Bryan Buckley, Paul Epworth & David Korins Are Developing FYRE FEST Musical

Two-time Academy Award nominee Bryan Buckley (Saria), producing team Academy Award winner Taika Waititi (Jojo Rabbit), international recording artist Rita Ora, Tony Award nominee Matthew Weaver (Rock of Ages) and Hungry Man Productions just announced the development of FYRE FEST THE MUSICAL, a new musical comedy about Billy McFarland and the Fyre Festival, featuring a book by Bryan Buckley, music by Academy Award, Golden Globe and seven-time Grammy Award winner Paul Epworth and set design by four-time Tony Award nominee David Korins (Hamilton). 

“I never saw myself doing a theatrical musical comedy,” said director and bookwriter Bryan Buckley. “But then again, I never saw something completely mind-bendingly ridiculous and intriguing as what went down with Fyre-festival.  A spectacular failed endeavor—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.”

“Working in the theater is always fun,” said Taika Waititi. “I mean I haven't done it for 15 years because it was no longer fun, but I've been told it will be fun this time. And I believe them. When Bryan Buckley told me he wanted to make a musical about the Fyre Festival, I said "Who the hell is Bryan Buckley?" I then remembered we've been friends and work mates 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.”

It’s not just a Greek-sized tragedy of one man’s con. It’s a satirical indictment of an entire generation. Fyre Fest the Musical. It’s about as wrong as a bad idea can go. 

In celebration of FYRE FEST THE MUSICAL’s announcement, Hungry Man Productions will release a 100 foot barge from Staten Island into New York Harbor, anchoring in Brooklyn for a historic launch event. Additional guerilla art installations will take place in New York City throughout the week.  

ABOUT THE TEAM:

 BRYAN BUCKLEY (Director, Bookwriter, Producer) Bryan Buckley is an American filmmaker, activist, and two-time Academy Award nominated director, dubbed the "King of the Super Bowl" by the New York Times for his prolific career, having directed over 70 Super Bowl commercials. In addition to his commercial work, he has directed two feature films and several short films. Asad (2013), which was sighted by Archbishop Desmond Tutu for helping fight xenophobia in South Africa, and Saria (2019) have been nominated for Best Live Action Short Film at the Academy Awards. His two nominations in the same decade mark the first time a director has managed to return to the category in over 30 years. His first feature film, The Bronze (2015), opened the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, while his second, The Pirates of Somalia (2017), premiered at TriBeCa in 2017.  His commercial production company, Hungry Man, which he co-founded with Hank Perlman in 1997, has grown into a force in the ad world, garnering every major advertising award including the Emmy for Best Commercial for Apple in 2024.

As a political activist, he has partnered with Gun Control advocacy group, Change the Ref to create several pieces, including The Lost Class. Creating a fake school, Buckley tricked former NRA president David Keene and gun-rights advocate and researcher John Lott into addressing a sea of empty chairs, representing children and teenagers who were shot and killed before they could graduate from high school. The work was critically acclaimed, winning four grand CLIO’s, the Black Cube for Best of Show at the ADC awards, two Black Pencils from D&AD, Best of Show at The One Show and a Titanium at the Cannes Lions.  

A 2010 Adweek Readers Poll named Buckley the Commercial Director of the Decade; he was also named one of the 50 best creative minds in the last 25 years by Creativity Magazine. In 2022, Buckley won best director from the CLIOs, D&AD and One Show. His direction of the NFL's Super Bowl commercial, Run With It, was recognized with a Sports Emmy in 2023. Most recently, his State Farm ad, “Batman vs. Bateman” was nominated for an Emmy in 2025. 

PAUL EPWORTH (Composer) Beginning a 30 year journey in music as a tape op in London recording studios, Paul’s career as a producer, songwriter, musician and label head has brought an Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Song, 7 Grammys, an Ivor Novello, 3 British Producer Brit awards, 4x MPG Producer of the Year, an MPG Icon award, as well as over 100 million records sold.

David Korins (Set Designer) is the CEO and Creative Director of his New York City-based studio, a leader in storytelling and design. With nearly three decades of experience, he has shaped narratives for major brands, corporations, and cultural institutions worldwide. His Broadway work spans 30+ productions including  Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen and Beetlejuice and has earned him four Tony Nominations. His TV credits include production design of HBO’s “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver,” the 91st & 94th Academy Awards, “The Big Brunch” with Dan Levy and “Grease: Live!” for which he won the Emmy Award. 

A pioneer in immersive experiences, he was the Creative Director and Designer of Immersive Van Gogh and Immersive Disney Animation Experience, reaching audiences worldwide. His museum collaborations include The Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, the Shoah Foundation, and the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. He has designed exhibitions for Sotheby’s and Julien’s Auctions, including The Duke of Devonshire’s Treasures from Chatsworth and Tony Bennett: A Life Well Lived. 

Beyond museums and theater, Korins has designed spaces like Manhattan’s Drama Book Shop and Bond 45, created festival experiences for Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo, and collaborated with artists such as Bruno Mars, Andrea Bocelli, and Lady Gaga. Korins is the Director of David Blaine’s residency in Las Vegas at the Wynn Hotel. 

Matthew Weaver (Producer) is a Grammy, Emmy and Tony nominated producer. He has received five Tony nominations for his stage musical Rock of Ages and a Grammy nomination for I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead the Netflix Original documentary. “Chef’s Table,” the Netflix documentary series he helped develop and executive produce, has received eight Primetime Emmy nominations and three James Beard Awards to date. Weaver’s films include Rock of Ages based on his Tony-nominated musical starring Tom Cruise, We’re the Millers, The Heartbreak Kid, Hesher, Sympathy for Delicious, and Pretty Persuasion. He is also an established documentary producer, having produced Jiro Dreams of Sushi, The First Monday in May, and Surfwise. Weaver also produced A Broken House, which was shortlisted for an Academy Award in 2022. Weaver’s The Life and Near Death of Travis Barker, a documentary about the Blink-182 drummer’s 2008 plane crash, is currently in post-production for Amazon. 

Since 2015, Weaver has co-executive produced “Chef’s Table,” which was Netflix’s first original non-scripted series and is now in its eighth season. He also conceptualized and Executive Produced “Home”—Apple TV’s premier documentary series. The initial season was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award and the show is now in production on its third season. 

Weaver began his foray into theater after conceiving the stage musical Rock of Ages—the 30th longest running show in Broadway History! It ran close to 6 straight years on Broadway, grossed $140 million and was nominated for five Tony Awards including Best Musical. ROCK OF AGES went on to play around the world including two National Tours, London, Vegas, Japan, and more. He is currently developing his next Broadway musical based on the iconic American TV/Music franchise, “Soul Train.”  The show will feature the first female African American creative team in Broadway history and will be executive produced by Academy Award winner, Questlove. 

TAIKA WAITITI (Producer) is an  Academy Award  winning and Grammy Award winning and Emmy Award nominated writer, director, actor and producer. Waititi directed and co-wrote Thor: Love and Thunder now streaming on Disney+. His film Jojo Rabbit received six Oscar  nominations, including Best Picture, and earned him an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. The film, which was released by Searchlight Pictures, was also nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Musical or Comedy and won a Grammy for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media, among other accolades. Previously, Waititi directed the critically-acclaimed blockbuster Thor: Ragnarok for Disney, as well as the beloved indie films Hunt for the Wilderpeople, What We Do In the Shadows, Boy, and the Oscar nominated short film Two Cars, One Night. He also executive produced through Piki Films, his production company with Carthew Neal, The Breaker Upperers, Baby Done, and the first Indigenous Canadian/New Zealand co-production, Night Raiders, which premiered at the 2021 Berlin International Film Festival.  

Waititi’s recent film Next Goal Wins, which he wrote, directed, and produced, based on the 2014 documentary of the same name, premiered in theaters November 17, 2023 following its world premiere at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival. Waititi is also executive producer of Billy Luther’s film Frybread Face and Me, which premiered domestically at SXSW 2023 and internationally at TIFF 2023. Previously, Waititi was seen in Shawn Levy’s Free Guy from 20th Century Studios, alongside Ryan Reynolds, Jodie Comer, and Joe Keery.  

Most recently, Waititi released Apple TV+ series “Time Bandits,” a reimagining of the 1981 film directed by Terry Gilliam. Waititi co-created the series with Jemaine Clement and Iain Morris and served as an executive producer. Additional recent projects include Hulu’s “Interior Chinatown,” which he directed the pilot and executive produced, and upcoming is his film adaptation of Klara and the Sun.

For television, Waititi stars as “Blackbeard” and serves as executive producer of the Max fan-favorite period comedy “Our Flag Means Death,”which premiered its second season in October of 2023.  

Also for the small screen, Waititi is the co-creator and executive producer of the Indigenous American teen comedy “Reservation Dogs” for FX, for which he co-wrote the first episode with co-creator Sterlin Harjo. The series, which premiered its third and final season in August 2023, has been well-received, winning the 2021 Gotham Award for Short-Form Breakthrough Series, the 2022 Independent Spirit Award for Best New Scripted Series, and the 2022 and 2024 Peabody Award in the Entertainment category for  as well as earning nominations for 2022’s Critics Choice Awards and Writers Guild of America Awards, as well as last year’s Golden Globe Awards® and most recently, an 2024 Emmy nomination for Outstanding Comedy Series. Additionally, Waititi directed the season one finale of “The Mandalorian” for Disney+, in which he also voices "IG-11,” and serves as executive producer on the critically-acclaimed TV adaptation of “What We Do In the Shadows,” for which he’s directed several episodes.

In celebration of his outstanding contributions to television, he was honored with the Norman Lear Achievement Award at this year’s PGA ceremony.

Rita Ora (Producer) is an international critically acclaimed singer-songwriter with over 10 billion global streams and 13 Top 10 UK singles, four of which have gone #1. Her latest single “Ask & You Shall Receive” was praised by Forbes as “a summery floor filler,” and followed her latest album, You & I, which landed the coveted #1 spot on the UK Official Independent Albums Chart, and was summarized by Rolling Stone as “a collection of stunning love songs.” The album features the #1 US Dance Radio hit “Praising You (feat. Fatboy Slim),” which PAPER declared “a house banger” and “You Only Love Me,” for which Billboard praised Rita as “an expert in the type of sleekly-designed, electro-tinged pop on display.”

You & I follows previous releases: Bang, a collaboration EP with GRAMMY-winning DJ and producer Imanbek; Phoenix, which has amassed over four billion streams and spawned four platinum singles; and Ora, her certified platinum debut album, which entered at #1 on the UK charts. Rita’s acclaimed singles and star-studded collaborations have earned her seven Top 10 hits on Billboard’s Dance Club Songs Chart, five of which reached #1, six Top 20 singles on Billboard’s Hot Dance/Electronic Songs Chart, and a #3 Billboard Hot 100 song.

As a multi-talented industry leader across TV, culture and fashion, with brand partnerships in key sectors, Rita has continuously expanded her personal brand to new heights. In 2024, Rita launched the performance-led haircare brand TYPEBEA alongside Anna Lahey, and the year before, she partnered with Primark to launch her first collection as part of a global multiseason collaboration, bringing together her creative vision with her long-term love of the brand. Her film and television credits include starring in the Fifty Shades of Grey franchise, Detective Pikachu, Twist, Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight, and Descendants: The Rise of Red, which broke records and became Disney Branded Television’s most-viewed Disney Channel Original Movie premiere ever on Disney+ by amassing nearly seven million views within its first three days of streaming. Rita’s additional TV credits include co-hosting Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve and the MTV EMAs, serving as a panelist on The Masked Singer U.S. and U.K., and a judge on The Voice Australia. Rita will soon appear in the upcoming films Tin Soldier, He Bled Neon, and Voltron.

HUNGRY MAN (Producer) is a global production powerhouse based in London, New York, Los Angeles, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Since 1997, Hungry Man has been nominated for multiple Academy Awards, won numerous Emmy Awards, and collected accolades from the world’s most prestigious creative festivals like Cannes Lions, D&AD, The One Show, among others.