The collapse of FTX was one of the worst in the history of cryptocurrencies. Millions of customers have lost their funds, and disgraced former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried faces up to 130 years in prison. His partners Gary Wang and Carolyn Ellison, who stole billions from Alameda Research, also face an uncertain future.
But one thing is for sure: Hollywood and the entertainment industry see the crisis as a potential box office hit. Today, some major production companies and studios are racing against the clock to produce films, television series and documentaries about the catastrophic FTX accident.
Here are six FTX-inspired films and TV projects currently in production, along with the people behind them.
Amazon Studios 'awesome' at FTX Meltdown
Anthony and Joe Russo, best known for directing some of the hit Avengers movies, are working on an eight-episode miniseries that will cover the FTX storyline. The producers are also eyeing Marvel actors who will play some of the main characters in the series, which will be produced by their production company ABGO. The project is backed by Amazon Studios and written by David Weil, best known for his work on Hunters and Invasion from Apple Studios.
Michael Lexis x Adam McKay (or David Fincher)
Michael Lewis is a respected name in Hollywood. He is behind films like Flash Boys, Moneyball and The Big Short. He is currently working on a book chronicling the journey of disgraced cryptocurrency tycoon Sam Bankman-Freed. He also reportedly spent about six months in the SBF, following him everywhere and seeing him from time to time even after his arrest.
Creative Artists Agency (CAA) agent Matthew Snyder also revealed that Lewis is offering film and television rights to his book and is close to a deal with Apple that could offer him a seven-figure deal.
Snyder also notes that although Lewis began the book by focusing on the “white nights” of cryptocurrencies, the sudden crash of exchanges caused a dramatic shift, which is the USP here. Amazon Studios and Harry Potter producer David Heyman are also working on the script. It's definitely in high demand and maybe even underrated.
When it comes to these stories, we immediately think of Adam McKay and his unique documentary style that gives these stories a sense of realism. He or David Fincher, who has a four-year partnership with Netflix, could reportedly direct the film.
Several other high-profile projects explore the history of FTX.
It may sound crazy, but several companies are trying to bring the FTX story to TV and film screens. For example, Panoramic Media is working on a joint project with New York Times writer Andrew Ross Sorkin, who interviewed SBF after the FTX crash.
Jonathan Glickman is the former president of Metro Goldwyn Mayer Motion Pictures Group, which co-owns Panoramic Media. Glickman can also be credited with several high-profile projects, including three James Bond films.
In another project, Academy Award-winning writer Graham Moore will write and direct his own take on the FTX story, based on the original cover published this fall in New York magazine. This project may be funded by Vox Media Productions. For those unfamiliar with Moore, he is the author of The Imitation Game.
Popular Vice Media is also working on a documentary in collaboration with The Information, a leading technology and business publication. The Hollywood Reporter notes that the documentary will be titled "SBF and the End of Silicon Valley," in which experts from both companies will detail how the disaster happened and focus on the evil entity behind it.
Apart from Vice and The Information, Decrypt is another publisher working on FTX-based feature-length documentaries. They are collaborating with Mycos, a Web3 streaming service, on a documentary that will feature exclusive footage of the SBF's interior and the remains of the crash. They hope to release the documentary this summer.
Finally, Oscar-nominated director David Garg is working on a documentary in collaboration with award-winning non-fiction studio XTR. It was probably one of the first outfits that this project worked on. The Swagger article claims that Garg has been working on the film in the Bahamas as early as November 17, 2022. The article also states that Garg and XTR have “unprecedented access to FTX and are a major player in the cryptocurrency community.”
For the uninitiated, behind iconic films like You Can't Kill David Arquette and Team 12. XTR also has extensive experience working on films such as They Call Me Magic and the Emmy Award-winning 76 Days.
Summing up
The collapse of the FTX exchange was a sensational event in the world of finance. Such events have been remembered for centuries, thanks in part to films and documentaries made about them. On the other hand, TV and film projects inspired by FTX can paint a bleak picture of the crypto ecosystem and its risks. At the same time, bad publicity is publicity and these products can help promote more digital assets.