What did they pay for their footage, and who did they pay it to? Now, both Hulu and Netflix are getting sucked into the continuing Fyre Festival fallout.
Shortly after the start of the New Year, both Netflix and Hulu launched their respective documentaries on the biggest live concert disaster in history.
Beating Netflix to the punch, Hulu’s Fyre Fraud debuted on January 14th. Netflix released Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened just four days later.
Both touched on the catastrophic failure of Billy McFarland and Ja Rule’s Fyre Festival. They also managed to get exclusive footage of McFarland.
Now, one trustee wants to know exactly how both Fyre Festival documentaries got their hands on that footage. And, how much they paid for it.
Did Hulu and Netflix both inadvertently help McFarland hide Fyre Festival assets?
A trustee administrating the bankruptcy of McFarland’s failed Fyre Festival company has asked a New York bankruptcy judge to let him formally subpoena both Netflix and Hulu.
Gregory Messer claimed McFarland never actually filed basic bankruptcy schedules. Thus, he needs to know whether the now-incarcerated festival founder hid assets belonging to Fyre Festival LLC. This, says Messer, would generate money for the company’s creditors.
In a court filing, he wrote,
“In order to create the documentaries, both Hulu and Netflix used unique behind-the-scenes footage of the festival.
“Due to a lack of information, it’s impossible for the Trustee to determine where the footage came from and whether such footage was an asset of the debtor’s estate.”
Messer added that Hulu actually paid McFarland for the footage. Thus, the trustee has demanded the court forcibly compel Hulu and Netflix to hand over documents related to the documentaries’ production.
In addition, Messer has asked the bankruptcy court for additional subpoenas against more companies, including Suforia LLC. He believes these companies may have received up to $1.7 million in transfers directly from McFarland. Messer claims these funds may have originally belonged to Fyre Festival LLC.
Wayne S. Kreger of the Law Offices of Wayne Kreger, the firm which represents Suforia, said the company has yet to receive a subpoena. Yet, Suforia will readily comply with any court order.