KEY POINTS
- Apple was not the only company interested in getting the rights to the book
- Lewis had access to Bakman-Fried before and even after the collapse of FTX
- “Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon” chronicles the journey of Bankman-Fried
Tech giant Apple reportedly won a bidding war by spending $5 million to acquire the film rights to a book written by Michael Lewis about the disgraced crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried.
Titled “Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon,” Lewis’ upcoming book chronicles the journey of Bankman-Fried, once regarded as the “golden boy of cryptocurrency,” whose network peaked at $26 billion before his crypto empire came crashing down.
Published by W.W. Norton & Company, “Going Infinite” is scheduled to launch on Oct. 3, the same day as the high-profile criminal trial of Bankman-Fried, or SBF as he is popularly known in the cryptocurrency industry.
While a lot of authors have written about the controversial crypto mogul, Lewis, who also penned the book “The Big Short” – centered on traders who bet against the U.S. housing market before the 2008 financial crisis – started his interviews before the collapse of SBF’s crypto empire and before his arrest in the Bahamas and eventual extradition to the U.S.
“The Big Short” was not only a New York Times best-seller, but was also made into a major motion picture by Paramount Pictures, starring big names in Hollywood, including Christian Bale, Steve Carrell, Ryan Gosling and Brad Pitt.
Apple may be banking on the success of Lewis’ books and on Bankman-Fried’s popularity when it committed $5 million to acquire the book’s film rights, Ankler reported, citing several sources.
While there were several studios interested in the rights and could match Apple’s financial power, it appeared the tech giant sealed the deal to produce a full-length film by making a substantial financial offer, the report said.
Apple’s offer for the film rights of the book is surprisingly high considering that best-sellers like “The Da Vinci Code” and “Harry Potter” series reportedly received just $6 million and $2 million for the film rights.
What makes the book a lot more interesting is that Lewis nearly finished his manuscript when SBF’s crypto empire collapsed in November 2022, which gave him first-hand access to the crypto mogul as the world he built crumbled around him.
Furthermore, instead of restricting Lewis’ access, Bankman-Fried allowed the author to continue interviewing him even after his arrest in the Bahamas on Jan. 26.
“The Big Short” is not the only book by Lewis that was made into a major motion picture project. His books “Moneyball” and “The Blind Side” also became blockbusters.
Apple has not yet made any comment related to the film rights of “Going Infinite.”
The International Business Times reported last November that Apple was nearing a deal for the exclusive right to Lewis’ book on the collapse of FTX and the illicit practices of SBF, adding the deal was estimated to be “in the high 7-figures” and that Apple was not the only company interested in getting the rights.
“We heard last week that others circling the project included Amazon Studios, David Heyman, writer Wells Tower and David Yates, Netflix with David Fincher and Sugar23 with Josh Gad,” Deadline reported at the time.
