GameStop: MGM buys film rights to new book from The Social Network author about financial saga

Ben Mezrich’s book The Accidental Billionaires was adapted into the 2010 Facebook drama

Film studio MGM has bought the rights to a forthcoming book about the GameStop saga.

Last week, a group of amateur investors from the r/wallstreetbets Reddit group bought a large amount of shares in video-game retailer GameStop, causing the company’s shares to increase 1700 per cent in value since December.

The story will be explored in The Antisocial Network, a book written by bestselling author Ben Mezrich.

But, while the GameStop story is barely a week old and Mezrich’s book hasn’t been written yet, Deadline reports that MGM acquired the rights to the book proposal on Friday (29 January).

It’s not the first time Mezrich has worked with MGM chairman Michael De Luca, who produced Mark Zuckerberg biopic The Social Network, which was based on Mezrich’s 2009 book The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding Of Facebook, a Tale Of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal.

Read more: Stephen Colbert tears into Wall Street traders in blistering segment

The film will be produced by Academy Award-nominee Aaron Ryder, while Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss – both of whom were played by Armie Hammer in The Social Network – will executive produce.

While the GameStop story is naturally difficult to understand, a number of cultural figures have shared their thoughts on or created explainers about the financial saga.

You can watch Trevor Noah’s explainer here.