News about an imminent movie deal based on the most sought-after book right now, Billion Dollar Whale, has travelled fast and excited almost everyone who has invested their attention into the 1MDB (1Malaysia Development Berhad) scandal.
Following that, recently, The Malay Mail reported that Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh of Crazy Rich Asians fame will produce the film under a deal with SK Global and Ivanhoe pictures, its international producing label. Whaa…
If you didn’t know, SK Global’s Ivanhoe co-produced and co-financed Crazy Rich Asians, a movie that broke the box office worldwide after its release.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, SK Global had acquired the film rights for Billion Dollar Whale, which was by written Wall Street Journal’s journalists, Tom Wright and Bradley Hope.
Billion Dollar Whale: The Man Who Fooled Wall Street, Hollywood and the World narrates the story of Low Taek Jho who bamboozled billions of ringgits right under our noses from 1MDB.
The book reveals that Jho Low and his associates had spent USD85 million (approx. RM352 million) within the span of eight months. It was written that between October 2009 and June 2010, Jho Low and Co. had gambled away the sum in Las Vegas.
He had reportedly used the money on alcohol, private jets, renting luxury yachts and paying Hollywood celebrities and Playmates to go out with them. That’s some kind of life he’s living, don’t you think?
The story of the Billion Dollar Whale is very beguiling that SK Global’s president John Penotti is more than proud to be associated with this project. He was quoted as saying,
“Tom and Bradley have crafted a thoroughly compelling telling of this unbelievable story.”
“While certainly a daring work of investigative journalism, the narrative thread and eclectic characters that they so diligently chronicle make the book read like a thrilling and engrossing novel. We are very proud to be associated with this project and anticipate moving forward very quickly to production.”
Nice!
Well, we don’t know about you but we are definitely excited for this film. We sure hope that it will turn out to be as good as the book. Godspeed to the whole team!
On a side note, how would you imagine the casting of the movie to be like? Share your dream cast for the Billion Dollar Whale movie in the comments below!
Also read: ‘Billion Dollar Whale’ is Turning Into a Hollywood Movie Soon, Says Book Author