
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. 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 film The Wolf of Wall Street, where Jho Low had been given "Special Thanks" in the credits.The Secret Money Behind ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’FBI probes 1MDB-Red Granite US$155m financing claim - WSJ Red Granite Pictures, which has the ex-Malaysian Prime Minister's stepson, Riza Aziz, as its co-founder and chairman, denied any wrongdoing. 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.
Filmography Feature films Year Title Director Co-production with Distributor(s) Notes 2012 Friends with Kids Jennifer Westfeldt Points West PicturesLocomotive LionsgateRoadside Attractions First film 2013 Out of the Furnace Scott Cooper Scott Free ProductionsAppian Way Productions Relativity Media 2013 The Wolf of Wall Street Martin Scorsese Appian Way ProductionsSikelia ProductionsEMJAG Productions Paramount PicturesUniversal Pictures Nominated—Academy Award for Best PictureNominated—Academy Award for Best Director Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actor Nominated—Academy Award for Best Adapted ScreenplayNominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting ActorNominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or ComedyWon—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or ComedyNominated—BAFTA Award for Best Direction Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actor Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Editing Nominated—Producers Guild of America Award for Best Theatrical Motion Picture 2014 The Bag Man David Grovic CinedigmTinRes Entertainment CinedigmUniversal Studios Home Entertainment 2014 Horns Alexandre Aja Mandalay Pictures Dimension FilmsRADiUS-TWC 2014 Dumb and Dumber To Peter and Bobby Farrelly New Line CinemaConundrum Entertainment Universal Pictures 2014 Dying of the Light Paul Schrader Grindstone Entertainment Group Lionsgate 2015 Daddy's Home Sean Anders Gary Sanchez Productions Paramount Pictures 2017 Papillon Michael Noer Czech Anglo ProductionsRam Bergman ProductionsFishCorb Films Bleecker Street Final film before closure
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