Fremantle Brings Life Of Carlos Ghosn To The Screen
In 2019, Carlos Ghosn, a top executive in the car industry, caused a worldwide sensation with his spectacular escape from Japan to Lebanon. Now Fremantle, Revolution Films, Passenger, and Anonymous Content tell his thrilling story in a new TV series. The script for “Fall of the God of Cars” was written by well-known author Michael Winterbottom.
In December 2019, Carlos Ghosn, then CEO of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi car group, fled Japan for Lebanon hidden in a music case aboard a private plane. Ghosn had been in pre-trial detention in Japan on charges including embezzlement and was not actually allowed to leave the country following his release on bail. The manager, who has Brazilian, Lebanese and French passports, lost his jobs in the automotive industry following his escape and now lives in Lebanon, which has no extradition treaty with Japan. A new series being co-produced by Fremantle, Revolution Films, Passenger, and Anonymous Content tells the compelling life story of Carlos Ghosn.
The six-part series starring U.S.-Lebanese actor Tony Shalhoub (“Monk,” “The Marvelous Miss Maisel”) as Carlos Ghosn is titled “Fall of the God of Cars.” The screenplay is by well-known writer Michael Winterbottom of Revolution Films, who, together with Fremantle and Richard Brown of Passenger, also created the TV hit “This England,” about Boris Johnson’s first months as British prime minister. Winterbottom said: “Carlos Ghosn was a superstar of the car industry, the first person ever to have simultaneously been CEO of two Fortune 500 companies. It is wonderful to have Tony Shalhoub on board to play this complex character.”
Fremantle’s CEO of Global Drama, Christian Vesper, said: “We are excited to announce this latest collaboration with Michael, Richard and the team at Anonymous Content. They are the perfect visionary and creative partners to bring this fascinating and incredulous story to life.” “Fall of the God of Cars” was originally developed by Michael Winterbottom, Alfonso Cuaron, and Anonymous Content. Richard Brown serves as executive producer on behalf of Passenger and Fremantle, Melissa Parmenter serves as executive producer for Revolution Films, and Violaine Etienne serves as executive producer for Anonymous Content. David Levine and Garrett Kemble will oversee the project on behalf of Anonymous Content.
Fremantle acquired Richard Brown’s production company Passenger last December. As part of the deal, Brown has also taken on a new creative role across Fremantle’s Global Drama division, to help drive Fremantle’s efforts in the development and production of TV and film projects such as this one.
