Apple Studios and A24 are teaming up to develop a biopic about the tumultuous rise and fall of former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, based on Michael Lewis’s best-selling book Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon.
According to Variety, the film will be co-produced by Apple and A24, with Lena Dunham, known for her work on Girls, set to write the screenplay. Dunham, a celebrated writer and director, has earned acclaim with multiple Emmy nominations and a Golden Globe for her work on the HBO series.
Apple secured the film rights to Lewis’s book in September 2023 for a reported $5 million, even before the book’s release. Lewis, a renowned journalist, spent a year closely following Bankman-Fried, witnessing firsthand the rise of the FTX empire and its eventual implosion.
A Storied Fall: The FTX Collapse
The film will explore the meteoric success of FTX, once a leading cryptocurrency exchange, and its founder Sam Bankman-Fried, whose rapid fall from grace captivated the world. Bankman-Fried, who once symbolized the potential of the crypto revolution, was convicted on multiple charges, including campaign finance violations, money laundering, securities fraud, and wire fraud, following FTX’s collapse in 2022.
On March 28, 2024, Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison and ordered to forfeit $11 billion in restitution. He is currently incarcerated in a federal facility, serving time for crimes tied to his role in the scandal.
The Growing Interest in Bankman-Fried’s Story
Apple and A24’s project is just one of several Hollywood ventures exploring Bankman-Fried’s fall from grace. Variety reports that Amazon is also developing an eight-episode limited series, produced by the Russo brothers’ company, AGBO. The series, which will focus on the FTX collapse, will be written by David Weil, creator of Hunters, with the Russos in early talks to direct.
Additionally, director Nanette Burstein, known for the 2020 Hillary Clinton documentary Hillary, is reportedly working on a documentary that will profile Bankman-Fried’s life and the FTX scandal.
As these projects move forward, Bankman-Fried’s story, from cryptocurrency mogul to convicted felon, is set to captivate audiences across multiple formats. The biopic and accompanying series will offer a deep dive into one of the most dramatic financial collapses of the decade.
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