Francis Lawrence tapped to direct movie about Hulk Hogan/Gawker trial

June 12th 2018, 9:33am

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

The Hulk Hogan/Gawker trial was fascinating to watch from the outside, as the landmark case involving the media and privacy constantly made headlines. More details soon came out in the popular book, “Conspiracy: Peter Thiel, Hulk Hogan, Gawker, and the Anatomy of Intrigue,” which will, of course, be turned into a movie. Now, that movie has found a director in HUNGER GAMES 2-4 and RED SPARROW's Francis Lawrence.

Producer David A Neuman made the announcement yesterday (via Variety) that the director will tackle the movie with a script from THE BIG SHORT's Charles Randolph. Neuman also said they intend to find A-list talent to fill out the main roles of Hulk Hogan, Gawker founder Nick Denton and Silicon Valley giant Peter Thiel.

The book by Ryan Holiday was published in February and details the publicized case between Hogan and Gawker, in which Hogan sued the outlet for posting a sex tape of him. Hogan's suit was then discovered to have been funded by Thiel, who reportedly did so out of personal revenge against Gawker. The media outlet lost, was ordered to pay a legal fee of $140 million, thus resulting in the outlet’s bankruptcy.

Lawrence spoke about the project, saying, “When I read Ryan’s extraordinary book I was totally taken with this story, such an exquisitely contemporary tale, and I immediately had a vision for it as a film. It’s an important and meaningful story, and one I’m excited to tell. I’m thrilled to come aboard and to work with this team.”

The story is an interesting one for sure, and it will really rock the brain to think about who could play Hulk Hogan on the big screen. As of right now the first name that comes to mind is Dave Bautista, but it’s hard to picture him in a bleach-blonde mustache and wig. Lawrence is a solid pick to direct, and though I thought SPARROW was perhaps too long it’s indeed one of his best movies. This is shaping up to be a project to watch, especially in regards to that casting. But, who are we kidding? Now that Lawrence is involved we all know Hogan will be played by none other than Jennifer Lawrence, who can seriously rock a bandana.