1MDB and the ongoing investigation are still very much on the mind of all Malaysians, and among all the different reactions, some people do choose to give it more of a humorous spin, because the doom and gloom can only be tolerated for so long.
One Malaysian decided to exercise his creativity by casting Hollywood actors into roles for a prospective Hollywood remake of the 1MDB scandal. We thought most of his casting decisions were on point, but we’ll let you decide for yourself.
Tom Hanks As Our Prime Minister
According to Zainul, “How do you cast a good actor to play the role of someone who lacks any sort of charisma or personality? But TOM HANKS is one of the best in the world, and if there’s someone who can pull of being innocent and conniving at the same time, it’s him.”
Tom Hanks has shown his versatility and acting chops in a variety of roles and we’re sure he can tackle this one flawlessly.
Gurmit Singh As Riza Aziz
“This one is a no brainer. These guys literally look like long lost twins. But aside from the resemblance, we all know how good of an actor GURMIT SINGH is, and this would be a perfect platform for our beloved Phua Chu Kang to make a long awaited comeback.”
The resemblance is uncanny, and the best part is, Gurmit can play it whatever direction Hollywood wishes to take—a comedy, a tragedy, a moving drama or a farce.
Jonah Hill As Jho Lo
“The 1MDB scandal is again and again being linked with the production of The Wolf of Wall Street, so I guess it’ll be fun to pay homage to the original movie by casting one of the actors, and who better than fat Jonah Hill to play fat Jho Low?” wrote Zainul.
Great casting choice, but Jonah Hill will probably have to put on a few more pounds again, after successfully losing some weight earlier this year. Sometimes you have to sacrifice a bit for your art.
Rosie O’Donnell As Datin Paduka Seri Hajjah Rosmah Mansor
“ROSIE O’DONNELL is one of the most hated and controversial figures in Hollywood. Haven’t really seen much of her work, but if she maintains that unpleasant personality throughout the whole movie, then there’s no one better than her for the role.”
Whatever the comparison of their personalities are, we can say for sure that our Datin has better hair.
Robert De Niro As Tun Dato’ Seri Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad
As Zainul said, “Only Hollywood’s Godfather will be able to pull of the role of Malaysia’s Godfather. The anger, the frustration, the sarcasm and most importantly the ablity to transform like a chameleon, this versatile actor will pull it off like a piece of cake.”
This is where we started disagreeing with the casting choices. Most of us on the VP team think that Sean Connery would be a better man to play our former Prime Minister, but we have to admit that if we just looked at the noses, then Robert’s is closer to the real thing.
Julia Roberts As Clare R. Brown
“Clare R. Brown reminds me of JULIA ROBERTS in The Pelican Brief. She played the role of a law student and displayed a similar kind of bravery and ferocity Clare is displaying rite now, and it’ll be nice to see what Julia can bring to the character.”
Personally, if we must cast an American actress to play a British character, I would choose Lake Bell, who, at least, can get the accent right and has the right spunky anger for the character. We already know Julia Roberts’ English accent is not on the ball and it would be cringe-inducing to have such a significant role messed up by a faux, bad accent.
Chow Yun-fat As Tan Sri Dato’ Haji Muhyiddin bin Yassin
As written by Zainul, “CHOW YUN FAT is an extremely underrated actor and you need someone who can be charming when it’s required, and an asshole when it’s needed to play someone like Muhyiddin, and Chow will be perfect.”
I have a soft spot for Chow Yun-fat, having grown up watching his movies, so I’m sure he’ll do a great job.
Kal Penn As Arul Kanda
“If you need someone to play a dumb Indian guy who acts like he doesn’t know what the hell is going on around him, KAL PENN is your man.”
Astute Facebook commenters have also noted that Irfan Khan might be another possible casting choice, but since Kal has experience in politics, we think he’ll be the best choice for the role.
Alec Baldwin As Rafizi Ramli
“ALEC BALDWIN has the perfect blend of humour and intellect, and having already played a guy dealing with money in Glengarry Glen Ross, he’s gonna absolutely nail it as Rafizi.”
There’s only one complaint that we have against this casting, and it’s that Alec Baldwin is a tad too old, but that’s nothing makeup and CGI can’t handle.
What did you think of the casting? Can you think of other Hollywood actors who would be perfect for a 1MDB movie?
You can find Zainul Abbidin’s full album here.