See-Saw Films in Talks for Film Script Based on the Rise of Google (EXCLUSIVE)

In a competitive situation, See-Saw Films is in talks to acquire the spec “Don’t Be Evil,” a kinetic and elevated comedy about the rise of Google.

Penned by Gabriel Diani, Etta Devine, and Evan Bates, the script is an exploration of Google’s founding and rapid rise to a multi-billion dollar valuation, all told through the framework of the Chinese hacking incident Google first reported in 2010.

Seen through the eyes of co-founders Larry Page, Sergey Brin, and Eric Schmidt, the story follows the three individuals’ struggle with their corporate motto, “Don’t Be Evil,” in the face of their meteoric rise to a multi-billion dollar valuation and a major Chinese hacking incident.

See-Saw principles Iain Canning and Emile Sherman will produce along with Christian Baha. Negin Salmasi is overseeing for See-Saw.

Given comparisons to Oscar-winning material like “The Big Short” and “The Social Network,” the spec was sought after by several companies before See-Saw finally landed the rights. It fits in with See-Saw’s wheelhouse, which includes films like “The King’s Speech” and “Lion,” which both went on to garner Oscar recognition.

As for Diani, Devine, and Bates, this marks the trio’s first major spec sale. The three are repped by UTA and LBI Entertainment, who brokered the deal.

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