A film about Hulk Hogan’s infamous legal battle against Gawker is officially in the works.
Artists Equity, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s production banner, has acquired a screenplay written by Charles Randolph and based on Ryan Holiday’s book “Conspiracy: Peter Thiel, Hulk Hogan, Gawker and the Anatomy of Intrigue.” The project, titled “Killing Gawker,” is in active development.
Gus Van Sant, who previously helmed Affleck and Damon’s “Good Will Hunting,” is set to direct. While it’s been rumored that Affleck will take on the role of the controversial wrestler, no casting has been announced at this time.
In March 2016, Hogan won a $140 million judgement against Gawker Media, its founder Nick Denton and one of its editors. The verdict was the result of a lawsuit over Gawker’s publication of a sex tape featuring Hogan, but was funded by divisive Silicon Valley businessman Peter Thiel in retaliation to Gawker outing him as gay years earlier.
In the initial ruling, the jury found that Gawker violated Hogan’s privacy by posting the tape, and that he suffered severe emotional distress from the leak. The video, shot five years before it was posted, showed Hogan having sex with the then-wife of “shock jock” Bubba the Love Sponge.
Following the ruling, Gawker shut down operations. In July 2021, Gawker relaunched under the ownership of Bustle Digital Group, whose founder and CEO Bryan Goldberg bought the website’s assets for $1.35 million in a 2018 bankruptcy auction. The revival was short-lived, as the new Gawker was shut down in February 2023.
Artists’ Equity is behind “Air,” “Kiss the Future,” “The Greatest Love Story Never Told,” and the upcoming Cillian Murphy-starrer “Small Things Like These.” Its other projects in development include “The Accountant 2,” “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” “The Instigators” and “Unstoppable.”
The film has no formal start date or production schedule. Artists Equity had no comment.
From Variety US