“Wanted: The Escape of Carlos Ghosn” is the juicy real tale of how the auto executive went from attending red carpets as the head of both Nissan and
“The
The four-part series, which starts Friday, takes a wider lens to Ghosn's story, tracing the childhood and rise of the auto executive which
Voices included are
Most crucially, director James Jones went to
“You need to hear from the people in the room. You can’t just have pundits commentating on what happened or kind of rehashing the story second-hand,” Jones says. “For me, getting Carlos and
Many viewers may tune in because of the brazen way Ghosn left
“My initial reaction was like, ‘Is there enough for four parts?' I know he’s an interesting guy who is a brilliant businessman, and the escape is thrilling," said Jones. “But then when I spent the time reading up about it, it did feel rich and the kind of thing that’s quite satisfying to really get your teeth into.”
The Brazilian-born Ghosn took refuge in
The series also investigates Japan’s legal system, which critics say amounts to “hostage justice,” allowing suspects to be questioned for days without a lawyer present while they are kept in solitary confinement in a small, spartan cell. The conviction rate of over 99% has raised questions over forced confessions.
The case against Ghosn centers on elaborate calculations to compensate him after retirement for a pay cut he took beginning in 2009, when disclosure of big executive pay became a legal requirement in
Ghosn argues the case against him was concocted in a power struggle within Nissan’s boardroom and the series does show a conspiracy by Nissan officials to get rid of Ghosn because they feared a merger with
“He was wronged and yet these allegations look very bad,” said Jones. “And by hiding out in
Ghosn may have escaped but not everyone who helped him did the same. Taylor was sentenced to two years in prison, while his son, Peter, was sentenced to one year and eight months for his part. They claim in the series that Ghosn never paid them for their work helping him escape.
Jones sees the Ghosn saga as a cautionary tale of a leader who lost his bearings. The executive may have believed that because he'd saved Nissan and
“He thought he had saved these companies from extinction and made them successful and made them in his own image and therefore was kind of entitled to play by his own rules to some extent,” he said.
McLain, whose book with fellow
“He was going to retire a very wealthy man, but because he wanted more, what he’s going to be known for from now on is spiriting himself away from
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