Riza Aziz

Riza Shahriz bin Abdul Aziz, better known as Riza Aziz, is a Malaysian film producer and the co-founder of Red Granite Pictures, a Los Angeles-based film production company.

In this Malay name, there is no family name. The name Aziz is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Riza. The Arabic-derived word "bin" or "binti"/"binte", if used, means 'son of' or 'daughter of', respectively.
Riza Aziz
Born
Riza Shahriz bin Abdul Aziz
NationalityMalaysian
OccupationFilm Producer, Co-Founder and Chairman of Red Granite Pictures
Parent(s)Abdul Aziz Nong Chik (father)
Rosmah Mansor (mother)
Websitewww.redgranitepictures.com www.rizaaziz.com

Career

Riza holds a BS degree in Government & Economics and an MS in Politics from the London School of Economics.[1] He worked with the management consultants KPMG for two years till 2002 and then at HSBC London from 2005 until the financial crash in 2008.[2]

In 2010, with producing partner Joey McFarland, Riza co-founded Red Granite Pictures, an American film finance, development, production and distribution company.[3] Aziz serves as both a producer and Chairman for the independent company and started its slate with the hit romantic comedy, Friends with Kids[4] Written and directed by Jennifer Westfeldt, Friends With Kids also stars John Hamm, Adam Scott, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph and Chris O'Dowd.

In 2012, following the success of Friends With Kids, Riza went on to executive produce the dramatic thriller Out of the Furnace, starring Christian Bale, Casey Affleck, Zoe Saldana, and Forest Whitaker. Scott Cooper of Crazy Heart directed the feature which was released on December 6, 2013. Riza followed up Out of the Furnace with the highly anticipated film The Wolf of Wall Street. The Wolf of Wall Street is based upon Jordan Belfort's best-selling novel of the same name and was adapted into a screenplay by Terence Winter. The film starred Leonardo DiCaprio, Margot Robbie, Jonah Hill, and was directed by Martin Scorsese. The film was released on December 25, 2013.[5] The film is banned in his native country, Malaysia.[6] The Wolf of Wall Street has achieved tremendous box office success and critical acclaim - including a Golden Globe win for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Comedy for star Leonardo DiCaprio and five Academy Award nominations including Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Director.

Also in 2013, Riza completed production on Horns, a supernatural thriller starring Daniel Radcliffe, Juno Temple and directed by Alexandre Aja. The film is based on the best-selling novel by Joe Hill and was released in 2014 by Dimension-RADiUS.[7] Riza is also a producer on the sequel Dumb and Dumber To, directed by Pete and Bobby Farrelly. The film features Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels reprising their roles, Lloyd Christmas and Harry Dunne, and was released on November 14, 2014 by Universal Pictures and opened number one at the box office.[8][9] Paramount Pictures and Riza's production company Red Granite Pictures in association with Gary Sanchez Productions also produced the Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg comedy Daddy's Home. Red Granite Pictures co-produced and co-financed the film, which Paramount Pictures distributed worldwide. Riza's development slate includes The Brigands of Rattleborge and The General. The Brigands of Rattleborge, blacklist's number 1 script of 2006, is a western revenge story and The General is a gritty look at the story of George Washington.

In 2011, Variety named Riza to their list of Top 10 Producers to Watch.[10]

Personal life

Riza was born to Abdul Aziz Nong Chik and Rosmah Mansor in Malaysia. His mother married politician Najib Razak (who would later serve as Prime Minister of Malaysia) in 1987, making him Najib Razak's stepson.[11]

1MDB scandal
Main article: 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal

As of September 2015 the US Department of Justice was investigating property transactions carried out by Riza, related to the role of Najib Razak, in 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal in Malaysia.[12][13] On 20 July 2016, Riza Aziz was named in FBI's 1MDB lawsuit.[14] Tens of millions of dollars in funds diverted from 1MDB were used to produce the 2013 Martin Scorsese film 'The Wolf of Wall Street', the lawsuits said.[15] Later, it was revealed that "Dumb and Dumber To" and "Daddy's Home" were also financed by Malaysian government investment fund through corrupt officials and financiers.[16]

In March 2018, Red Granite Pictures agreed to pay US$60 million to the U.S. Justice Department to settle claims it financed three films, Wolf of Wall Street, Daddy's Home, and Dumb and Dumber To using over US$100 million funds sourced from 1MDB.[17]

Riza is also known as a good friend of Low Taek Jho, who was said to be the mastermind to the 1MDB scandal with money trails linking assets including luxury paintings, a superyacht, and several real estate assets, among others, acquired using monies alleged siphoned from the fund.[18]

Riza’s involvement in 1MDB scandal is under investigation by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC). In July 2019, Riza was arrested on money laundering charges stemming from the MACC investigation.[19]

Filmography
Year Film Director Other notes
2017 Papillon Michael Noer May 7, 2017
2014 Daddy's Home Sean Anders and John Morris
2014 Dumb and Dumber To Peter and Bobby Farrelly
2013 Horns Alexandre Aja
2013 The Wolf of Wall Street Martin Scorsese December 25, 2013
2013 Out of the Furnace Scott Cooper December 6, 2013
2012 Friends With Kids Jennifer Westfeldt March 16, 2012
2012 Children Rise Billy Raftery

References
  1. "Follow the Money: 'The Wolf of Wall Street' Corruption Timeline". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
  2. "Wall Street Greed / Malaysian Money - EXPOSE!". Sarawak Report. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
  3. Pamela McClintock (May 22, 2012). "Red Granite Pictures' Riza Aziz and Joey McFarland on Scorsese's 'Wolf of Wall Street' (Q&A)". The Hollywood Reporter.
  4. "Lionsgate Has Friends With Kids". Press Release. Lionsgate. Archived from the original on January 27, 2013. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
  5. McClintock, Pamela. "Red Granite Picture's Riza Aziz and Joey McFarland on Scorsese's "Wolf of Wall Street"". The Hollywood Reporter.
  6. "Gay Orgy, Gone! 'Wolf of Wall Street' Censored, Banned Overseas". moviethatmatters.com. Archived from the original on 2014-01-30.
  7. Mike Fleming Jr. "RADiUS- TWC, Dimension Acquire Daniel Radcliffe Toronto Thriller 'Horns'". Deadline Hollywood.
  8. Nikki Finke. "CAA Loses High-Profile Director To UTA". Deadline Hollywood.
  9. Brent Lang. "Box Office: 'Dumb and Dumber To' On Top With $38.1 Million". Variety.
  10. "Red Granite Pictures: Duo combine investment savvy with creative juice". Variety. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
  11. Webmaster, MT. "Rosmah – the rousing rose – Malaysia Today". www.malaysia-today.net. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  12. "Obama Dilemma: How to Treat Malaysia's Pariah PM". Asia Sentinel.
  13. "Malaysia's Leader, Najib Razak, Faces U.S. Corruption Inquiry". The New York Times. September 22, 2015.
  14. "Red Granite's Riza Aziz Named in FBI's 1MDB Lawsuits". Variety. October 13, 2016.
  15. "Riza, Jho Low and two others named in US Justice Dept lawsuit". malaysiakini. October 13, 2016.
  16. "'Dumb and Dumber To' was made with stolen cash, feds say". June 24, 2017.
  17. "Round four for Riza Aziz at MACC over matters linked to 1MDB". The Edge Markets. 6 July 2018. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
  18. "Najib's stepson Riza Aziz arrives at MACC". The Edge Markets. 3 July 2018. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
  19. Frater, Patrick (2019-07-04). "'Wolf of Wall Street' Producer Riza Aziz Arrested on Money Laundering Charges". Variety. Retrieved 2019-07-20.
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