NEW YORK, June 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Wall Street Journal announced a new collaboration with Alex Gibney’s Jigsaw Productions and Story Force Entertainment to produce a multi-episode podcast series about Nikola Corp. and its former chief executive Trevor Milton.
Mr. Milton founded Nikola with ambitions of disrupting the commercial-trucking industry by selling and leasing large semi-trucks powered by batteries and hydrogen fuel. He resigned from the company in September 2020, amid allegations from a short seller that he misled investors.
Mr. Milton is now charged with two counts of securities fraud and two counts of wire fraud, according to the indictment. He faces a maximum 25-year prison term if convicted of the most serious securities fraud charge. The trial is scheduled to begin this summer. Mr. Milton has denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty.
The new series will add to the Journal’s robust stable of podcasts and deep-diving audio journalism. "Even at a time when a lot of startups and investors are making big promises about new technologies and greener energy, Nikola stands out as a cautionary tale for the hype and the hope. We're excited to team with Alex Gibney and Jigsaw to dive into this riveting story,” says Matt Murray, editor in chief of The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires.
“We are delighted to partner with the outstanding reporters at The Wall Street Journal and the potent Story Force team,” comments Alex Gibney, filmmaker. "Certain stories are so rich and vital that we can render them in different media in ways that allow for real narrative synergy.”
“When we first heard this jaw-dropping story and explored it with Hindenburg and the whistleblower team, we were blown away,” explains Blye Faust, executive producer at Story Force Entertainment. “We couldn’t imagine more ideal collaborators in The Wall Street Journal and Jigsaw with whom to rigorously report and further unpack this complex story.”
Several key players have signed on to participate in the project, including Hindenburg Research founder Nathan Anderson. The series will premiere later in 2022.
The Wall Street Journal, Jigsaw and Story Force are also developing associated scripted and unscripted projects for film and television. Daniel Rosen is the co-executive producer of The Wall Street Journal Studios. Sruthi Pinnamaneni is executive producing the podcast for Jigsaw Productions. Blye Faust and Cori Shepherd Stern will executive produce for Story Force.
The Wall Street Journal and Story Force Entertainment are represented by WME. Jigsaw is represented by UTA.
About The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is a global news organization that provides leading news, information, commentary and analysis. The Wall Street Journal engages readers across print, digital, mobile, social, podcast and video. Building on its heritage as the preeminent source of global business and financial news, the Journal includes coverage of U.S. & world news, politics, arts, culture, lifestyle, sports, and health. It holds 38 Pulitzer Prizes for outstanding journalism. The Wall Street Journal is published by Dow Jones, a division of News Corp (Nasdaq: NWS, NWSA; ASX: NWS, NWSLV).
About Jigsaw Productions
Jigsaw Productions is helmed by Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney, considered one of the most prolific and provocative documentary filmmakers of our time. Jigsaw has produced a long list of high-profile documentary films, including the Emmy-winning Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief, the Oscar-winning Taxi to the Dark Side, Oscar-nominated Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, as well as Zero Days, Divide and Conquer: The Story of Roger Ailes, The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley, The Crime of the Century, and Alex Gibney’s latest feature, The Forever Prisoner. In the same year, Jigsaw also executive produced The Line documentary series and podcast for Apple TV+, which won the duPont-Columbia Award in 2022.
About Story Force
Story Force Entertainment - led by Oscar and Emmy winning producers Blye Faust and Cori Shepherd Stern – focuses on elevated entertainment for both scripted and nonfiction premium film and television. Past projects include the 2021 Amazon docuseries smash hit LuLaRich and Spotlight, which was awarded Best Motion Picture and Best Original Screenplay at the 2016 Academy Awards. Other credits include Bending the Arc, a 2020 Netflix feature documentary; Belly of the Beast, a 2020 Emmy award-winning and Peabody nominated documentary released by PBS/Independent Lens; Warm Bodies, a global box office hit feature film for Lionsgate; Oscar-nominated HBO documentary Open Heart; and Collisions, an Emmy winner that premiered at Sundance.
