Netflix Picks Up Documentary About Hulk Hogan/Gawker Lawsuit

Netflix has “acquired the rights” to the documentary Nobody Speak: Hulk Hogan, Gawker and Trials of a Free Press, which is currently screening at the Sundance Film Festival, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Netflix is paying around $2 million for the movie, according to Deadline.

From the Sundance synopsis:

When online tabloid Gawker posted a sex tape starring former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan, a high-stakes legal battle pitting privacy rights against the First Amendment ensued. Hogan won the case and the staggering settlement he received not only bankrupted Gawker and its founder Nick Denton, but also exposed a controversial, behind-the-scenes benefactor: Silicon Valley venture capitalist Peter Thiel.

Whether you love or hate Gawker, Brian Knappenberger’s gripping polemic reveals the forces that really brought down the news portal. Taking examples like Sheldon Adelson’s purchase of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, this compelling documentary illustrates a growing, sinister trend at odds with our country’s free press. Corporate executives, titans, and billionaires are tipping the balance on the public’s access to news, posing new threats to society’s relationship to the truth.

Knappenberger’s knack for capturing timely and provocative shifts in the new digital era is instinctive. Fusing exhaustive interviews with Denton, commentators, and journalists NOBODY SPEAK weaves a disturbing, fascinating tale of power and truth whose moral runs to the core of democracy.