Mark Wahlberg’s production company – Urealistic Ideas – reportedly partnered with the media outlet – Fortune – to release a documentary revealing the controversial relationship between Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) and Changpeng Zhao (CZ).

The FTX crash caused a clash between the two, who accused each other of the catastrophic event.

Making a Movie out of the Saga

According to The Hollywood Reporter, broad society might soon watch a documentary depicting the spat between FTX’s former CEO – SBF – and Binance’s top executive – Zhao. The two entities that decided to collaborate on the project are Unrealistic Ideas and Fortune.

The former is a production company established in 2018 by the American actor Mark Wahlberg, the filmmaker Archie Gips, and the producing partner Stephen Levinson. The firm was behind the documentary miniseries McMillions which was nominated for an Emmy award in 2020.

Regarding the upcoming project, Gips said the story of SBF and CZ has “captivated” the attention of numerous people. He revealed that the producers had found many “dynamic storytellers” who could shed interesting facts about the relationship between two of the most famous individuals in the crypto industry.

Fortune’s Editor-in-Chief Shontell said her organization is “unbelievably excited” to cooperate with Unrealistic Ideas. The documentary will give people “a 360-degree, personal look at the entire FTX saga,” she added.

Zhao, other executives at Binance, and some people tied with FTX have supposedly agreed to participate in the movie.

This is not the first time someone has planned to go deep into the drama. Michael Lewis – the author of “The Big Short” and “Moneyball” – displayed intentions to write a book about FTX’s demise and Bankman-Fried, after spending time with the former billionaire in his parents’ house.

SBF vs. CZ

The CEO of FTX released a series of mysterious tweets shortly after the community understood his platform’s liquidity issues. He insisted that a “particular sparring partner” had perhaps triggered the fallout. Being the leading player in the industry, some speculated this rival could be Binance or its boss – Zhao. Moreover, the largest crypto exchange vowed to dump its FTT tokens at the beginning of November (worth $584 million at the time). 

Zhao refuted the accusations, describing SBF as a “psychopath” for writing such a statement. He outlined that Binance is willing to assist other cryptocurrency firms during the challenging times and not eliminate them. CZ also urged SBF to “put on a suit, go to DC and start answering questions.”

Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas in December on charges of being the main culprit behind the FTX doom and committing fraud. He spent a week in a local prison and was later extradited to the US. 

The American authorities allowed him to stay at his parents’ house under a $250 million bond which sparked additional controversy in the case. His trial on October 2, 2023, will determine whether he had any role in the negative event and his possible punishment. If found guilty, he could serve up to 115 years in federal prison.