Apple Studios, in collaboration with A24 and based on Michael Lewis’ bestseller Going Infinite, is taking viewers into the meteoric rise and spectacular fall of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried.
Expected to tell one of the juiciest stories in modern financial history, detailing how Bankman-Fried went from “wunderkind billionaire” to “the cautionary tale crypto needed,” the film has Lena Dunham attached writing the screenplay, Variety reported.
FTX Film Based on a Book by Michael Lewis
Going Infinite is an immersive dive into Bankman-Fried’s story, and paints him as a “crypto Gatsby” whose success drew celebrities, politicians, and investors eager to be part of the ride.
Bankman-Fried turned FTX into one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges with users around the world, projecting an ascetic cult of personality, at least when he was in front of a camera. In November 2022, that all came crashing down when the exchange suddenly collapsed, taking billions of dollars worth of customer money with it.Â
After the collapse of FTX, Bankman-Fried was charged with fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy as prosecutors claimed he diverted customer deposits to support Alameda Research — the trading firm linked to FTX.
This is already being hailed as a significant strength of the adaptation, with reason to believe that screenwriter Dunham excels at creating complex, layered characters.
The film will chronicle not just Bankman-Fried and FTX’s rise but also the deep psychological and ethical currents of his style of leadership.Â
According to LayerZero Labs CEO Bryan Pellegrino, the OFT standard “enables a whole new class of stablecoin interoperability.”
Apple Studios and A24 Comes Together
This latest Apple and A24 partnership is significant for having an established reputation for delivering strong films, as they’ve previously worked together on The Tragedy of Macbeth by writer-director Joel Coen and On the Rocks by director Sofia Coppola.
This adaptation of Going Infinite comes on the heels of Apple and A24’s continued exploration of the dense world-building with characters from real life. The studios’ partnership remains indicative of the desire for timely, socially relevant tales.
The FTX story has already spurred a plethora of projects, including an upcoming Amazon limited series based on the scandal. The fallout from FTX faces the whole sector under the scrutiny of overheated regulatory sprays and wondering if anyone was even watching over Bankman-Fried’s kingdom.
With Bankman-Fried’s disagreements on the subject of a court case, Going Infinite should have plenty of coverage for a sobering examination of modern finance and the siren song, and peril, of unfettered ambition in the tech world.