The Fugees' Pras Michèl’s Wild Life Gets the Hollywood Treatment
From the Fugees to Federal Court: Pras Michèl’s Wild Life Gets Turned Into A Documentary
Pras Michèl has teamed up with Mark Wahlberg to make a documentary on the Fugees founder’s wild life as he’s gone from winning a Grammy with the seminal rap group to currently facing 22 years in prison for a 2023 conviction for $4.5 billion looting of the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund called 1MDB.
The documentary is expected to follow Michèl’s life from his days of being a musical genius who attended Yale, to his time with the Fugees, to his reported involvement with one of the largest financial scandals in the world.
“Everyone is fascinated by all the twists and turns, like it’s some kind of thriller,” Michél told Variety. “But for me, this is just my life — the real, messy, complicated truth of what I’ve been living through.”
Here’s how Variety explains what happened:
“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.”
A jury found Michél guilty on 10 counts, including conspiracy, witness tampering and failing to register as an unregistered foreign agent of China. Sentencing for Michél has been delayed for years, and in August, he underwent emergency surgery to remove colon cancer. Michél is hoping that President Donald Trump will pardon him.
Wahlberg, who produced the documentary Juvies about incarcerated teens, calls Michél a “legend.”
“I’m rooting for Pras and excited to tell his story,” Wahlberg said.
Wahlberg will produce the doc with Unrealistic Ideas president Archie Gips, who calls Michél’s arc “just the kind of complex, shocking and emotional story” his company is interested in. “It’s a surprising mix of pop culture and geopolitical intrigue that feels like a spy thriller come to life,” he adds.
“Pras put his complete trust in Mark, Archie and Stephen [Levinson] at Unrealistic Ideas to tell his story authentically, without any filters or agenda,” Crisis publicist Erica Dumas, one of the only people willing to take a call from Michél, told Variety.
“This project doesn’t shy away from the challenging aspects of Pras’ recent experiences.”
See social media’s explosive reaction to Pras admitting he was an FBI informant after being found guilty in a federal conspiracy below.
From the Fugees to Federal Court: Pras Michèl’s Wild Life Gets Turned Into A Documentary was originally published on cassiuslife.com
