EPIX Documentary Investigates the Arrest of Ross Ulbricht, the Alleged "Dread Pirate Roberts" -- Founder of Online Black Market Silk Road, in the Original Documentary "Deep Web"

Premium TV network EPIX announced today that its Original Documentary Deep Web, chronicling one of the most important and riveting digital crime sagas of the century -- the October 2013 arrest of Ross William Ulbricht -- will feature exclusive interviews with the Ulbricht family including Lyn and Kirk Ulbricht, Ross’ parents who have become public advocates for digital rights and due process. Ulbricht, the 30-year-old entrepreneur alleged to be “Dread Pirate Roberts” -- founder of Silk Road, the notorious online black market best known for drug trafficking, is currently on trial in New York. The feature-length documentary explores the inside story of the investigation and unveils how the brightest minds and thought leaders behind the Deep Web and Bitcoin are now caught in the crosshairs of the battle for control of a future inextricably linked to technology. The film also brings into question an individual’s rights to Internet Freedom. The film is written, directed and produced by Alex Winter (Downloaded); produced by Glen Zipper and Marc Schiller; and the executive producer is Seth Gordon. Deep Web will make its World Television Premiere on EPIX Spring 2015.

Deep Web will also serve up the core architects of the Deep Web; anarchistic cryptographers who developed the Deep Web’s tools for the military in the early 1990s; the dissident journalists and whistleblowers who immediately sought refuge in this seemingly secure environment; and the figures behind the rise of Silk Road, which combines the security of the Deep Web with the anonymity of cryptocurrency. Interviewees include: Joshua Dratel, Ulbricht’s lawyer; Andy Greenberg, technology writer for Wired, author of This Machine Kills Secrets and the first reporter to interview “Dread Pirate Roberts”); Cody Wilson, a crypto-anarchist known for his development of the “3D printed gun;” Gavin Andresen, chief scientist at the Bitcoin Foundation; Andrew Lewman, the Executive Director of Tor, a suite of tools that allows users to access content on the internet anonymously; and Todd Shipley, a cyber and high tech crimes expert.

Here is an advanced clip from Deep Web: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AudR43ttdZY

Here is a first-look at the EPIX teaser for Deep Web: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aV6ePZ6SmL4

Deep Web Glossary of Terms:

• Deep Web - the vast section of the World Wide Web that is not discoverable by means of standard search engines, including password-protected or dynamic pages and encrypted networks.
• Dark Net – a section of the deep web that is inhabited by various entities who desire to communicate anonymously.
• Cryptocurrency - a digital currency in which encryption techniques are used to regulate the generation of units of currency and verify the transfer of funds, operating independently of a central bank (eg. Bitcoin).
• Dread Pirate Roberts - the online pseudonym of the creator and manager of the online marketplace Silk Road.
• Silk Road - an online black market that allowed users to browse anonymously and securely without potential traffic monitoring.
• Surface Web (or Clear Net) - portion of the World Wide Web that is available to the general public, and for indexing by a search engine.
• Tor - a free software and an open network that helps you defend against traffic analysis, a form of network surveillance that threatens personal freedom and privacy, confidential business activities and relationships, and state security (only way into the dark net).
• Tor Hidden Services - a tor-based function within the dark net that serves as an alternate Internet, with URL’s ending in .onion as opposed to .com or .net.

Deep Web is an EPIX Original Documentary written, directed and produced by Alex Winter with Marc Schiller and Glen Zipper also serving as producers. Winter and Schiller previously worked together on the documentary Downloaded, about the rise and fall of Napster. Zipper’s prior credits include the Academy Award® winning Undefeated and the Grammy Award® winning Foo Fighters: Back and Forth. Seth Gordon (Print the Legend, Mitt, Freakonomics and Undefeated) is the executive producer, Andy Greenberg is the consulting producer, and Dan Swietlik (Sicko and An Inconvenient Truth) is the editor. Jill Burkhart and Ross Bernard are the executive producers for EPIX.

About EPIX

EPIX is a premium movie and original programming entertainment service delivering the latest movie releases, classic film franchises, original documentaries, comedy and music events on TV, on demand, online and on devices. Launched in October 2009, EPIX has pioneered the development and proliferation of “TV Everywhere.” It was the first premium network to provide multi-platform access to its content online at EPIX.com and was the first premium network to launch on Chromecast, XBox 360, PlayStation®, iOS, Android tablets, Windows 8.1 and Roku® players. EPIX is available to authenticated subscribers on hundreds of devices including Apple® iPads® and iPhones® and is the only premium service providing all its programming on all platforms, delivering more movies than any other premium network, with thousands of titles available for streaming.

EPIX is a joint venture between Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA and VIA.B), its Paramount Pictures unit, Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF) and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM). Through relationships with cable, satellite and telco partners, EPIX is available to over 50 million homes nationwide. For more information about EPIX, go to www.EPIX.com. Follow EPIX on Twitter @EpixHD (http://www.twitter.com/EpixHD) and on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/EPIX), YouTube (http://youtube.com/EPIX), Instagram (http://instagram.com/EPIX), Google+ (http://plus.google.com/+EPIX), Pinterest (http://pinterest.com/EPIX) and Vine (https://vine.co/EPIX).