Red Granite Pictures
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Film production and distribution |
| Founded | 2010 |
| Founder | Riza Aziz, Joey McFarland |
| Defunct | 2018 |
| Headquarters | West Hollywood, California , United States |
| Products | Films including The Wolf of Wall Street, Dumb and Dumber To, Friends with Kids, Out of the Furnace, Papillon |
Red Granite Pictures was a US-based film production and distribution firm established in 2010 by Riza Aziz and Joey McFarland. Among its prominent projects were The Wolf of Wall Street and Dumb and Dumber To. The company ceased operations in 2018 after becoming entangled in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal, with financial support linked to the controversial figure Jho Low.
History
The company launched its portfolio with the romantic comedy Friends with Kids directed by Jennifer Westfeldt. It also served as executive producer for the thriller Out of the Furnace as well as the 2013 release The Wolf of Wall Street, helmed by Martin Scorsese and featuring Leonardo DiCaprio, Margot Robbie, and Jonah Hill. This film draws from the memoirs of former stockbroker Jordan Belfort. Later productions included the sequel Dumb and Dumber To and Papillon, an adaptation of French prisoner Henri Charrière's autobiography.
Controversies
The original producers of the 1994 film Dumb and Dumber alleged that Red Granite excluded them from producing the 2014 sequel. Nonetheless, claims related to racketeering were dropped and resolved in 2014, with the plaintiffs issuing apologies for implicating Red Granite's founders, Riza Aziz and Joey McFarland.
Red Granite became implicated in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal, accused of using approximately US$155 million misappropriated from 1MDB to finance The Wolf of Wall Street. During investigations, FBI subpoenas targeted company personnel. Despite co-founder Aziz’s denials, Red Granite consented in March 2018 to a $60 million settlement addressing a US civil lawsuit alleging that some of its films were funded through illicit 1MDB money. This controversy ultimately led to the company's shutdown later that year.
Feature films
See also
External links
- Articles with short description
- 2010 establishments in California
- 2018 disestablishments in California
- American companies established in 2010
- American companies disestablished in 2018
- Companies based in West Hollywood, California
- Entertainment companies based in California
- Film distributors of the United States
- Film production companies of the United States
- Mass media companies established in 2010
- Mass media companies disestablished in 2018
- International sales agents
- Companies of the United States by year of establishment
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