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Pras Michél has linked with Mark Wahlberg for a documentary focused on the Fugees founder’s life and ongoing spy trial.
As Michél faces 22 years behind bars following a 2023 conviction on 10 charges including conspiracy, Wahlberg has struck a deal with the musician-turned-politician to make a feature documentary on both the sprawling criminal case and his rise in the Fugees.
“Everyone is fascinated by all the twists and turns, like it’s some kind of thriller,” Michél tells Variety, who broke the story. “But for me, this is just my life — the real, messy, complicated truth of what I’ve been living through.”
The film will be produced under Wahlberg’s Unrealistic Ideas banner and will investigate Michél’s musical legacy as well as the personal impact of navigating a high-profile legal proceeding that resulted in a jury finding him guilty on 10 counts, including conspiracy, witness tampering and failing to register as an unregistered foreign agent of China.
“I’m rooting for Pras and excited to tell his story,” Wahlberg told Variety. He’ll be creating the documentary alongside Unrealistic Ideas president Archie Gips, who called the story, “a surprising mix of pop culture and geopolitical intrigue that feels like a spy thriller come to life.”
Michél was first charged in the case in 2019 after he was accused of funneling money from fugitive Malaysian financier Jho Low through straw donors to Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign. He was also accused of trying to help scuttle a Justice Department investigation into an extradition case on behalf of China during Trump’s first term.
