Ben McKenzie, an actor and crypto-critic who is well known for his work as a critic of the cryptocurrency industry, will make his debut in directing at SXSW London this June with his documentary “Everyone Lies to You For Money,” reports a report from Deadline.
The documentary follows McKenzie—best known for roles on "The O.C." and "Gotham"—as he investigates the cryptocurrency world and interviews key figures, including during a trip to El Salvador to examine President Nayib Bukele's regime, which made Bitcoin legal tender in 2021.
McKenzie: “When i started warning about crypto frauds in the fall 2021 I received a ton of flak on the internet from the bros.” Deadline. The conmen have cheated millions of people out of their money.
The documentary “Everyone is Lying To You For Money” features also interviews with Sam Bankman Fried, the disgraced founder of FTX and Alex Mashinsky, co-founder of Celsius. The interviews were both filmed just before the collapse of their respective companies in November and July 2022.
McKenzie started exploring cryptocurrency 2021 while the COVID-19 epidemic was raging around the globe. He has since been a vocal opponent, and testified before the U.S. Senate Banking Committee about the failure of FTX.
In 2023 McKenzie wrote a book, with Ben Silverman as a journalist, called “Easy Money – Cryptocurrency and Casino Capitalism in the Golden Age of Fraud.” The book explored some of the same topics that will be discussed by the documentary.
Why is it that the myth of Crypto still persists? McKenzie explained that she wanted to address this question in the film. “I cannot wait for audiences to see 'Everyone Is Lying to You for Money,' a comedy that treats crypto and the creeps shilling it with the respect they deserve: zero.”
Andrew Hayward is the editor
