EXCLUSIVE: Gotham and The O.C. star Ben McKenzie has made his characteristic directorial debut on documentary Everybody Is Mendacity To You For Cash, a scathing portrait of the world of cryptocurrency, which can obtain its world premiere at SXSW London in June.
Written, directed and produced by McKenzie, alongside producer Giorgio Angelini, the characteristic was filmed over three years in New York, London, Austin, El Salvador and Miami.
The movie consists of an interview with Sam Bankman-Fried, filmed simply months earlier than he was indicted on a number of fees of fraud and conspiracy, and with Alex Mashinksy, equally filmed months earlier than his firm, which at its peak purported to carry $25BN in property, declared chapter. It additionally highlights El Salvador’s President, Nayib Bukele, and his connection to the world of cryptocurrency. Different interview topics embrace celebrities, a pseudonymous whistleblower, and quite a few victims.
The documentary culminates in McKenzie, who has a level in economics, testifying to the Senate Banking Committee, the place he denounces crypto as “the biggest Ponzi scheme in historical past”. Verve is repping gross sales on the movie.
The doc additionally options snapshots of the TV star’s house life in Brooklyn which he shares with actress Morena Baccarin and their children, as Covid-induced boredom triggers a deep dive down the crypto rabbit gap.
McKenzie, who just lately wrapped an performing function in motion movie Motor Metropolis, stated: “After I began warning folks about crypto fraud within the fall of 2021, I caught a bunch of flack from the bros on-line. Now plenty of these guys are in jail, and sadly thousands and thousands of traders misplaced their shirts to those conmen. Why is the false story of crypto nonetheless spreading? That’s the query I got down to reply with this movie. I can not anticipate audiences to see Everybody Is Mendacity To You For Cash, a comedy that treats crypto and the creeps shilling it with the respect they deserve: zero.”
