Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried may still be looking at 25 years in prison, but production companies are reportedly developing a film based on the former FTX CEO’s rise and fall from grace.
According to a Nov. 12 Variety report, Apple Studios and A24 are co-developing and co-producing a feature film about Bankman-Fried based on Michael Lewis’ book Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon. Lewis released the book in October 2023, on the day the former CEO’s criminal trial began in New York.
Some critics of Lewis’ book claimed that the Big Short author downplayed the impact of Bankman-Fried’s actions on millions of investors, who were locked out of their accounts and could not access a combined billions of dollars. A portion of the book focused on SBF’s effective altruism and how it may have influenced events leading to his misuse of customer funds.
Director and actress Lena Dunham will reportedly write the script for the film, which may already be in early development. Since FTX filed for bankruptcy in November 2022 and several of its executives were charged with fraud in the United States, the story of the crypto exchange and its employees has been the subject of intense scrutiny by lawmakers and the media.
Related: Michael Lewis' new book puts a positive spin on Sam Bankman-Fried
Other production companies have been planning their own angles on an FTX documentary or movie. Fortune and Unrealistic Ideas reportedly planned to create a film based on SBF’s relationship with former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao. Both executives ended up in prison for different reasons, though Zhao has since been released.
From the boardroom to the courtroom
The report came roughly two years after FTX filed for bankruptcy on Nov. 11, 2022. Three of the five individuals charged in the FTX indictment have since gone to prison, including former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison — briefly Bankman-Fried’s girlfriend — and former FTX Digital Markets co-CEO Ryan Salame.
Nishad Singh, the engineering director at the crypto exchange, received time served after pleading guilty and testifying at SBF’s trial. FTX co-founder Gary Wang is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 20.
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