Movie Treatment: “GrifterCon: Las Vegas”

Title:

GrifterCon: Las Vegas

Logline:

Three infamous fraudsters — a disgraced festival tycoon, a fake heiress, and a delusional crypto king — team up for the biggest con of the century: scamming the world’s richest elite by selling them a fake utopian city. But when egos clash and double-crosses abound, the real prize becomes who can scam the scammers first.

Introduction:

In a world where truth is optional and Instagram likes are currency, three outlaws of perception — Billy McFarland, Anna Delvey, and Sam Bankman-Fried — realize they’ve been wasting their talents on petty fraud.
It’s time to level up.
It’s time to build something bigger.
Something so preposterous… that it can only succeed.

Their mission: create and sell a completely fictional “techno-utopia” to the wealthiest billionaires on Earth.

The only rule?
Never, ever believe your own hype.

Full Plot Summary

ACT ONE: “The Pitch”

Setup:

We open on Billy McFarland (late 20s, charming, sweaty, the human equivalent of a TED Talk sponsored by Red Bull) exiting a medium-security prison — duffel bag in hand, debts to pay, and grander delusions than ever.

Cut to Anna Delvey (early 30s, unrepentant, couture-clad despite ankle monitor) charming her way out of court-mandated house arrest by convincing her parole officer she’s starting a “philanthropic foundation for ugly dogs.”

Meanwhile, in a dingy trattoria in Queens, Sam Bankman-Fried (40s, twitchy, thinks he’s Tony Stark but has $17 to his name) launches “MangioCity” — an imaginary Italian smart-city funded entirely by a fake ICO (Initial Coin Offering).

They’re all at rock bottom, each convinced they’re one good lie away from reclaiming greatness.

An anonymous text pulls them together:
“We’re wasting time apart. Together, we could scam the whole planet. Meet at the Cloisters. Bring ideas.”

Cut to a clandestine meeting under medieval arches.
They size each other up. Mutual disgust. Mutual admiration.
Billy pitches the idea:
“We fake an entire city. Smart roads. Hover taxis. Carbon-negative EVERYTHING. The tech billionaires won’t just invest… they’ll beg to be let in.”

Anna sniffs: “Only if we make it exclusive.”
Luigi grins: “And only if we accept crypto.”

The Grand Illusion is born:
“Aurora City” — the first floating luxury utopia in international waters.

Target Market: Tech billionaires, disillusioned celebrities, ex-royalty, and “visionary” entrepreneurs who want to escape taxes and bad Yelp reviews.

Inciting Incident:

They launch a secretive “whitelist” for investors.
Buzz spreads like wildfire.
Famous YouTubers leak fake drone footage.
Leonardo DiCaprio’s assistant inquires if there’s room for a villa.

Phase One: Complete.

ACT TWO: “Building the Illusion”

Rising Action:

The trio operates out of an abandoned WeWork.
Billy handles PR and media.
Anna curates “investor packets” — glossy brochures featuring photoshopped paradise islands.
Luigi spins up “AuroraCoin” (currency of the new city), filling the whitepapers with enough buzzwords to give Elon Musk an aneurysm.

Soon, millions pour in — non-refundable “reservation fees” for property that doesn’t exist.

Montage:

• Billy charming a Saudi prince on Zoom while wearing pajama bottoms.

• Anna hosting “Aurora” soirees at fake penthouses, complete with rented peacocks.

• Luigi giving TED Talks to holograms, believing they’re real attendees.

Their motto: “Luxury is just good lighting and audacity.”

But cracks emerge:

• Anna wants full creative control: “No ugly millionaires allowed.”

• Luigi demands AuroraCity accept his lasagna-based NFT as official ID.

• Billy keeps secretly funneling funds to Plan B: his own secret island getaway.

Internal sabotage looms.

Midpoint (Major Twist):

At the height of their success, disaster strikes:
Jeff Bezos expresses interest… and demands a private tour.

Problem: Aurora City doesn’t exist.

Solution:
Stage a fake yacht tour off the coast of the Bahamas.

Cue the most chaotic fake presentation in history:

• Inflatable buildings bobbing awkwardly in the water.

• Holographic trees flickering like a bad VR demo.

• Actors hired on Craigslist pretending to be “Aurora citizens” (paid in Subway coupons).

Against all odds — Bezos LOVES it.

Investors double down.

The trio is now drowning in billions.

The bigger the lie, the stronger the belief.

ACT THREE: “Every Grifter for Themselves”

Climax:

With so much money at stake, alliances crumble:

• Anna blackmails Billy with screenshots of his offshore accounts.

• Billy leaks footage of Luigi snorting lines of Parmesan cheese off investor contracts.

• Luigi hacks the AuroraCoin servers, turning all balances into MangioCoin overnight.

Double-crosses. Triple-crosses. Quadruple gaslighting.

Their final heist?
Stealing the entire escrow fund ($2.7 billion) — from each other.

In a tension-soaked showdown aboard a mega-yacht, they exchange final betrayals:

• Anna bribes the captain to reroute.

• Luigi disables the security system.

• Billy parachutes onto a passing Disney Cruise Line, carrying the real wallet codes taped to his chest.

Falling Action:

Authorities catch wind.
Interpol raids begin.
Yachts sink. Helicopters crash. MangioCoin plummets.

BUT…

In an ironic twist, the collapse of AuroraCity triggers a global sympathy movement:
“Let Visionaries Fail” becomes a viral hashtag.

Billy, Anna, and Luigi, instead of being arrested, are invited to give TED Talks on “disruption.”

They go on to sell the movie rights.

To themselves.

For $200 million.

Main Characters

Billy McFarland

Charming sociopath with the attention span of a caffeinated squirrel. Dreams big, thinks small, lies effortlessly.

Anna Delvey (Sorokin)

Ice-cold master of aesthetic manipulation. Sees the world as a giant poorly-curated museum begging for her curation.

Wacky crypto-bro with delusions of entrepreneurial grandeur. Will sell his own shadow if he can figure out how to tokenize it.

Detective Carla Vance (Supporting)

Dogged Interpol agent who slowly realizes she low-key respects their hustle.

Jasper Wren (Supporting)

Billionaire influencer gullible enough to bankroll half the scam, then live-stream his heartbreak.

Tone

A chaotic, sharp-witted crime comedy — a mix of Catch Me If You Can, The Wolf of Wall Street, and The Bling Ring.

Tension and stakes are real… but the absurdity bubbles just beneath the surface at all times.

Every shot feels like it might collapse under the weight of its own delusions — just like the characters.

Visual Style

• Bright, over-saturated Miami Vice palettes for parties and promo scenes.

• Gritty, handheld camera for behind-the-scenes fraud.

• Glossy, dream-like cinematography during fake presentations to emphasize how much smoke and mirrors are involved.

• Occasional breaking of the fourth wall, with characters winking directly at the audience mid-scam.

Closing Pitch

“The Grand Illusionists” isn’t just a heist movie.
It’s a dark mirror held up to the modern obsession with image over substance, hype over reality.

It asks the ultimate question:
“If everyone’s lying, does it even matter who wins?”

And it answers:
“No, but it’s way funnier if it’s these three clowns.”

Auf Wiedersehen!