Hollywood best buddies Ben Affleck and Matt Damon have been through thick and thin together – be it on the professional or personal front. For their latest project, a film about WWE Hall of Famer Terry Bollea, famously known as Hulk Hogan, is in active developemnt with their production banner Artists Equity.
Although the film centred around what is deemed as the “darket period” of Hogan’s life, has left the pro wrestler feeling “indifferent,” sources say that he won’t shy away from pursuing legal intervention if Affleck and Damon cross the line. While he’s in no way involved with the project in the works, his former close friend Bubba the Love Sponge, who also shares a distant connection with the film’s central plot, is ready to collaborate with the Air costars with his direct insight into the matter.
A representative for the famous American radio DJ told TMZ that while Bubba is not currently tied to the project, he’s willing to pitch in aspects of the story that’s also been a part of his past, so that that the Damon and Affleck get their facts right about it. The source further confirmed that Bubba hopes Ben and Matt will drift away, considering the notion that he leaked Hulk’s infamous sex tape. He wants to set the record straight that the tape was stolen.
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About Hulk Hogan’s sex tape lawsuit
Hogan’s now-infamous sex tape lawsuit is at the centre of the upcoming Gawker biopic. How does Bubba figure into the mess, you ask? The Love Sponge’s ex-wife Heather Clem appears in the sex tape with the WWE star.
In 2015, Hogan sued the gossip website Gawker for sharing a video of him being sexually involved with a friend’s estranged wife. Ultimately, Facebook board member Peter Thiel also joined in on the grudge to settle his personal issues with the publication. Gawker has outed him as gay in 2007. A year later, the former wrestler won a $140 million judgement against the website, its founder Nick Denton and one of its editors.
The sleazy scandal put Gawker under and the publication shut down operations. In 2021, Bustler Digital Group’s founder and CEO Bryan Goldberg bought its assets in a 2018 bankruptcy auction and Gawker witnessed a transient revival before crashing again in February 2023.
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Gawker movie: Cast and crew, what we know so far
Gus Van Sant, who previously directed Damon and Affleck’s classic hit Good Will Hunting, is set to helm the forthcoming title, “Killing Gawker,” which will be based on Ryan Holiday’s book “Conspiracy: Peter Thiel, Hulk Hogan, Gawker and the Anatomy of Intrigue.” The acclaimed Hollywood duo has already acquired its screenplay written by Charles Randolph.
The Gawker movie has yet to confirm any production schedule. As far as the film’s casting goes, Affleck has been rumoured to take the lead as the controversial WWE figure. On top of that, Bubba has pitched Jonah Hill or Matty Matheson (of The Bear fame) to play him in the biopic. While his involvement with Affleck and Damon’s film is up in the air, Bubba is developing a three-part docuseries of his own about the scandal. It’s slated to release this fall.
