AN untitled film, based on the story of journalist and blogger Clare Rewcastle-Brown's exposé of the 1MDB corruption scandal, is in the works. It will be adapted from Brown's book 'The Sarawak Report'.
According to Deadline, producer Doug Belgrad, director-producer Rod Lurie ('The Outpost'), and writer Scott Conroy have enlisted for the project.
Former journalist and critic Lurie will direct the film and produce with Belgrad. It will be under his Sony-based, 2.0 Entertainment production banner, with Sony getting the first look.
“Clare Rewcastle-Brown is a bona fide journalistic hero in the spirit of Woodward and Bernstein,” said Lurie.
“To expose the immense corruption she uncovered, she gave up journalistic glory by handing her sources and information over to the Wall Street Journal because they had far greater reach.
"Movies are movies because of women like her who fight for justice without selfishness and at enormous personal risk. It will be an honour to tell her story.”
Rewcastle-Brown's reporting through her blog 'The Sarawak Report' began with the environmental deterioration in Borneo. The trails would later lead her to uncover globe-spanning corruption under the guise of the state investment fund 1MDB.
In London, she would be followed by Malaysian government agents; the FBI told her that her life was in danger. As the 1MDB scandal imploded, an arrest warrant was issued for her.
Her investigation would turn up the lavish jet-setting lifestyle of mastermind Jho Low, a former prime minister and his wife with their slew of jewels, properties, handbags and even a Hollywood film. Goldman Sachs was ordered to pay more than US$5 billion in settlements to the Malaysian and US governments.
Said Belgrad: “There is a great tradition of movies focused on the quixotic lone warrior taking on the powerful.
"Clare’s attachment to Malaysia, the place of her birth, and her bone-deep aversion to injustice pushed her to discover and reveal the audaciously corrupt conspirators who were looting the country.
"Her remarkably brave reporting made her a national hero, even as menacing forces threatened her and those connected to her crusade. We couldn’t be more excited to tell her story.”
Belgrad recently produced the hits 'Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway', and 'Bad Boys for Life'. – The Vibes, July 10, 2021
