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The GameStop/Reddit stock price drama and controversy over the past week has been one of the most-discussed topics globally, and so it’s no surprise that Hollywood has come knocking to turn the events into movies and TV shows. There are now several Hollywood projects in the works, with big names and famous studios attached trying to cash in.
Following the news that Ben Mezrich had sold his book proposal to James Bond studio MGM to spin into a a feature film, it’s been reported that numerous other studios are getting involved.
The HBO Project
Variety reports that HBO is working on a GameStop movie of its own, with Jason Blum of Blumhouse Television among the producers.
“The film is described as exploring how a populist uprising of social media day traders beat Wall Street at their own game, turning the stock market upside down and shaking the financial world to its core,” reads a line from the report.
There is no word yet on a cast, director, or release date for this project.
The Netflix Project
First up is Netflix. Deadline reports that Netflix is in discussions with writer Mark Boal (The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty, Detroit) to pen the script for a film with Noah Centineo to star. Scott Galloway, who runs the podcast Pivot, is reportedly going to consult on the script.
Sources told Deadline that this film will “shine a light on the phenomenon of how social media has leveled the playing field and allowed the masses to challenge status quo gatekeepers, for good and bad.”
The movie could also touch on how social media impacts elections and specifically how social media might have led to and encouraged the US Capitol rights in January.
The Pinky Promise Project
Deadline also reported that the production company Pinky Promise is “fast-tracking” a limited TV series called “To The Moon” based on the GameStop/Reddit situation. “They have met with several top members of the Reddit group, hedge funds and other trading insiders,” the report said.
“The series is the multi-narrative, rip-roaring story of the r/wallstreetbets people’s rebellion against cynical hedge funds. To The Moon follows two roommates laid off from their jobs at GameStop and AMC, who turn Covid into lemonade by using their stimulus checks to dip into the world of day trading,” Deadline reported. “It’s The Big Short meets Reddit, in this chronicle of the movement that grabbed Wall Street by the wallet and chucked it all the way to the moon.”
Pinky Promise co-founders Jessamine Burgum and Matthew Cooper told Deadline that they are working with veteran members of the Wall Street Bets subreddit to “make sure we tell this story correctly.”
“This is a movement that could very well dictate the future of Wall Street and individuals’ beliefs that they can stand up to Goliath–getting this right is our top priority,” they said.
Noam Tomschoff is set to write the series; he made his directorial debut with the film Tankhouse starring Back to the Future’s Christopher Lloyd. “Several buyers” are said to be interested.
The Ben Mezrich Project
The first of the big studio projects to be announced came from author Ben Mezrich, who wrote the books the turned into The Social Network and 21.
According to Deadline’s report, James Bond studio MGM won the rights to Mezrich’s book proposal, The Antisocial Network, which follows the story of “amateur investors, gamers, and internet trolls who brought Wall Street to its knees.”
Mezrich also said he hopes Elon Musk and Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, two prominent figures in the ongoing drama, will play themselves in the feature film.
For more, check out GameSpot’s primer on just what the hell is going on. You can also listen to the newest episode of GameSpot After Dark where we discuss the drama.
