Filmmaker Taika Waititi, best known for directing Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Jojo Rabbit (2019) and Thor: Love And Thunder (2022) has announced that he’s working on a musical about Fyre Fest, the disastrous 2017 festival that promised to deliver a “luxurious, immersive music festival” and ended with promoter Billy McFarland being convicted of wire fraud and packed off to prison.
The news was announced at a “Fyre Fest The Musical Announcement Activation” event in New York City yesterday, with Waititi and wife Rita Ora confirmed as producers and Academy Award nominee Bryan Buckley in the director’s seat.
“I never saw myself doing a theatrical musical comedy,” says Buckley. “But then again, I never saw something completely mind-bendingly ridiculous and intriguing as what went down with Fyre Festival, a spectacular failed endeavour that will haunt a generation forever.
“I cannot wait to get this show out to the world, and yeah, man, this time there will actually be music or your money back.”
“When Bryan Buckley told me he wanted to make a musical about the Fyre Festival, I said, ‘Who the hell is Bryan Buckley?’” says Waititi. “I then remembered we’ve been friends and workmates for 15 years, so it was kinda hard to say no.
“Honestly, I think the idea is exciting, weird, and potentially disastrous, which seems apt and is how I like to work. I can’t wait to get started and snatch me some of that sweet American theatre money.”
Fyre Fest was originally scheduled to take place in The Bahamas in 2017, but all of the performers pulled out, with attendees fighting over sub-standard food and lodgings and festival producer Andy King being encouraged to perform fellatio to obtain water.
Promoter McFarland was eventually sentenced to six years in jail after defrauding investors of $27.4 million. 13 months on from his release in March 2022, he announced that Fyre Fest II would take place in February 2025, but after a series of date, venue and capacity changes, the festival was finally binned in April this year.
In July, McFarland reported that a “seven-figure deal” for Fyre Fest’s assets had fallen through, and that he’d be selling them via online auction platform eBay. Ultimately, to the convicted fraudster’s obvious dismay, the brand’s assets sold for just $245,000.
“It’s not just a Greek-sized tragedy of one man’s con,” say the musical’s organisers. “It’s a satirical indictment of an entire generation. Fyre Fest The Musical. It’s about as wrong as a bad idea can go.”