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 On Wednesday, the Malaysian co-founder of that company, Red
Granite Pictures, was accused in U.S. civil lawsuits of using
$100 million dollars that was diverted from Malaysian state
development fund 1MDB in a money-laundering scheme, to finance
the film.
Directed by Martin Scorsese and starring DiCaprio as real-life
convicted stockbroker Jordan Belfort "The Wolf of Wall Street,"
went on to make $400 million at the worldwide box office, get
five Oscar nominations, and win a Golden Globe for the popular
actor.
The lawsuits aim to seize the proceeds from the 2013 film. Now
back in the spotlight, the rollicking tale of drugs, sex and
money laundering should make tens of millions of dollars more,
industry analysts said.
"A film like 'Wolf of Wall Street' with DiCaprio and Scorsese is
an evergreen property and it could easily make another $100
million in the near future," said Jeff Bock, senior box office
analyst at Exhibitor Relations.
The renewed attention on the film won't hurt either. "All the
talk just helps remind people about the movie," Bock said.
Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for global media
measurement company comScore, said it was the kind of movie that
does well for years.
In a statement, Red Granite said that to its knowledge, none of
the funding it received four years ago was illegitimate and that
co-founder Riza Aziz and the company did nothing wrong.
Riza Aziz is the stepson of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak,
who oversaw the 1MDB fund.
The court papers mention "Hollywood Actor 1" and a source
familiar with the matter said that referred to DiCaprio. It said
he became associated with a Malaysian man named Jho Low, who
distributed more than $10 million to the production company
using 1MDB money and later received a "special thanks" in the
film credits.
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The court papers said that in July 2012, Low went gambling in Las
Vegas with several others, including DiCaprio and a former 1MDB
executive after Low's account had been infused with $11 million from
accounts used to launder 1MDB funds.
A DiCaprio publicist did not return requests for comment.
The movie's distributor, Paramount Pictures, did not return calls
for comment, nor did director Scorsese.
Riza and Los Angeles-based Red Granite Pictures were little known in
Hollywood before putting up the bulk of the cash for "The Wolf of
Wall Street." According to boxofficemojo.com the film had a
production budget of about $100 million.
Red Granite had previously financed the 2011 indie film "Friends
with Kids." It has since helped produce or finance a handful of
other movies including the comedies "Dumb and Dumber To" and
"Daddy's Home."
The company's website says its slate of films has brought in more
than $825 million worldwide at the box office since the company was
founded in 2010.
(Additional reporting by Gina Cherelus and Joel Schectman; editing
by Grant McCool)
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