MegaUpload Founder Kim Dotcom to Get the Biopic Treatment

After The Social Network, after Blackberry, after that Spotify Netflix series, the time has come for a Kim Dotcom biopic.

The notorious hacker turned tech entrepreneur was briefly Hollywood’s enemy number one in the mid-2000s after his file-sharing platform MegaUpload became the go-to site for trading copyright-protected films, music and TV series. Things came to a head in 2012 when, at the request of U.S. authorities, New Zealand police staged a dramatic dawn raid of Kim Dotcom’s mansion, seizing more than a dozen luxury cars and a reported $175 million in cash. Since then Kim Dotcom has been fighting extradition to the U.S. to face charges of fraud.

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Germany’s ZDF Studios, Boogie Entertainment and Aristosfilms have announced they are adapting David Fisher’s nonfiction best-seller “The Secret Life of Kim Dotcom: Spies, Lies and the War for the Internet” as a six-part TV series, The Kim Dotcom Story. Made with the participation of Kim Dotcom, born Kim Schmitz in Keil, Germany, in 1974, who gave extensive interviews to Fischer, the book is a largely sympathetic portrayal of the larger-than-life character who has claimed he has been unjustly targeted by the U.S. government for his political activism in defiance of copyright legislation.

In a statement, ZDF said the six-part series will follow Kim Dotcom’s “remarkable transformation from German hacker to groundbreaking entrepreneur” and describes the protagonist as “a modern-day outlaw who, against all expectations, has become an unlikely hero for the cause of Internet freedom.”
The series, following Kim Dotcom’s cross-border exploits, will span several countries, from Germany and the U.S. to Thailand, Hong Kong and New Zealand. Location scouting and casting is already underway.

“In The Kim Dotcom Story, we dive deep into the intriguing gray area that separates legitimate tech innovation from perceived illegitimacy, especially when it comes to the exploitation of copyrighted content, “says Robert Franke, vp drama at ZDF Studios. “This project is a compelling exploration of the modern digital landscape, where lines blur, and the tech world’s true colors are revealed.”

Boogie Entertainment founder Rolant Hergert adds that Kim Dotcom’s “unique blend of entrepreneurship, controversy and online notoriety sets him apart as a truly extraordinary figure in the digital age.”

Production on The Kim Dotcom Story is set to begin next year with completion in 2025. ZDF Studios will handle international sales for the series.

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