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Billy McFarland has officially auctioned off the intellectual property, trademarks, and assets for Fyre Fest on eBay for a sum of $245,300.

The sale arrives after McFarland’s purported seven-figure deal to sell Fyre Fest apparently fell through earlier this month; in response, the ‘contrepreneur’ (con man + entrepreneur) announced he’d be auctioning off the brand via eBay, with the starting bid being one cent.

The winner will receive control of the Fyre Fest brand name, trademarks and intellectual property, social media accounts, marketing materials, and domain names. Plus, they’ll obtain documentary footage, the option for a Caribbean festival location (which McFarland announced prior to the sale), and email and SMS lists. Some of the Fyre IP had already been sold to documentarian Shawn Rech, who plans to use the name for a new music-focused subscription video-on-demand platform.

“Whoever owns the Fyre brand will have an attention engine to launch festivals,...

Billy McFarland appears to have finally entered the most suitably stupid and funny endgame stage of the Fyre Festival saga, one worthy of the dilapidated tents and cheese sandwiches that launched this whole mess all those years ago. He’s selling the rights to the brand on eBay.

Earlier this year, after the convicted fraudster unsurprisingly failed to get Fyre Fest II off the ground, McFarland appeared to recognize that, perhaps, the problem was him. He revealed that he would step back from the brand, put it up for sale,...

If you’ve ever dreamed of owning a piece of the Fyre Festival brand, now is your chance — again. Owner and convicted fraudster Billy McFarland shared the news via Instagram on Monday, July 7th, after a planned sale of the brand fell through.

“We had a seven-figure deal for the complete Fyre brand and IP package that fell through this morning,” McFarland explained in the post. “But now, the opportunity to own the Fyre brand is back on the table,” he added, explaining how to purchase or license the Fyre brand for your event or product. Watch the full clip below.

Back in April of this year, documentarian Shawn Rech announced he had acquired some of the Fyre Fest brand’s IP and revealed plans to launch a new music-focused subscription video-on-demand platform. Apparently, this seems to be the deal that just fell through.

And just last month, McFarland revealed...

Fyre Festival founder Billy McFarland says that after two unsuccessful attempts at staging a physical festival, he’s putting the brand for sale with the hopes that a new group will “execute the vision of Fyre in a transparent, grand, and expeditious manner.”

In his first public statement since the postponement of Fyre Fest 2 last week, McFarland said, “it’s clear that I need to step back and allow a new team to move forward independently, bringing the vision to life.”

“Giving control of the brand to a new group is the most responsible way to follow through on what we set out to do: build a global entertainment brand, host a safe and legendary event, and continue to pay restitution to those who are owed from the first festival,” McFarland added.

Already, McFarland has sold some of the brand’s IP to documentarian Shawn Rech, who plans to leverage...

After two failed attempts as a music festival, Fyre Fest is now being being reimagined as a streaming service. Documentarian Shawn Rech has purchased some of the brand’s IP (including two Fyre Festival trademarks) with plans to spearhead an operation to transform Fyre into a new music-focused subscription video-on-demand platform.

Rech co-founded the true crime streaming platform TruBlu alongside To Catch a Predator host Chris Hansen. He’s now announced plans to use the festival’s infamous name to his (dis)advantage, and intends to launch the Fyre-branded service by Thanksgiving. “Music networks are all just programming now and I have no interest in watching people slip on bananas. It has nothing to do with music,” Rech told Deadline. “I needed a big name that people would remember, even if it’s attached to infamy, so that’s why I bought these [trademarks].”

Surely using the notorious label of a...

Exclusive: The Fyre Festival, the infamous music event founded by Billy McFarland and Ja Rule that was explored in two separate documentaries, is getting a new life as a music streaming service.

Deadline understands that Shawn Rech, who co-founded the TruBlue streaming service with former To Catch a Predator host Chris Hansen, has acquired some of the IP of the event including two trademarks that will allow him to launch the service.

The deal comes shortly after it emerged that the second iteration of the festival, which was set to take place in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, was postponed indefinitely.

“Music networks are all just programming now and I have no interest in watching people slip on bananas. It has nothing to do with music. I needed a big name that people would remember, even if it’s attached to infamy, so that’s why I bought these [trademarks] to start the streaming network,...

Exclusive: Convicting a Murderer, the docuseries response to Netflix’s popular true crime series Making a Murderer, has found a streaming home with DailyWire+, the SVOD platform of right-wing media company The Daily Wire.

The ten-part series, which has been six years in the making, is due to launch in summer 2023 with firebrand commentator Candace Owens narrating and fronting the project.

Directed by Shawn Rech, the series will re-examine the story of Steven Avery, who served 18 years in prison after a wrongful conviction for sexual assault and attempted murder, but was later convicted of the 2005 murder of Teresa Halbach.

The Emmy-winning Netflix series was a ratings and critical hit but also drew fire from some corners, including prosecutor Ken Kratz who claimed that key evidence from the trial was omitted from the documentary.

According to producers, Convicting A Murderer will feature exclusive interviews with subjects not included in the Netflix show,...

A documentary filmmaker says a “notable” convicted killer in Wisconsin claims to have killed Teresa Halbach, the woman whose death drew national attention after being featured in the Netflix docuseries “Making a Murderer” in 2016.

“We haven’t confirmed the legitimacy of the confession,” filmmaker Shawn Rech said in an interview with Newsweek, “but seeing as it was given by a notable convicted murderer from Wisconsin, we feel responsible to deliver any and all possible evidence to law enforcement and legal teams.”

In a follow-up interview with USA Today, Rech said that he doesn’t know whether or not the confession will bear out because the convict — who was free at the time of Halbach’s murder — is a “proven liar.” He has declined to name the individual but says it was neither Steven Avery nor Brendan Dassey, the two men who have been jailed for the crime and are featured in “Making a Murderer.

Starz has acquired four new documentaries, Daughters of the Sexual Revolution: The Untold Story of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, the behind-the-scenes story of how the original Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders became a controversial pop culture phenomenon at the height of the sexual revolution, Of Fathers and Sons, currently on the Oscars short-list for 2019 Documentary Feature, along with Inside My Heart and Antonio Lopez 1970: Sex Fashion & Disco, for premiere this spring on the premium cabler. They join previously announced Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood and White Boy.

“Starz has acquired an exceptional slate of documentary films spanning a wide range of topics – from empowered feminists in the ‘70s, to life inside a jihadist military household and a groundbreaking artist who would change the future of fashion,” said C. Brett Marottoli, Head of Program Acquisitions for Starz. “These films will no doubt engage our audience as we continue our commitment...

The wait is almost over! Nexflix docu-series Making a Murderer became a worldwide phenomenon following its release in December 2015. The twisted story surrounding Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey — who were convicted of murdering Teresa Halbach in 2005 — has audiences torn over whether or not Avery committed the murder or if he was framed by local police. Now, the new trailer for Season 2 is here, and you better believe we'll be clearing our schedule on Oct. 19. Check it out: Netflix VP of original content, Cindy Holland, told USA Today last January: "The story is still ongoing, so you will see new episodes coming sometime this year as this story continues to unfold." Meanwhile, production is officially underway for Convicting a Murderer, a follow-up to Making a Murder. The new series — directed by documentary filmmaker Shawn Rech — is not a sequel but rather a follow-up Rech and his longtime filmmaking partner, attorney Andrew Hale,...

Starz has snapped up the Shawn Rech-directed documentary White Boy about 17-year-old Richard Wershe, Jr. who ran a sophisticated underground cocaine operation throughout Detroit and doubled as an FBI informant.

Arrested as a teen and sentenced to life without parole, Wershe remains imprisoned 30 years later and is the subject of this weekend’s Studio 8/Sony release White Boy Rick starring Matthew McConaughey. The pic recently made its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival and went on to play Tiff last Friday.

Matt Burke at Submarine Entertainment negotiated the deal on behalf of the filmmakers.

Rech interviewed journalists, police, FBI agents and hit men to set the record straight on the White Boy Rick urban legend. The doc will premiere on Starz in the spring and while air the Studio 8 movie in the summer.

Documentary filmmaker Shawn Rech of Transition Studios in Cleveland has lined up the financing and co-operation from key sources to produce what he is calling a followup to the hit 2015 Netflix documentary series “Making a Murderer”. “Convicting a Murderer” is Rech’s new eight-part series which will investigate the case built against Steven Avery in Wisconsin,...

While the world patiently waits for Season 2 of Making A Murderer, a new documentary has been made trying to tell the opposite side of Steven Avery's trial. The documentary, Convicting A Murderer, will present the perspective of law enforcement and prosecuting attorney Ken Kratz and claims it will lay out the stuff Making A Murderer excluded. Slashfilm said the documentary doesn't have a home at this time, although one would imagine Netflix would have some interest in picking it up.

Documentary filmmaker Shawn Rech had this to say in a statement:

“When ‘Making A Murderer’ was produced, many on the law enforcement side of the story could not, or would not, participate in the series, which resulted in a one-sided analysis of the case…This docu-series will examine the case and the allegations of police wrongdoing from a broader perspective. It will also share with viewers the traumatic effects...

Tony Sokol Feb 23, 2018

An independent follow-up to Netflix’s groundbreaking Making A Murderer follows Steven Avery in Convicting A Murderer...

Long-form video-journalism made great strides into the justice system when investigative series like The Jinx from HBO caught the evidence that put away a murderer. Netflix’s 2015 documentary series Making A Murderer shook the foundation of an easy conviction. The Steven Avery saga will continue in the upcoming project Convicting A Murderer. Production begins this week on the 8-episode series, which is being directed by documentary filmmaker Shawn Rech.

See related Fahrenheit 451 movie coming from HBO

Rech was granted exclusive, unprecedented access to District Attorney Ken Kratz, Lead Investigator Tom Fassbender, and other major players in State v. Avery, but this is not Making A Murderer season 2. Convicting A Murderer will investigate the “controversial case built by the State of Wisconsin against Steven Avery for the 2005 murder of Teresa Halbach,...

Production has begun on Convicting a Murderer, described as a follow-up to Netflix's Emmy-nominated docuseries Making a Murderer, from documentary filmmaker Shawn Rech (A Murder In The Park). Rech will direct the eight-episode series and produce via his Cleveland-based Transition Studios with his longtime producing partner, Chicago attorney Andrew Hale. The project secured independent financing and will be shopped. Producers say Convicting A Murderer will investigate the…...

There have been numerous stories of innocent people sent to jail for crimes they didn't commit, only to be freed later thanks to the tireless efforts of those who never gave up on them. But what happens when the tables are turned and a guilty person is set free instead? That's where the fascinating story in the upcoming documentary "A Murder In The Park" gets rolling and today we have the exclusive trailer. Directed by Christopher S. Rech and Brandon Kimber, the movie delves into the story of Anthony Porter, sentenced to death in 1983 for the murder of two teenagers. Fast-forward fifteen years later, journalism students look into the case and believe they've found the real killer. They then make a compelling argument and Porter is set free, while another man, Alstory Simon, "confesses" to the crimes. But nothing is as it seems in this case, which reveals some of...

The distributor has secured Us rights to Shawn Rech and Brandon Kimber’s documentary

A Murder In The Park premiered at the 2014 Doc NYC and follows death row inmate Anthony Porter, whose life is saved through the efforts of a Northwestern University journalism class 48 hours before his scheduled execution.

The class investigation into a double homicide in a Chicago park led to the discovery of Alstory Simon, whose confession exonerated Porter.

As the film-makers dissect the suspicious turnaround in the case, they argue that Porter actually is guilty of the crime, Simon is innocent and both are pawns in a larger game.

Sundance Selects brokered the deal with with Josh Braun and Matt Burke of Submarine Entertainment on behalf of the film-makers and will release the film later this year.

Sundance Selects has acquired exclusive U.S. rights to "A Murder in the Park." Directed by Shawn Rech and Brandon Kimber, "A Murder in the Park" is a documentary that follows the fascinating story of Anthony Porter and Alstory Simon. Porter was two days away from being executed for a double homicide, when a group of Northwestern University students were able to help reveal Simon as the real killer. Simon's confession then exonerated Porter, and, in turn, condemned Simon to 37 years in prison. It sounds almost too good to be true, and the film asks whether that might very well be the case. Read More: African Diaspora-Interest Films to See at Doc NYC, USA's Largest Doc Festival  Said Sundance Selects/IFC Films President Jonathan Sehring, "Rech and Kimber have crafted an expertly made, utterly captivating examination of the ethics and inconsistencies of our justice system." "A Murder in the Park...