On Oct. 3, Pras Michél was scheduled to be sentenced to federal prison in a wild case tied to the $4.5 billion looting of the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund known as 1MDB. But lawyers for the Fugees founder, who is facing 22 years behind bars following a 2023 conviction, delayed sentencing for the third time as President Donald Trump considers pardoning the hip-hop star.
The move marked the latest development in a case that sparked international headlines thanks to Michél’s stranger-than-fiction trajectory from Grammy winner to convicted spy. Now, Mark Wahlberg has struck a deal with Michél to make a feature documentary that limns his path from Yale-educated virtuoso to unlikely target of the FBI in its investigation into one of the world’s biggest financial scandals.
“Everyone is fascinated by all the twists and turns, like it’s some kind of thriller,” says Michél, who’s speaking from Los Angeles and is restricted from leaving the country. “But for me, this is just my life — the real, messy, complicated truth of what I’ve been living through.”
Produced under Wahlberg’s Unrealistic Ideas banner, the film will explore Michél’s musical legacy as the still-touring artist behind the seminal “Ghetto Supastar (That Is What You Are),” as well as the personal toll of navigating high-profile legal proceedings that culminated in a jury finding him guilty on 10 counts, including conspiracy, witness tampering and failing to register as an unregistered foreign agent of China. In August, Michél underwent emergency surgery to remove colon cancer, forcing him to miss a sentencing hearing in early September and the one earlier this month.
Wahlberg, who produced “Juvies,” a documentary about incarcerated teens, calls Michél a “legend.” “I’m rooting for Pras and excited to tell his story,” the Oscar-nominated “The Departed” actor says.
At the center of the 1MDB case is Jho Low, the profligate financier of “The Wolf of Wall Street,” whose Hollywood social circle included Leonardo DiCaprio, Wahlberg’s “Departed” co-star. Back in 2023, DiCaprio testified for the prosecution in Michél’s trial. Like Michél, DiCaprio was a recipient of Low’s spending, accepting gifts from the producer that included a $3.2 million Picasso and a $9 million Basquiat. Still, Michél is the only figure in the case looking at jail time. Low remains at large, believed to be in hiding in China.
Wahlberg will produce the documentary alongside Unrealistic Ideas president Archie Gips, who calls Michél’s arc “just the kind of complex, shocking and emotional story” the company finds compelling. “It’s a surprising mix of pop culture and geopolitical intrigue that feels like a spy thriller come to life,” he adds.
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Ever since the FBI put Michél in its crosshairs in 2018, his friends have been distancing themselves. In a 2024 Variety profile, he talked about how the investigation sent his life into chaos — noting an incident when federal agents visited the L.A. home of one of his closest friends, a married father of three.
“Look, you get a call, FBI show up to your place — I don’t care who you are, your heart is going up your throat,” he said at the time. “They’re like, ‘Hey, we just got a couple of questions for you. So can we come in?’ Who’s going to say no? So he let them in. The wife comes, sits in the living room, don’t know what’s going on, but she’s scared. And at some point, one of the agents goes, ‘What’s that? Do you smell that?’ The wife defecated on herself. She was that scared. And the wife later told my friend, ‘If you ever speak to Pras again, I’ll take my three daughters and you’ll never see us again.’”
Crisis publicist Erica Dumas was one of the only people willing to take a call from the embattled star; she began working with him in the run-up to the trial. She also serves as a producer on the documentary.
“Pras put his complete trust in Mark, Archie and Stephen [Levinson] at Unrealistic Ideas to tell his story authentically, without any filters or agenda,” she says. “This project doesn’t shy away from the challenging aspects of Pras’ recent experiences.”
The doc will include footage Michél shot on his phone during pivotal moments in the saga, like a meeting in China with a top CCP official who was sentenced to death by the Chinese government in 2022 for taking bribes.
From Variety US