The Bitcoin thriller, starring GAL Gadot and Casey Affleck, with a budget of $70 million — down from $300 million thanks to AI — will premiere at Cannes next week.
A feature film is redefining Hollywood filmmaking: “Bitcoin: Killing Satoshi,” directed by Doug Liman and starring GAL Gadot, Casey Affleck, Isla Fisher, and Pete Davidson, was filmed entirely in a gray-screened, old car showroom, with not a single scene shot on location, despite a storyline spanning approximately 200 settings across continents.
The entire environment and lighting were created using AI technology after the actors finished their performances in this neutral space.
The decision to extensively apply AI stemmed from a very practical budgetary dilemma. Producer Ryan Kavanaugh stated that the initial estimate for a traditional filming method exceeded $300 million, a figure that forced the film crew to explore alternative approaches.
As a result, production costs were reduced to $70 million , equivalent to savings of over 76% compared to the original script. This is one of the clearest commercial proofs to date of AI's ability to restructure the film industry's economy on a large scale.
The story of Satoshi — and the never-ending debate.
The film will be presented to potential buyers at the Cannes Film Festival next week, at a time when the question of Satoshi Nakamoto 's identity is once again attracting global attention. Last week, a New York Times investigation suggested that Adam Back, CEO of Blockstream and a major influential figure in the Bitcoin ecosystem, may be the creator of the cryptocurrency.
Back denied the allegations, describing the article as a combination of coincidences and similar wording among people with shared backgrounds. In 2024, the HBO documentary “Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery” specifically named developer Peter Todd, who also immediately denied the accusations.
The mystery surrounding Satoshi's identity is not only of narrative value; it's also linked to an estimated fortune of 1.1 million BTC, equivalent to approximately $81 billion according to Arkham Intelligence data, which has remained untouched since its founder disappeared from the internet in 2011.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin is currently trading around $74,900, still 40% lower than its all-time high of $126,080 set last October—a market detail no less dramatic than what Hollywood is trying to recreate on screen.
