Following Bad Words and the upcoming The Family Fang, it seems Jason Bateman has really been bitten by the directing bug, as he’s now signed up the direct and star in IPO Man.
Deadline reports he’s up for the film, which is based on a Wired articles called ‘Meet The Man Who Sold His Fate To Investors At $1 A Share’. And that’s a very literal description, as Mike Merrill (to be played by Bateman) did indeed decide to offer stocks in his own life. He offered 100,000 shares at $1 a pop, and managed to sell 928 of them, with investors being allowed to vote on his decisions, such as whether to invest $79.63 in a Rwandan chicken farmer.
Unsurprisingly it caused problems ‘when shareholders demanded control over life decisions like whether to have a vasectomy or even whether he should move in with his longtime girlfriend (and minority shareholder)’. Even at the time the article was written, Merrill was still allowing investors a say in his life, most particularly the future of his love life.
Transparent writers Micah Fitzerman-Blue & Noah Harpster will write the script. It’s not clear when the movie might shoot.