Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are reportedly “not afraid” of any legal ramifications over their Hulk Hogan movie.
It was recently reported that the Hollywood actors’ production banner Artists Equity had bought a screenplay about the wrestling star’s legal battle with the blog Gawker. According to US site TMZ, Hulk is “indifferent” about it, but sources claim he would take legal action if any lines were crossed.
However, DailyMail.com has now reported that sources say Ben and Matt aren’t worried as their movie would be truthful. An insider said: “They are not afraid for any legal ramifications to come from it because if you tell a story that is the truth, there is absolutely nothing to worry about.”
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The source said Ben and Matt have “a vision” for the film – reportedly entitled Killing Gawker – and suggested they won’t be contacting the WWE legend at the moment. “There are no plans for Ben and Matt to reach out to Hulk Hogan right now as they are still trying to finalise filming dates, put together the rest of the cast and sort all pre-production,” they said.
(Image: Getty Images for SXSW)
“They have a vision and a script, and they don’t want to contact Hogan or anyone who is a part of the story as they don’t want to be manipulated in any way. They are going to let the facts do the talking and tell the story they have put together.”
No casting has been announced so it’s not clear if Ben or Matt would actually be in the movie, but there are whisperings about Ben playing the pro-wrestler. The insiders said that Hulk would be willing to chat to him, or anyone who ends up playing him, if they want any tips.
(Image: Corbis via Getty Images)
The Gawker case was well-documented at the time. In 2012 the site published a sex tape of Hulk getting intimate with his then friend’s wife.
He took action against the site for what he said was an invasion of his right to privacy and in 2016 he won and was awarded $140million (£109m). It was later reduced to $31m (£24m) in a settlement.
(Image: Getty Images for Moët & Chandon)
Gawker, which had argued at the time that its footage of the star was newsworthy and protected by the First Amendment, was hit hard by the decision and it ended up shutting down. It did have a comeback a few years later, relaunching under the ownership of Bustle Digital Group in 2021. However, the site wrapped again last year.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
