MGM is making a movie about the Wall Street-GameStop saga, based on a book by the author behind 'The Social Network'

MGM is producing a movie about the Wall Street Bets-GameStop saga.

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

MGM has bought the rights to a movie about the ongoing Wall Street-GameStop saga.
It will be based on a book by Ben Mezrich, who also wrote the book behind the film "The Social Network," Deadline reported.
The new book, "The Antisocial Network," isn't complete yet, but Mezrich said he was "born" to write it.
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MGM is producing a movie about the Wall Street-GameStop saga, which it will base on a book by Ben Mezrich, whose work inspired the 2010 hit film about the founding of Facebook, "The Social Network."

The studio had acquired the rights to produce a film based on Mezrich's upcoming release "The Antisocial Network," sources close to the matter told Deadline. Mezrich confirmed the news on his Twitter.

In the week since Reddit day traders banded together to pump stocks such as GameStop to the moon, sending ripples through the financial system, Mezrich has acted fast. His book - which isn't finished yet - could be available to publishers via auction as early as February, Deadline reported.

Mezrich and his representatives first marketed the idea of a movie based on the book at the end of last week. MGM acquired the rights by Friday night after a heated bidding war, the sources said.

The full plots of both the book and the movie aren't yet known, but Mezrich tweeted on Wednesday that "a ragtag band of redditers taking on Wall Street is a pretty good movie pitch, actually."

"The last scene in the movie is definitely @elonmusk sitting in the cockpit of a rocket ship tweeting 'Gamestonk!,'" he added.

The film would be produced by Ryder Picture Company's Aaron Ryder, with Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss as producers via Winklevoss Pictures, Deadline reported.

—Ben Mezrich (@benmezrich) January 28, 2021

Mezrich has written more than 20 books, including in-depth looks at some major business and financial scandals.

His book "The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius, and Betrayal," which explores how Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook, was turned into the 2010 movie "The Social Network" starring Jesse Eisenberg.

He also wrote "Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions," which was turned into the 2008 movie "21."

The GameStop phenomenon could go down as one of the most memorable events in financial history. The story began with Reddit day traders banding together to pump 90s nostalgia stocks such as GameStop to the moon. Nobody imagined that the group could power GameStop and other highly-shorted stocks, torch a few bearish hedge funds in the process, and cause some brokerages to restrict purchases in highly volatile stocks.

The short-seller squeeze managed to spread from stocks and cryptocurrencies to precious metals within a week, sparking a bubble. Calls to topple the establishment and reallocate wealth resembled the chaos of the populist 2011 movement, Occupy Wall Street.

What became clear is that the frenzy wasn't focused on making profits - rather it was about these traders proving they are a powerful force with influence.

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