Fyre Festival’s Billy McFarland’s Bahamas Treasure Hunt Captured In Documentary From Ample & Fremantle
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
EXCLUSIVE: Billy McFarland, the founder of the notorious Fyre Festival, is out of prison and starting his latest venture – returning to the Bahamas for a treasure hunt.
This time, it’s all being captured up front for a feature documentary from The Invisible Pilot producer Ample Entertainment and distributor Fremantle.
More from Deadline
After the Fyre follows convicted felon McFarland as he was released from prison earlier this year after pleading guilty to two counts of wire fraud and serving four years of his six year sentence.
The film will feature the disgraced entrepreneur as he launches his next business venture and attempts to pay back the $26 million dollars he still owes after scandalously defrauding investors, partners and attendees of the promised-but-botched luxurious music event that took place in 2017.
As you may have seen in either Hulu’s Fyre Fraud, directed by Jenner Furst and Julia Willoughby Nason and launched on January 14 2019, or Netflix’s Fyre, directed by Chris Smith and launched on January 18 2019, the festival, which was co-founded by Ja Rule and promoted by models and influencers including Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid, Hailey Baldwin and Emily Ratajkowski, many of the guests who made it to the Bahamian island of Great Exuma were stranded in FEMA tents and forced to eat those cheese sandwiches rather than having an A-list music experience.
McFarland’s experience hasn’t stopped him returning to the area as he launches PYRT, a treasure hunt that he’s been teasing on TikTok.
He appeared on Good Morning America last week to say sorry. “I need to apologize. That is the first and the last thing that needs to be done,” McFarland said. “I let people down. I let down employees. I let down their families. I let down investors. I’m wrong and it’s bad.”
The documentary will be directed by Ample Entertainment co-founders Ari Mark and Phil Lott, who directed the Adam McKay-exec produced HBO three-part series The Invisible Pilot.
“As we continue to aggressively cultivate our library of films, we’re generating IP-driven, must-see content that will resonate with viewers. After the Fyre is the perfect example of an in-house Ample production that is both premium and broad,” said Mark.
Fremantle, which has recently funded documentaries including Planet Sex with Cara Delevingne, Mrs. America and Kingdom of Dreams, is financing and distributing.
The deal was struck by VP, Acquisitions Harry Gamsu. “After a considerable amount of time in solitary, millennial’s favorite conman Billy McFarland has re-emerged, energized and with an even more audacious plan than the last as he looks to clear his name and repay his debtors. This is the doc-sequel audiences have been crying out for and we’re delighted to have partnered with Ample to make it happen,” he said.
Best of Deadline
Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
