Chris Hemsworth has been set to play Hulk Hogan in a movie in the works at Netflix with Todd Phillips directing. John Pollono will write the script with Scott Silver, the latter of whom teamed on Warner Bros’ upcoming The Joker. The biopic is said to center on the rise of Hogan, real name Terry Bollea, and his…

UPDATED with comment from Bustle Gawker is poised to make a comeback next year, according to published reports. The gossip site, which was sued into bankruptcy two years ago by Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel, was acquired by the founder of Bustle Digital Media, Bryan Goldberg. In a memo obtained by Variety…

EXCLUSIVE: David A. Neuman’s Blackrock Productions has acquired rights to develop and produce Ryan Holiday’s Portfolio/Penguin book  Conspiracy – Peter Thiel, Hulk Hogan, Gawker and the Anatomy of Intrigue which covers the tempestuous legal battle between pro-wrestler Hulk Hogan (Terry Bollea), Gawker Media and its…

Peter Thiel-backed startup Legalist is offering a $100,000 “bounty” to anyone who comes forward with legal claims against Harvey Weinstein. The company is extending the financial assistance any woman with what it deems a “valid sexual harassment claim” against the disgraced mogul, who has faced waves of allegations of…

Peter Bart and Mike Fleming Jr. worked together for two decades at Daily Variety. In this occasional column, two old friends get together and grind their axes, mostly on the movie business. FLEMING: As I was pondering this Megyn Kelly/Alex Jones mess, I thought of the Pentagon Papers movie Steven Spielberg’s making…

Brian Knappenberger’s documentary Nobody Speak snagged a $2 million Netflix deal during the Sundance Film Festival, one of the docus that made waves in Park City at the just-wrapped fest. The latest pic from the documentarian, last at Sundance in 2014 with The Internet's Own Boy: The Story Of Aaron Swartz…

EXCLUSIVE: Netflix is near a world rights deal for Nobody Speak: Hulk Hogan, Gawker and Trials of a Free Press. Five outlets bid, but it looks like Netflix is closing for around $2 million. The Brian Knappenberger-directed documentary focuses on a case that created a chill effect for media. A sex tape of wrestler Hulk…

The legal slapdown that Hulk Hogan delivered to Gawker over publishing a sex tape of him has seen multimillion-dollar awards, bankruptcy for the Nick Denton-founded media outlet, and now a final truce of sorts. “After four years of litigation funded by a billionaire with a grudge going back even further, a settlement…

UPDATED with WGA East statement below: Just after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection today, Gawker Media asked a U.S. Bankruptcy Court to stop several lawsuits against it, including wrestler Hulk Hogan’s violation of privacy action. A jury awarded him $140.1 million, finding that a video Gawker posted showing…

Hulk Hogan has claimed another victim. Or was it Peter Thiel? Either way, or both, Gawker Media today filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the wake of a $140M verdict in the ex-pro wrestler’s invasion-of-privacy lawsuit against the company behind such popular blogs as Deadspin and Jezebel (read the document he…

The WGA East, which represents the editorial staff at Gawker Media, has issued a stinging rebuke of Peter Thiel, the Silicon Valley billionaire who admits to bankrolling Hulk Hogan's invasion-of-privacy lawsuit that resulted in a $140 million verdict against Gawker. "Peter Thiel has all but confessed that his primary…

2ND UPDATE, 10:30 AM: Florida Circuit Judge Pamela Campbell today upheld ex-pro wrestler Hulk Hogan’s $140M verdict against Gawker in his lawsuit for publishing his sex tape. There will be no new trial. UPDATED, March 21: Terry Bollea (aka Hulk Hogan) has just been awarded another $25M in punitive damages in his…