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Ever since former Nissan/Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn escaped from arrest in Japan in an instrument case, he’s been one of the most fascinating figures in the automotive world. So much so that The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel star Tony Shalhoub is going to play him in an upcoming series, Fall of the God of Cars, according to Deadline.
The series is currently in the works by Oscar-winning director Alfonso Cuarón (Gravity, Children of Men) and it will be a dramatization of Ghosn’s life and escape.
In November 2018, Ghosn was arrested in Japan under charges of falsifying his salary, money laundering, and using corporate Nissan funds for personal gain. Ghosn denied all charges and made his 1 billion yen ($8.93 million) bail in March 2019. However, December 2019 is when things got exciting because that’s when Ghosn made his escape.
With the help of two American pilots, a father and son duo, Ghosn escaped, hidden inside of a large musical instrument case. Ghosn took a train from Tokyo to Osaka, where he was smuggled into the case, fitted with air holes, as if he were a rabbit in a box. Then, the Ghosn-filled case was loaded onto a private jet and flown to Beirut, Lebanon, where’s he’s been ever since. Ghosn is of Brazilian and Lebanese decent and has citizenship in both countries. However, Lebanon doesn’t have an extradition treaty with Japan, so he’s currently safe from arrest there.
Ghosn’s escape pilots were Michael Taylor and his son Peter Taylor, both of whom were sentenced to prison in Japan, two years for Michael, one year and eight months for Peter.
Cuarón will produce the series alongside This England producer Michael Winterbottom and Freemantle executive producer Richard Brown. Since the show has only just been announced, hasn’t finished casting yet, and is still in the works, there’s no release date. However, I think all car enthusiasts would love to see how Ghosn’s wild escape story plays out on screen.
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