(from wsj.com
By Yorkee Koh)
Twitter is hitting the small screen—the story of its origin, that is.
Lionsgate Television has acquired the TV rights to “Hatching TwitterTWTR -1.67%,” a tell-all book by New York Times reporter Nick Bilton about Twitter’s dramatic founding.
The studio behind TV dramas like “Mad Men” and “Orange Is the New Black” on Wednesday said it optioned the rights to turn Bilton’s best seller into a TV show. The studio didn’t disclose how much it paid to acquire the rights.
The TV show will hope to muster the success of “The Social Network,” Aaron Sorkin’s acclaimed movie that dramatized Mark Zuckerberg’s founding of FacebookFB +1.29%. Like the book it was based on, “Hatching Twitter” also captures an account of a contentious relationship among company founders, feeding into the long history of Silicon Valley’s “creation myths.”
“‘The Social Network’ was a perfect film, and this series will be different, providing a longer view of the work life changes, gamesmanship and personal sacrifices made by a group of individuals who are building a company that will change the way that people communicate,” said Allison Shearmur, who will be the executive producer of the Twitter show.
Bilton will write the script as well as continue writing his columns for The New York Times. It is unclear when production will begin.
“Twitter has transformed almost every aspect of our lives from politics to business to friendship, and I can’t think of a more compelling story to adapt for television right now,” said Kevin Beggs, Chairman of Lionsgate Television Group.
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