Lionsgate Working On TV Show About Creation of Twitter

SANTA MONICA/VANCOUVER: Lionsgate has optioned the TV rights for Nick Bilton's best-seller Hatching Twitter: A True Story of Money, Power, Friendship, and Betrayal, about the birth of the micro-blogging site Twitter. 

Allison Shearmur is set as executive producer for the project. Bilton, a columnist and reporter for the New York Times, will write the screenplay and serve as producer.

“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, the chairman of Lionsgate's television group. “Nick’s book has all the elements of a great drama with its complex characters, high-stakes power struggles and betrayed friendships, and we’re extremely fortunate to have Alli Shearmur onboard as executive producer.”
 
“Hatching Twitter will go behind the scenes of a groundbreaking Silicon Valley company in a way that’s never been captured before on television,” said Shearmur. “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.”   



“I am thrilled to work with Allison Shearmur and Lionsgate to adapt my book about the power, betrayal and billions of dollars that swirl through Silicon Valley,” said Bilton. “The story of Hatching Twitter really speaks to a generation that has searched for friendship through technology and it will be very exciting to see it brought to life on screen.”