EXCLUSIVE: Crazy Rich Asians-backer Peter Luo’s Stars Collective has signed Google engineer-turned-viral-YouTuber Jonathan Ma aka Joma to a managing, development and production deal, and he has set first project: a dark comedy/drama about the birth of Bitcoin and the true identity of mysterious founder Satoshi.
Ma will be given financial and creative resources to make TV shows and films for a global audiences.
Created by Joma, the Satoshi series begins in the present day with the sudden activation of Satoshi’s wallets, which were dormant for the past nine years. This causes panic in the crypto market, a mass sell-off, and the congestion of multiple chains via two interweaving storylines at two time periods, the first featuring a young journalist in the present day and the second a PHD student in 2007 who becomes heavily involved with Bitcoin.
Ma is a former Google Software Engineer who became a full-time YouTuber six months ago under the channel name Joma Tech. He has built up a loyal plus-1M following of programers and crypto enthusiasts via his online sketches.
“Jonathan authentically connects to a generation of consumers who think differently and exhibit evolving entertainment consumption habits,” said Stars Collective Founder Luo. “His following and strong fan engagement is a direct result of his intelligence, likeability, creative acumen, and natural ability to tell stories.”
Ma said Stars Collective’s support will “give me the confidence to tell the stories I want to tell.”
Stars Collective backs filmmakers such as Sam Raimi, John M. Chu and Alan Taylor and is currently in post-production on Justin Chon’s musical drama Jamojaya.