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Sony Pictures has made a preemptive acquisition for the film rights to Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead, the 2013 best-seller by Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.
Nell Scovell will write the script based on the book, which explores gender inequality in the workplace. The film will not be a narrative of Sandberg’s life, but rather a story based on the book’s themes.
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The nonfiction book Lean In hit stores in March 2013. Sandberg, who became Facebook’s COO in August 2013, combined personal anecdotes, hard data and research to analyze the reasons that a major gender disparity still exists in the workplace. The book sold 140,000 copies its first week of publication and hit No. 1 on Amazon.com’s best-seller list. It went on to be the No. 2 best-selling book of the year on Amazon and spent 12 weeks atop the New York Times nonfiction best-seller list in 2013.
Sony has been successful in the past with a movie set in the world of Facebook with the 2010 film The Social Network, directed by David Fincher. Sony CEO Michael Lynton is also close with Sandberg, appearing on KCETLink together and hosting Lean In‘s launch party at his home.
Scovell, who co-wrote Lean In, is primarily known for her TV writing and directing. She helmed Showtime’s Hayley Wagner, Star and Lifetime’s It Was One of Us. Her TV writing credits include Sabrina, the Teenage Witch and The Simpsons. She’s repped by the RWSG Agency.
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