Jason Zada's Bitcoin Thriller 'Satoshi' Sets Spring 2027 Shoot in Riyadh and Los Angeles Under Enderby-Yellow Camel Deal

A crypto thriller with a genuinely compelling logline and an unusually international production footprint is coming together, and working professionals should start paying attention now. Satoshi, a feature film from Enderby Entertainment and Saudi Arabia's Yellow Camel Studios, is targeting a spring 2027 principal photography start with locations split between JAX Film Studios in Riyadh and Los Angeles. With production still roughly two years out, the project is squarely in the kind of early pre-production window where department heads get their first calls, attachments are made, and the foundational crew relationships are established. Getting on this production's radar now is worth the effort.

At the helm is Jason Zada, who directed the 2016 supernatural thriller The Forest and has since become one of the more interesting figures at the intersection of technology and filmmaking. Zada is the founder of Secret Level, an AI-native production studio that has drawn significant industry attention for its approach to blending artificial intelligence tools into the creative and production process. He co-wrote the Satoshi script with Nate Atkins, working from an original screenplay by Cam Cannon. Zada is currently in production on another feature, Terrarium, which signals he is an active and working director with momentum. The subject matter here, tracing a troubled FBI agent and a defense attorney as they face federal pressure to unmask Bitcoin's pseudonymous creator, is squarely in the techno-thriller genre that has demonstrated real commercial appeal on streaming platforms and in theatrical release. The script's emphasis on government overreach rather than a literal unmasking of Satoshi Nakamoto suggests a character-driven thriller with serious dramatic ambitions rather than a sensational exposé.

The producing team is an eclectic and notable mix. Rick Dugdale and Dan Petrie Jr. are the principals of Enderby Entertainment, the Vancouver-rooted production company known for packaging commercially minded genre features and thrillers. Dan Petrie Jr. brings serious writing and producing credentials, having co-written Beverly Hills Cop among other credits, and his involvement signals a production with a sharp eye on craft and commercial storytelling. Tristan Thompson, the former NBA champion who has established himself as a tech investor and entrepreneur, joins as a producer alongside Bitcoin pioneer and BDE Ventures founder Brian D. Evans, whose involvement connects the project directly to the cryptocurrency world the story inhabits. Actors Aaron Arnold and Austin Arnold round out the producing roster, adding further creative investment in the project's development.

The studio context here is particularly noteworthy for crew assessing the production's scale and backing. Satoshi is among the first projects to emerge from a multi-picture deal between Enderby Entertainment and Yellow Camel Studios, a Saudi Arabian production company backed by the country's rapidly expanding film infrastructure. Saudi Arabia has invested aggressively in its domestic film industry in recent years, and Yellow Camel represents a serious institutional partner with resources behind it. Secret Level, Zada's own AI-native studio, is also attached, which may have implications for the production's approach to previsualization, virtual production tools, or post-production workflows. This is not a scrappy indie. The combination of an international co-production structure, a Saudi studio partner with governmental and institutional backing, and an established Canadian production company suggests a mid-to-upper budget feature with real financial infrastructure.

For crew evaluating the opportunity, the dual-location shoot is the most important logistical detail to understand. Principal photography is planned to take place at JAX Film Studios in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, one of the region's most modern and well-equipped production facilities, as well as on location in Los Angeles. JAX Film Studios is part of Saudi Arabia's broader push to build a world-class production hub, and it offers significant stage space and technical infrastructure. Shooting internationally in Saudi Arabia will almost certainly require a portion of the crew to travel, and productions of this nature typically bring key department heads from their home country while hiring locally where the talent pool supports it. Los Angeles work will draw from the deep and established local crew base there. Crew interested in this production should be prepared for the possibility of international travel as part of the engagement, particularly for department heads who would need to be on the ground in Riyadh during the Saudi Arabia portion of the shoot. The spring 2027 start gives plenty of runway, but productions with this kind of international complexity tend to staff department heads earlier rather than later to allow for logistics planning, visa arrangements, and location scouting coordination.

As a feature film with a thriller format, Satoshi will likely require a strong locations department capable of working across two countries with very different permitting and production landscapes. The crypto and government-agency subject matter suggests contemporary settings, which may keep the art department's period demands modest, but a production shooting at this scale across international locations will still need a well-resourced design team. Given Zada's association with Secret Level and AI-native production methods, it would not be surprising to see a thoughtful approach to previsualization and potentially virtual production elements built into the pipeline early. Union status has not been confirmed, but the Los Angeles portion of the shoot and the involvement of established production companies with studio relationships makes a SAG-AFTRA and IATSE-affiliated production a reasonable working assumption.

ProductionList.com has the full listing for Satoshi, including production contacts, office information, and crew details as they are confirmed. With a spring 2027 start, this production is in the phase where the right outreach at the right time can land a key crew position long before the broader industry becomes aware of the opportunity. Bookmark the listing and check back regularly as the project moves through pre-production. Productions with international co-production structures and a motivated producing team tend to move decisively once they hit their staffing stride, and you want to already be in conversation when that happens.

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