GameStop Saga Heads to Netflix and the Big Screen
02 February 2021 - 9:55AM
Dow Jones News
By Erich Schwartzel
LOS ANGELES -- The ending hasn't been written yet, but Hollywood
is moving quickly to bring the story of the GameStop investment
saga to the screen.
Separate projects at Netflix Inc. and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc.
are already in development about the past week on Wall Street, in
which an investing-focused group on a Reddit message board banded
together to boost the share prices of struggling companies such as
GameStop Corp. and AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc., in the process
crippling the hedge funds that had bet against them.
Netflix is in talks with screenwriter Mark Boal, who dramatized
real-life events such as the Osama bin Laden raid in "Zero Dark
Thirty," for a movie that would include the streaming company's
breakout 24-year-old star, Noah Centineo, according to a person
familiar with the matter.
At MGM, executives are planning to develop a forthcoming
manuscript by Ben Mezrich about the saga titled "The Antisocial
Network." The studio moved so fast that it acquired the rights to
Mr. Mezrich's book proposal, which is being shopped to publishers
for purchase this month, according to a person familiar with the
deal.
It isn't a surprise that the week that wrecked Wall Street drew
producers' attention, given its colorful cast of characters and the
dramatic success the amateur traders had in disrupting the
best-laid plans of hedge fund owners.
Hollywood studios and streamers often rush to be the first to
secure the rights to tell a story generating headlines around the
world. The heroic rescue of a Thai soccer team trapped in a cave,
or the collapse of Silicon Valley companies such as Theranos Inc.
or WeWork, are recent examples of stories that prompted several
producers to pursue film or television adaptations.
Now both companies must move quickly to secure directors and a
cast, because getting there first can discourage competitors from
pursuing similar projects. In today's streaming ecosystem, there is
more competition than ever to lure subscribers with buzzy titles
that feel as timely as possible.
Two of Mr. Mezrich's previous books about real-life events have
been adapted into films: "21" and "The Social Network," which was
produced by Michael De Luca, chairman of MGM's motion-pictures
group. Also executive producing his GameStop script are Cameron and
Tyler Winklevoss, the twin brothers known for their role in the
early origins of Facebook Inc., and who were played in "The Social
Network" by actor Armie Hammer.
News of the Netflix and MGM projects was reported earlier by
Deadline.
Hollywood has mined the arcane world of short selling
previously. An adaptation of the Michael Lewis bestseller "The Big
Short," about traders who foresaw the financial collapse of 2008,
grossed a healthy $70 million at the domestic box office and was
nominated for five Academy Awards.
The GameStop saga could also appeal to younger audiences who
have grown even more difficult to capture, because they don't go to
the movies as frequently as previous generations and find
entertainment through videogames or apps such as TikTok. Mr.
Centineo, in particular, would bring with him a large following of
young fans who know him as the love interest in a Netflix film, "To
All the Boys I've Loved Before."
Write to Erich Schwartzel at erich.schwartzel@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 01, 2021 17:40 ET (22:40 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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