Fremantle, Passenger, Anonymous, Revolution link for Winterbottom drama

Michael Winterbottom (left) and Fremantle’s Christian Vesper

European production group Fremantle and its subsidiary Passenger are collaborating with the UK’s Revolution Films and US-based Anonymous Content on new six-part drama Fall of the God of Cars.

Written and created by Revolution Films’ Michael Winterbottom (24 Hour Party People), the show tells the story of Carlos Ghosn, the Brazilian-Lebanese CEO of Nissan and Renault, who will be played by Monk star Tony Shalhoub.

Ghosn was arrested in Japan in 2018 on charges of concealing income, before escaping to Beirut hidden inside an audio equipment box on a private jet.

Passenger founder Richard Brown is exec producing the project alongside Melissa Parmenter and Violaine Etienne.

Ghosn has already been the subject of Netflix documentary Fugitive: The Curious Case of Carlos Ghosn and BBC Storyville episode Carlos Ghosn: The Last Flight.

Winterbottom is behind titles such as Welcome to Sarajevo, 24 Hour Party People, A Cock & Bull Story, Code 46 and The Killer Inside Me. Revolution Films’ TV credits include The Trip, Red Riding, Everyday, The Road to Guantanamo, The Unloved and Go Now. Fremantle recently partnered with Brown and Winterbottom on Sky Original drama This England.

Fremantle announced the acquisition of Passenger in December last year, with the independent production company becoming a fully owned label, sitting within Fremantle’s Global Drama division under the leadership of CEO of global drama Christian Vesper.

As part of the deal, Brown took on a new creative role across Fremantle’s Global Drama division to help drive Fremantle’s efforts in the development and production of TV and film projects such as this. Fremantle also has an exclusive first-look deal with Winterbottom’s Revolution Films.