The captivating saga of James Howells, a man from Wales who believes he inadvertently disposed of 8,000 Bitcoin— now worth approximately $750 million— is set to be immortalized in a Hollywood production. Lebul, a Los Angeles-based production company, announced on Wednesday that it has secured exclusive rights to Howells’ story.
In 2009, Howells, an IT engineer, mined the significant amount of Bitcoin when the digital cryptocurrency was essentially valueless. However, in 2013, a former lover allegedly discarded the hard drive containing the tokens, which are now estimated to be worth nearly a billion dollars.
For the past several years, Howells has been engaged in a futile quest to recover his lost digital fortune from a landfill in Wales, where he is convinced the hard drive lies buried. In a recent turn of events, a British appeals court issued a final ruling last month, barring Howells from rummaging through the waste site in search of his lost hard drive. Disgruntled with the verdict, Howells labeled it a maneuver by the UK elites to push the issue “under the carpet.” He has declared his intent to purchase the landfill once it closes next year.
Meanwhile, Howells is gearing up to cross another formidable barrier: transforming his story into a high-profile docuseries. He informed Decrypt that he has received hundreds of proposals from award-winning production companies over the years to convert his narrative into a documentary. However, he chose to partner with Lebul, given the company’s willingness to support his broader objective of acquiring the Docksway landfill through a global media campaign.
Lebul intends to create a robust multi-platform media venture that includes a premium docuseries, a podcast, and a widespread short-form content and marketing strategy spread across social platforms. Lebul aims to transform Howell’s failed endeavor to retrieve his fortune from the landfill into a thrilling narrative.
Reese Van Allen, Lebul’s president of unscripted entertainment, emphasized the project’s unique appeal. “This isn’t just content,” Van Allen stated. “It’s a live-action tech thriller with nearly a billion dollars on the line—and Lebul is proud to bring it to the world.”
Howells is hopeful that the upcoming media project will accurately depict his experiences while also highlighting broader themes. “The documentary will expose the environmental contradictions of Newport City Council and shine a light on the long-term financial obligations taxpayers face from maintaining a closed landfill,” he stated. “It will also introduce a global narrative built around technology, reclamation, and digital ownership.”
Howell’s story continues to unfold, and the world will soon have a front-row seat to his extraordinary journey through the lens of a Hollywood production.
