Seth Rogen Is Making A Movie About a Subreddit
Seth Rogen and a number of other stars are making a movie about a financial story that came from a subReddit.
Those who follow the stock market and the world of Reddit will still have the Gamestop short squeeze fresh in their mind. Now that larger-than-life financial story of David (the subreddit) vs. Goliath (the massive hedge funds) is being adapted for the screen in a film called Dumb Money. Along for the ride are Seth Rogen, Paul Dano, Pete Davidson, and Sebastian Stan. The film will be directed by Craig Gillespie and is based on the book The Antisocial Network by Ben Mezrich.
Mezrich also wrote The Accidental Billionaires which was the book that was adapted by Aaron Sorkin for David Fincher’s The Social Network. Additionally, Mezrich wrote Bringing Down the House about the MIT scandal that was adapted into 21. Rebecca Angelo and Lauren Schuker Blum are adapting the screenplay for this one. With an adaptation track record like that and a cast led by Seth Rogen and company, Dumb Money could definitely shape up to be something special.
For those unfamiliar with the Gamestop story, in 2021 a massive group of retail investors on a subreddit called r/wallstreetbets noticed that nearly 140% of Gamestop’s public float (the shares of a corporation held by public investors) was sold short. The subreddit and other investors went wild buying up the shares to cover the position, causing massive losses for the hedge funds and other short sellers while also jacking up Gamestop’s stock price. At one point, the stock broke $500 per share at its height, a significant increase from the $17.25 per share price that was seen near the beginning of that month. It’s unclear who Paul Dano, Seth Rogen Pete Davidson, and Sebastian Stan will be playing in this real-life tale, but it should be pretty entertaining no matter what.
Black Bear Pictures is financing the Seth Rogen project with Black Bear International taking on the foreign distribution rights. US rights are being handled by the UTA Independent Film Group. Aaron Ryder, Black Bear’s Teddy Schwarzman, and Gillespie are producing with executive producers including Michael Heimler, Friedberg, Andrew Swett, Angelo, Schuker Blum, Mezrich, Johnny Holland, Kevin Ulrich, Tyler Winklevoss, and Cameron Winklevoss.
The last two names on that list joining Seth Rogen are especially interesting, as you may recognize Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss as the twins who settled with Mark Zuckerberg for $65 million after accusing him of stealing their idea for Facebook. Since then, the two have become massive Bitcoin investors and opened their own cryptocurrency exchange called Gemini. With this eclectic producer team, a truly odd financial story, and cast members like Seth Rogen, Dumb Money is certainly shaping up to be something interesting.
Dumb Money will see Seth Rogen reunite with Sebastian Stan, who starred along with Rogen in Pam and Tommy. Rogen was also an executive producer on Pam and Tommy along with Craig Gillespie, who also directed several episodes of the series. Pam and Tommy netted ten Emmy noms, including Best Lead Actor in a Limited Series for Stan and Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series for Rogen. Dumb Money begins filming soon. In the meantime, you can check out Rogen in his next acting project The Fabelmans which will feature Rogen’s Dumb Money co-star Paul Dano.
