Ben McKenzie spent a decade playing a cop on Southland. Now he's doing actual investigative work—and The Forge thinks people will pay to watch it.
The distribution company acquired Everyone Is Lying to You for Money, McKenzie's cryptocurrency exposé, in a deal announced this week. The documentary follows the former O.C. star as he investigates the scams, Ponzi schemes, and outright fraud that defined crypto's wild run from 2020 to 2023's collapse.
McKenzie has been crypto's most unlikely nemesis for years. While celebrities from Matt Damon to Kim Kardashian were shilling digital coins, McKenzie was writing op-eds and appearing on financial podcasts explaining why it was all a house of cards. When FTX imploded and Sam Bankman-Fried went to prison, McKenzie looked prophetic.
The actor-turned-investigator isn't the first celebrity to pivot to documentary filmmaking, but his crypto skepticism gives him credibility that most lack. He did the reading, learned the technology, and called bullshit when everyone else was getting rich (on paper, anyway). That Easy Money—his 2023 book on the subject—became a bestseller suggests there's an audience for his documentary.
Timing matters. Crypto is experiencing another bull run in 2026, which means new marks are being separated from their money as we speak. McKenzie's film arrives as both cautionary tale and real-time warning. Whether general audiences care about blockchain fraud when they're not losing money themselves remains to be seen.
The title Everyone Is Lying to You for Money is perfect—blunt, accurate, and applicable to far more than cryptocurrency. It's the thesis statement for modern financial media, influencer culture, and yes, Hollywood itself.
The Forge specializes in faith-based and inspirational content, which makes this acquisition slightly odd. But perhaps they see 's crusade as moral storytelling. In an industry where everyone's selling something, the guy saying stands out.
