Hulk Hogan vs Gawker case to be made into film or limited series, confirms Blackrock Productions

The intertwined fates of a Silicon Valley billionaire, the famous WWE wrestler Hulk Hogan, and the online news website Gawker, has caught the eye of Hollywood, with producer David A Neuman of Blackrock Productions shopping for a screenwriter and director after acquiring the rights to the book Conspiracy: Peter Thiel, Hulk Hogan, Gawker and the Anatomy of Intrigue, as reported by Variety.

When Gawker had outed PayPal founder and one of the silicon valley billionaire moguls, Peter Thiel, as gay on their website, an alleged conspiracy had started brewing. Thiel is said to have waited for an opportunity to exact revenge from Gawker and when Hulk Hogan’s adulterous sex video was published online by Gawker, the former professional wrestler buried the nascent website in a lawsuit for invasion of privacy.

Hogan won a massive $140 million judgment against Gawker, leading to bankruptcy and shutting down of the website. It was soon revealed that Peter Thiel was the secret funder of the well-funded and represented lawsuit by Hogan against Gawker.

Blackrock Productions is open to the idea of developing a movie or a limited-run series as well. “We’re very far along in exploring both options. Conspiracy clearly has the big, compelling story and character elements to make an Oscar-contending film, in the vein of The  Social Network or The  Big Short,” said Neuman, as reported by Variety.